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Nwmo | I made the move from a 9600 to a 9660sts, I have spent more on repairs for the 9660 the last 2 seasons than I did the whole 5 years I owned the 9600. Now having said that I had to put an $11,000 dollar hydro in it this year which didn't help. The sts definitely has more capacity in corn and beans than a 9600 has. The sts is easier to work on, electronics really haven't been a problem for me. Most of the electrical problems boil down to a short or bad connection somewhere. There are fewer moving parts on an sts and they are genreally easier to get to. My 9660 had 964 sep hours when I got it, the first year I put elevator chains in it, feederhouse drive chain, conveyor auger bearings, sprockets, and and new front plate that holds the bearings. The front plates are known for cracking and they are a real pain to put in so look it over carefully and make them put it in if its cracked. I also put in feed excelerator bearings and discharge beater bearings. The upper feederhouse variable speed drive pulley had bad bearings in it also, and the feederhouse idler pulley was rough sounding. The two idler pulleys on the chopper were also rough sounding and they come in halves so you have to buy 4 pulleys, pretty expensive as I remember. The 2 bearings in the chopper jack shaft were rough, replaced those. fan shroud and several fan blades replaced as a shaker arm broken with previous owner and shaker got into it. Thats all in the first year.
The second year is where things got interesting it had around 1250 sep hours, Rotor bearing was not bad but had play in it replaced. Feed excelerator bars and discharge beater bars replaced, stationary chopper knives replaced. Straight chopper knives flipped then replaced and hammer knives replaced mid season along with bushings and bolts, very expensive. Feederhouse chain replaced, upper feederhouse sprockets replaced, shaker arm broken mid season replaced, bubble up auger replaced, bubble up auger tube replaced. Bearings in the top and bottom of both clean grain and tailings elevator housing replaced. Shaker drive bearings and flanges replaced, found to be rough after shaker arm broke. Unloading auger gearcase bearings on the horizontal and vertical shafts, also replaced vertical drive shaft coming out of gearcase. Replaced broken threshing element. Replaced hydro pump, motor, reservoir, and cooler. Replaced header lift valve very expensive $1500, if the feederhouse settles overnight needs a new one no repairing it. The one your looking at may or may not have this valve there is a serial number break. Batteries and alternator. Various pulleys on the clean grain elevator that sounded rough. Mine has the extended wear unloading system so the augers are still looking pretty good in it.
The disapointing thing about this one is I expected it to last longer before it needed these repairs and the parts do cost more for it. I don't mean to scare you away from it, I still think I made the right choice in moving up. As fas as other models go I think the 05 through 07 60's are probably the best bang for the buck when looking at all the sts out there right now. They have most of the features and updates and a cheaper price than the 70' series.
Devin | |
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9660 STS
