Gleaner l2 into swather

Have a gleaner L2 in the weeds. Allis 426 diesel with hydrostat. Thinking of stripping it down to make it into a hay swather with possibly a disc mower/conditioner front attachment. Would obviously have to engineer a way to attach it. Probably remount the engine as well. Does this machine have enough hydraulics to make this possible or do I scrap the idea and continue pulling my new holland 495 haybine at 2 mph? Or is there a better hydraulic pump system to use?

By the time you're done dumping money into that project that's doomed to fail anyway, you'll be bankruptfarmer002.

I agree bad idea. If you need more power than finding a
tractor with a bad engine to put the 426 in would be a
much better direction to throw money towards.

why not shut down most of the thrashing parts except the cylinder and install
new guards n knife and use it that way. years ago a neighbor used his old super
92 massy for a mower conditioner.
mainly shut sievs down completely and remove straw chopper

Your combine would have a closed-circuit hydrostatic pump for the propel system but the way a hydro drive works you cannot run multiple independent systems (like the propel and also an
implement drive) off of the same pump. Self-propelled windrowers actually have at least three individual hydrostatic pump/motor systems - one for each wheel motor and at least one, if not
two, for the header drive.

Regardless, if you're wanting to run a disc mower/conditioner with a hydrostat you'd want to have around 7 hydraulic horsepower per foot of cut to have satisfactory performance. (This is
more of a minimum - actual SP windrowers can deliver closer to 12 hp/ft.) This would equate to around 50 gallons per minute at 4000 psi for a 16-ft header. In other words, running a
rotary header takes big flow and big pressure which in turn requires a well-engineered system to function properly and keep cool. Years ago the Hesston windrower ran the rotary header
with a big load-sensing open-circuit pump which would be another option for you but the statement above still holds true.

Hat does not flow through a combine very well. Alfalfa is tough green and sticky plugs up everywhere. Tried that one time with a Gleaner E would not work well. Our hay mower conditioner was down so thought maybe we could get by for a day or 2 till the parts got in. din't make one round and back to the shed with the combine.

With a Gleaner just open the rock door and use the grain head. Knew a guy that did it all the time.

The only way it would make financial sense is if you have everything to complete the project on hand, or know where you can get everything for far less than fair market value. If you had to go out and buy everything you need, that's going to cost way more than finding a good upgrade to your 492.

....you could do it....remove the cylinder
completly and open fully the bottom of the
concave housing. Block flow of material
from going any further but out the bottom
of the housing
Use a series three flex head to get a low
enough cut.
Mounting a conditioner and drives would be
a big challenge, as would replacing the
flex head with a disc mower and associated
drives, and at a big cost....I agree with
rrlund.

Ben

Should you complete the project I see nothing but endless frustration ahead. Most likely too much material at any one time to
count on it dropping out of the stone trap. I say this as someone who has experience with L and L2 combines.

I have thought about this myself except I wanted to
use a IH 201 that was for sale nearby. I spoke to
our local dealer and he said that a 201 would only
work for dry hay under certain conditions; its
intended use was for hay silage that was to be
picked up out of a windrow. If the hay was too
heavy it would take too long to dry down in a timely
fashion for baling; the 201 has no provision for
dropping hay wide. From what I gather of your post,
this is essentially what you are building. You dont
mention if you are chopping or baling. What kind of
crop you are wanting to produce is an important
factor in this project. Without knowing your exact
intentions, I would remove the combine head
completely and attach the haybine of your choice in
its place, then you can power it with the combines
regular header drive. You now have the option to
drop the hay wide or in a windrow, as conditions
warrant. Im guessing you must have a 15 foot head
on that L, I think that is too much green hay to put in
a windrow, unless you have a nice Tedder that can
spread it out. But then, thats another trip over the
field that could be omitted if the hay were dropped
wide and allowed to dry naturally. Like to hear more
details on this project.

Thank you for the replies so far. Just to be clear, my thought is not to use the combine as some are mentioning. My plan would be to completely gut this combine of everything. It would be a cab, frame, engine, wheels. No thrashing parts, no feeder house, no rock door, no concave housing, no auger, no chains, nothing. Brendan-ks, thank you that is the information I was looking for.

If you decide to do it, you'll figure out why new machinery is so
expensive.

Some people have made old combines into smaller but decent self propelled sprayers. Self propelled snow blower also works. Building a swather might work better for small grain than as a hay conditioner.