rebuilding my recent purchase cultipacker

[JFK52]

I posted previouslyu about how I stumbled onto a single axle eight foot cultipacker and bought it for $200. It was loaded onto a 16 foot flat bed trailer by a skid steer at the sellers farm and brought 8 miles to my helpers house for a rebuild/repair. The first thing to go is the old wood block end bearings. They are cracked and useless. I mesured the axle and then I purchased two 1 15/16 inch pillow block bearings with greasable covered zircs from Amazon. Some dirt got inside the wood bearings and over many years wore down the two inch axle to this dimension. It is a strange axle as it is 1 3/4 inch for the entire length of the discs and then flares out to two inches for the end bearings area. I bought a five pack of 1 3/4 inch washers to hold the 15 inch cultipacker discs in place on the inside part of the axle. I will probably double up two on each side of the axle. Lastly I got some JB weld to replace some of the teeth gears that are broken on a few of the discs. Total cost was $67.63, delivered right to the place where the repairs are being done with two day Prime shipping. The 15 inch discs alternate with one smooth one and then one with teeth for the length of the axle.

I will be taking every disc off the axle, starting on one side and taking half off to let the other side support the axle. They will be inspected and the axle greased with moly lubricant before reinstalling. I have to buy some 3/16" or 1/4" angle iron to make a new frame for the pillow block bearings on both ends. Four or five feet should be enough. Cost should be $40 to $50 depending on the length and width of the angle iron. Various nuts and bolts will be replaced with new ones as needed on the frame. Cost less than $10

In the end, I will loose one set of 15 inch cultipacker discs and the overall length will be shortened by about 6-8 inches. This will still allow me to cover the 6 foot spread of the rear tires on my Kubota. I am buying a can of blaze orange spray paint to paint the previous owner added metal tongue. Add another $6 to the tally of parts. I hope this keeps it from being run over. I plan on storing the piece with the tongue up in the air to avoid just such a problem. I might have to buy a hitch pin if I can not find one that fits properly in my stock of them at the farm.

My parts total should be about $135. Labor should run $50-75. So for another $200 more or less I will have a completely rebuilt 7 foot cultipacker with greasable zirc pillow block bearings. I will have $400 (mol) into it when it is completed. From the listings I have seen on Craigslist, this size cultipacker is very desirable and sells in the $600 to $800 price range. I probably could have used it "as is'' for the acreage I plant yearly but that is not my nature. I saw the work that was needed when I looked at it originally. When finished, I know that I have an implement that will do it's job when called upon in the spring and fall for the rest of my days on my farm. That is a good feeling! When it comes time to sell it, I might even come out a few dollars ahead. Can't beat that.

 

[bbcoach]

Excellent find. Sounds as if you have everything going your way. Pillow blocks with grease fittings are definitely the way to go. For me, I would rethink greasing the shaft before putting the wheels on. The grease will attract dirt and sand and could cause problems later. When we built ours, we slid the wheels on the solid axle tightly and used spacers between the first and last wheels to give us some space between the pillow blocks. The wheels should be stacked tightly and will roll freely without any grease. Just my observation from the one we built.

 

[mglenn005]

Look forward to seeing progress pictures and the final product.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[JFK52]

bbcoach, Thanks for the tip about not greasing the axle. Your reasoning for this makes perfect sense. My farm is in the "Central Sands" area of Wisconsin. My soil is definitely sandy. If that were to mix with the grease it would act like a grinding wheel. Great advice and I will follow it. I will just wipe the shaft down and then put the cultipacker discs back on it. The two 1 3/4 inch washers on each end will be used to provide the space between the first and last discs and the pillow block bearings on the axle.
That is exactly why I had to use 1 15/16 inch pillow block end bearings. Dirt and sand got into the old wooden block end bearings. There might have been grease cups at one time but they were not present when I bought the implement. Over the course of many years and thousands of revolutions, the embedded dirt actually reduced the end shaft dimension by 1/16 of an inch.

 

[bbcoach]

One other point we follow religiously is to keep fresh grease in the pillow blocks. Put a couple of pumps of grease in each fitting before every use. This will keep any sand and water out of the bearing surfaces and make sure you keep a rag handy and remove any excess grease prior to using the packer. That way no sand has a chance to attach itself to the grease around the pillow blocks. Post some PICS when you can.

 

[JFK52]

bbcoach Thanks for another excellent suggestion. I always grease the zircs on my Kubota but seldom worry about wiping up the over fill. I can understand that on a cultipacker it is essential to keep grease off the implement to keep it from picking up dirt and sand. When I take off the 15 inch cultipacker discs I am going to put them against a piece of USB board that is laying about and take the pressure washer to each disc to get off the dirt and grime that has accumulated on them.
I am always grateful when members of this forum freely give great advice that can help one avoid costly mistakes. A person can just not think of everything, and some help and advice from friends is a great gift.

 

[bbcoach]

Thanks JFK for the thumbs up. Only passing on our successes so others can benefit. Hope your build is a GREAT one.