Combines 2188 maintence

I was wondering about the 8,000 hrs. on your 1480. I can't answer, specifically, any of your questions on maintence-I bought a 1988, 1640 in Dec. of '97. Now it's at 3,000 hrs. Every year since I bought it, I've spent about $2,000_yr. on it. Rebuilding the PTO gearbox has been the biggest expense so far. The rest are bearings, chains, belts, seals, and even tires. How did you get 8,000 hrs. out of your previous 1480IJ What all was fixed and_or replacedIJ Just curious. Thanks

I traded to a CIH 1688 with 1775 hr from a Gleaner this summer, hoping to reduce my $10 per acre repair bill. Salemen have used figures as low as $1.50 per acre but that will just buy the sections and guards. So far, the 1688 has taken $8000 plus what the dealer spent in his predelivery inspection. We need as much as $3500 to get ready for next season. This will total 12 to 13 $_acre. I think the CIH has a longer life expectancy that my Gleaner simply because all the wear parts are replaceable. The Gleaner was at the point where we were replacing structural components ie feeder floors. I'd sure like to get to that rumoured $3 per acre for repairs.