Combines is 20 series better than the 90 series

[Deerebines]

This past year I traded a 6620 off for a 9600. Here's an overview of what I discovered. The 9000 series is an easier machine to work on I believe as far as getting in places because of the side panels getting out of the way. For the rest of the machine that leaves something to be desired. The 6620 proved to clean the wheat better than the 9600 and it wasn't because of speed or settings. The 9600 is a more operator friendly machine than the 20 series and I noticed alot less fatigue on long days then when running the older one. I think the biggest downfall I noticed of the 9000 series is it's built alot lighter. I know that being a bigger machine and all it's easy to get alot of weight wrapped up in tinwork alone awful fast but I believe they cheated in places that shouldn't of been. Take for instance the hellish strawwalker bearings that everyone has problems with. I've been told that with the 9000 series that "we're running at faster speeds then before and pushing more crop than before that's why were noticing wear spots we never saw before". Right wrong or different I don't know if that's a certainty but it makes sense. At any rate I could easily grease the 6620 from the ground except for the main shaft bearing under the cab seat and the zerk in the clean grain auger gear box on the right side of the machine. The 9600 I had to hop up on the right front tire to grease a pair of 50 hour zerks and that getting into the fricking grain tank every two days to grease that u-joint and hope like hell it's lined up so you can hit it the first time is a joke. One time I would of liked to see a cv joint. Personally I think deere made a pretty fair machine but like most deere products that I've been around they are still a little crude and could of put a little more thought and engineering into the designing of the machine. Harvest did go faster this year than usual which was what I was after but the other and probably biggest letdown of all was that Dad's 860 massey just about kept up with me and he's only got the 6 banger in his and not the v-8. Not to mention the fact he cleaned the grain just as well and stopped only once more than me this harvest for repairs. That is very depressing when we are talking about a machine (the deere) that's 11 years newer and over 50,000 dollars higher in price. There's my 2 cent's worth. Respectively

 

[Eric]

You grease the u-joints in the grain tank every 2 daysIJ Our book says to grease them yearly or every 400 hours, so thats what I've been doing.

 

[Deerebines]

Eric......I talked to alot of guys on here and some deere mechanics as well and they said to grease the u-joints more often then the book said. Not as often as every 10 hours but at least every 50 I was informed. Respectively

 

[SawTooth]

I guess you are used to better machines than me to be cutting down the 9600! I dont know about the 20 series but I just switched from a 1978 l2 Gleaner and believe my i am impressed greatly with the 9600!I have never ran a machine that runs as smooth and quiet without breakdowns in my life!The 9600 is WAY more complicated than the gleaner i had but i wouldnt go back for any money. I guess it depends on what a person is used to as to thier opinion of the 9600! ST

 

[Tstar]

Comparing a Gleaner l2 to a JD 9600 is something like comparing apples to oranges. A Gleaner l2 is twenty years old at least. Certainly there have been technological advances that have even propel a Gleaner to be a better machine. I ran Gleaners from K, to F, to FR , to F2, and even a Gleaner l. To me and I emphasize me, these were easy machines to operate and maintain. They also did a terrific job of cleaning. If you were not careful you could overdo the job and it would become the "silver seeder" that many refer to it as. They could have had a little more clearance in rice. Bearing and belts were easy to access and even the separator clutch had a simple adjustment. Dealerships dried up and I had to travel to far to get parts so I switched to Massey and finally to JD. I look at the 9600's centerline cab design and I still say Gleaner had that way back when. I run a JD 8820 and it is a good machine, but what I know to compare it to, still does not make it a great machine. I detail these points not for argument, but to put somethings into perspective. Advances have been made in all combine colors in the last 20 years and twenty years ago that l2 probably was hard to beat.

 

[SawTooth]

I agree comparing a 78 l2 to a 9600 is liking comparing apples to oranges but i only made that statement jokingly because that is what i switched from and i am impressed with the 9600 probably because i havnt tried a newer machine of different color! The l2 was a decent machine even when i upgraded to the 9600 and it was top of the line with the seed and shaft monitors in 78.The 9600 looks a lot more complicated and not nearly as user friendly in terms of working on it but i still like the machine quite well.The amazing part to me is all the gearboxes on the 9600!!It looks to me like with just a little more engineering involved they could have eliminated some of them.An example of engineering is the tailings return...how the heck are you supposed to set a machine properly without being able to visually see what and how much return a guy hasIJIt looks to me like if they would have done a better job designing the machine they could have had a place where you could visually see the return and then eliminate the stupid little paddle wheel and all the sprockets and chains to run it all! All in all i like the 9600 quite well and only time will tell how well it stays together after years of service! ST

 

[High_Rise]

Don't be too proud of this technological terror your banker has locked you up to.Had a fire in your straw walker cavity yetIJ Another nice surprise for you while you're in ex-Gleaner bliss.

 

[kasey]

We have 1600 seperator hours on a 9600. Grease the driveline in the grain bin anually (200 hours) and no problems

 

[riceman]

If 20 series was better, we could still go to the dealer and buy on. I could not even begin to tell you how many times we resorted to a torch on our 6620s. Mopst of the time it was right by the cab door so everytime you got up in the cab it would remind you.