Combines 843 or 943 HeaderIJIJIJ

we have had a 963 since 85, only normal wear...mechanics say gearboxes are always out of oil when they bite the dust...so check the oil at least every week as the machine gets some age on it...we tried using 50W oil, but couldn't keep it in the boxes, went back to 85W140 with better success. we have found the main thing about these heads is to keep the roll knifes adjusted to where they almost touch each other...seems like it takes less power and feeds thru better.

i ran both an 863 and a 963 corn head for quite a few years and preferred the 963. i bought it used and there was a service update that had corrected the problem with the aluminum gearboxes. the one problem you could have is they used aluminum slalk rolls and bolted steel knives to them...the knives can warp because of a reaction between the two metals. i liked the 963 because the gathering chain sprockets were keyed instead of bolted to the shaft and were less maintance. My experience was good with the 963.

Been using a 900 series corn head since '89. NO gearbox trouble as yet. All but one stalk roll has been replaced with steel rolls which are more dependable. The aluminum ones were a poor engineering choice as they break one by one just behind the spiral cone shortly after the rivets get loose. Plus the two metals do not get along with one another as posted earlier. If you trade, try to get a head with as few aluminum rolls as possible.