Combines 1083 cornheads

The only changes were the type of bearing on the snap in rolls They never could make up there mind on what kind to put in. Thats it pretty much...went to poly snouts i think on the later models and no there's no problems with older models we are still running a 83 and 85 model on our 2388's and get along great replaced all the knives the past 2 years and they do an excellent job. Just keep your drive chains tight and gears in good shape and you can run them forever

Which bearing setup is the best and is it hard to change them overIJ

I prefer the newer models with water pump bearings. You dont have to grease each row every day if you have them. I think the older models can be updated. I think the poly was available in 1999 and 2000.

Which bearing design is better depends on who is driving_servicing the combine. The grease type will last longer if the operator greases the roll bearings twice a day (4 hour intervals) according to the manual. The greaseless type- water pump bearing style will last longer if the operator doesn't know what a grease gun is or how to use it. Yes, the grease type can be converted to the greaseless type bearing if you so desire but it is fairly costly. Converting only makes economic sense if most of the roller parts require replacement anyways. You can replace as you need to rather than replace all rolls on the header at once.