Combines 1998TX66 how much different than 1998TX68IJ

Pilgrim

Guest
The 66 uses the smaller NH_Genesis engine, I think rated around 260-270 if memory serves me well. 68 has heavier drives and bigger hopper. My $.02... both are good enough machines and excellent engines. Great on fuel. We ran a 66 for many years with a 315bu. hopper with no problems. Never short of horsepower. Always reached it's limit in other places first. like every model_color, they have strengths and weaknesses. Overall, a good machine. Pilgrim
 

l

Guest
Hey Pilgrim, Do you know if the self leveling shoe is an option on the TX68 only or also available on the TX66IJ Did you run a 6 row on it in cornIJ How big of a flex platformIJ Did the clean grain elevator limit you in corn before the HPIJ Thanks again, lA.
 

John_W

Guest
Check with this big NH dealer in Saskatchewan. Most of the TX combines in North America were sold in Canada.
 

Pilgrim

Guest
lA: Yeah, 68's had the self-leveling shoe. As far as I know, all the units brought to NA are equipped with self-levelling shoe. We never ran in corn (Saskatchewan) so I can't answer that. We ran a 30' draper header or else swaths(windrows),either 30' or 60' (double-swathed) in flax and cereals on lighter years. John W is correct in that most TX's were sold in Canada. JohnBob sold very few, however. FarmWorld in Kinistino sold quite a few, Novlan Bros. at Paradise Hill, SK. sold lots. Also, Markusson in Regina and dealers in Swan River, MB. and Westlock, AB. Basically anywhere they have tough straw conditions, you'll find them more common. Pilgrim
 

tx68

Guest
Just a couple more observations. On the older models like ours the cab ac is puney. The newer ones are likely better. I blow everything off when I look it over each morning with a leaf blower. The engine compartment is always clean. They got the airflow right around the engine so the dust does not build up. Sometimes there is just a little bit around the injector lines. The rad is 3 times bigger than minimum so it can get alot of stuff in it before the temps will go up. I clean it once a week with the shop air hose and that is much more than adequate. The coolant guage always sez 80c when working(never more). The rad water cools the intercooler so there is no extra rad to look after. That turbo boosted air must be very hot if it is cooled by 80C radiator water. Kind of amazing. The 973 flex head basicly sucks for harvesting short soys. We put an aws air real on and it works great now in so many ways. Its much more than getting the beans into the header. It smooths the flow throughout the machine so you can run faster even though it uses about 25-30 hp they said. The first few years I greased it by the tables in the book but we would have bearings going out ever crop. Now i grease about half every day or 100 acres and the other half every other day or 200 acres. 50 and 100 in corn. The rattle clutches fittings get greased every 4-500 acres.An electric grease gun is a hand saver especially since there is about 100 zerks with the corn head on.
 

l

Guest
Thanks TX68, A question about an earlier post...That service bulletin about setting the flex head up with the computer, was that a big dealIJ Just curious... Did you like the sample and capacity in cornIJ Do you have an 8 row on itIJ Do you find that the combine needs constant "tweaking" during the day to make it work well or is it a somewhat forgiving machineIJ I am kinda thinking about trading in my TR on one so I guess I am starting from scratch again on how to set up that machine and make it work to max efficiency. The cab looks quite comfy and user friendly. Does the double return system work wellIJ What is with the small tires on the back of these machinesIJ Why not put on a nice set of 540 metric _26inch tires and rimsIJ Would that change anything in relation to the combines throughput or hurt capacityIJ I will probably have more questions for you after. Thanks again, lA
 

tx68

Guest
The service bulletin was just different instructions than the book had. No big deal,just follow them when setting up the flexhead and not the book instructions. This needs done when switching from corn to bean,wheat head. The combine needs very little adjustment for each variety of corn(usually none). Some kinds of corn you can slow the cylinder way down. Some you need it a little faster. The electric concave adjustment is locked down for corn to prevent wear on the linkages and adjusting motor. The front is set at 1 inch and the back is set a little bit wider. This never needs changed and works well. The sample quality is very good. I usually run slower if it is going through our drier with the bottom sives closed up more. This keeps the small amount of corn cob bits out of the bin. This would be about 3 mph. If the corn is going straight out from the field to the elevator ,I run about 4.5 mph (8 row head and 170bu corn) and open up the sives a bit for max speed with a small amount of junk in the sample (less than 1%). The first couple years I just got it set to work good and left it there for the whole corn crop but which was not bad but as you get used to it all there are little tweeks you can do to make the sample even better. Once it is set for a certain variety it is good till the next variety. No changing anything through the day.So I would say it is forgiving on the settings. The double return works as it should. No maintenance has been required on it yet. There really is not very much that goes through it. When you do wheat there is a more aggressive concave that takes the place of the corn and bean concave in the bottom doors of the rethrasher. It is easy to change. In beans a round hole sive in place of all the bottom sives is good because you can run the main thrashing cylander much slower and wider and let the rethrasher take care of the few pods that would be in the bin otherwise. In other word you don't have to be so aggressive with the thrashing cylinder to get the last few pods out of the bin. The round hole screen carries the pods to the rethrasher. One little thing to note is that the top inspection doors on each side need to be securly fastened because if they fall off they will fall right into the cleaning fan which would make a big mess. The tyres on the back can not be any taller or they will hit the bottom of the fuel tank. We have the 4 wheel drive tires. Not sure what size they are. Mine hit the tank the first year we used it when the back swung into some hole or something. I had to put taller stop blocks on the rear axle frame so it could not happen again. It contacted the sheet metal cover at the bottom of the gas tank and crinkled it up a bit but it was no big thing luckily. There are adjustments on the rear axle to raise it up which may let you use bigger tires. I raised ours up for one year to see if it affected anything. I could see no difference in the way the combine cleaned the grain. It made it harder to step up on the back ladder and made the clearance in our barn door very close so I put it back down. I have seen pictures on these tx combines in Europe with tracks on in place of the front wheels. The hydraulic drive on the mudhog rear wheels has an expensive looking valve on the rear axle to meter the oil to the drive motors. This may compensate for different drive ratios between the front and back wheels so different sized tires can possibly be used without messing up the drive ratios between the front and back. The tyres on ours seem quite adequate for the job though. In muddy conditions I try to limit to half a bin because this is one heavy combine when it is full. The combine is all metric and the heads are not metric. The bubble up auger is hard surfaced with some material that makes it last very well and has always worked with very few problems. The chopper spreader will spread nearly the full 30 foot unless it is fighting the wind. This is a great help in the spring as the field dries out more evenly for planting. It can be set to turn the straw into dust but I don't set it up that aggressively now because it is really no advantage to me. The knives last me 4 years. Two years on each side. If you ever break one you need to replace it right away because the vibration will cause damage to the combine. The only time we broke any was when we had a junky batch of knives but only 2 broke in that 4 year run. I like the Iveco engine better than the Ford engines. We have a couple 89 series fords and they are ok but they use more oil because the crankcase vent drips on them. They also often have an odd fluttering, pulsating sound to them at certain rpms. The Iveco engine uses about a litre a week and has been totally trouble free. It came with a 240 volt block heater which was pretty useless. Never found a 120 volt one to fit in the fitting on the engine. It starts without no matter how cold it is but it would make me feel allot better if i could heat up the motor first.
 
 
Top