Combines REEl TEETH IN SICKlE

Have you adjusted the timing of the reelIJ Or you might need to set it a bit farther out in front.

We run a '79 M2 with a 16ft head w_love bar att. We was having the same trouble last year with the pickup reel getting into the sickle $^and*%*and)!!! Beans were short so part of the problem was if you set the reel high enough to clear when the bar was flexed up the pickup reel was worthless. We went with a bat reel this year, no more broken sections, guards. Just smooth feeding in them short beans. No more building a big slug pile on cutter bar before the pickup reel final decides to get with it. I like the pickup reel in taller beans, but will never run it again in short beans after running the bat reel.

Try the hose mod. That will let the reel to be set a little high and greatly improve feeding.

We ran an F3 with series three flex head for several years that we bought second hand and all the steel pick up fingers had been replaced with plastic ones. That way if the header cutter bar flexed a little too far it might cut the very tip off a plastic finger or two but never caused any damage to the sickle.