Any notorious issues with them (big or small) that I as the buyer should inspect while on my search for one?
Make sure the idgit that owned it before didn't use it as a tillage implement
LOL
What I mean is, too many guys get the idea that they should run the rake too hard down in the dirt trying to pick up every straw or blade of grass off the field, and ruin the rake in the process... running it too low just beats the h3ll out of the tine bar bearings and the one-way clutches on the wheel hubs, and the little U-joints and cross-shaft that connects the two wheels. It can also rag on the driveshaft from the RH wheel up to the gearbox, but it's a little heavier U-joint, but the connection (roll pin or round pin with an R clip) will get awfully sloppy if it's been run too hard like that... Look for bent/broken beat up tines, loose tines, etc. Grab the bars, each in turn, and pull up and down on each end, one by one, to check the bearings for excess runout or bearings that are gone... Grab the bars one by one and try "twisting" them, or grab a tine and push straight backwards and pull forwards on it, and look for looseness or "twist" in the bars that indicates excess bearing slop or shot bar bearings. 256's have single ball bearings in each end of the bar, 258's are a foot wider (8.5 vs. 7.5 foot raking width) and have double ball bearings in each end of the bar. Roll the basket over a few times and feel for binding, listen for bearings squeaking or rumbling or grinding in the bars. Grab the star wheel on either end that the bars are attached to and rock them forward and backward, again to check bearing play/runout. A little is tolerable, but not much. Those are tapered roller bearings and should be good, but it's best to check. Check the gearbox end too, check for grease and the driveshaft yokes and U-joints for excess slop-- some is tolerable but shouldn't be TOO sloppy... grab the wheels and yank the top of them side to side to see if the stub axles and hub bushings have ever been greased or are shot and too much excess play/wore out. Check the stub axle housing wheel bearings that everything is running true and not cockeyed indicating a shot tapered roller bearing, and that the nuts are snug setting the preload on the bearings. Inspect the little cross-shaft U-joints on the driveshaft connecting the two wheels, to make sure the U-joints aren't about to fall apart or are knocked out and hopefully have seen a grease gun once or twice in their life
LOL Check all the pin connections where those U-joints hook to the shafts, twist them back and forth and look for excess slop or egged out pin holes in the stub axles that they pin to. Check the LH hub for excess looseness like the RH one, and make sure the roll pin holding the hub onto the stub axle is present and accounted for (the wheel will fall right off if it isn't LOL, and they can get sloppy over time and start "wandering" around in the hole....
Check the cranks up top and the BELLCRANKS that transition 90 degrees from the spring-loaded pull forward on the leveling cranks to the vertical straps that hold up the basket and set it's height... make sure those aren't shot... if the crank is leaning over in the hole, that's not good... it should be straight and true, but they do wear out over time and they don't provide a grease zerk on those for some reason (at least I've never seen one on there!) The pivot bolts to the frame and it's the part that usually wears out egg shaped and lets the crank flop over sideways, which means the basket won't ride up and down like it should... had to buy one of those on an old rake I bought and I wasn't cheap as I recall...
Other than that, check the tongue and frame... make sure some idgit didn't try to flip the rake up on top of a tractor tire turning too tight... if the guy pulled it with a drawbar on the 2 point, make sure he didn't turn too tight and twist the hitch around, stress or crack it, or the frame where the hitch attaches to it, which can happen (I did it one time as a kid myself-- had to weld it up myself as well!) Other than that, give the leveling cranks a whirl and make sure they're not locked up. If you can, raise the rear wheels one by one or back the thing up with it in gear, and listen for the ratchet clutches in BOTH HUBS to be clicking, indicating that the clutch dogs in them are free and capable of latching into the wheel hubs to drive the rake from BOTH wheels... hubs and clutch dogs can also get REALLY ragged out from a rake that's been run "down in the dirt" too long... and they can get rusty or jam if the rake was rode hard and put up wet. You should hear a distinct "click,click,click" from both of them backing up WITH THE RAKE IN GEAR, which locks the driveshaft to the gearbox, which forces the wheel hubs to turn backwards on the stub axles as the rake is backed up. When the rake is pulled forward, the clutch dogs should "catch" in the hubs and the hub push them to turn the stub axle housings, cross-shaft, and driveshaft to spin the rake basket. Every side-delivery I've ever seen scraped a little or made noise of teeth raking on the stripper bars, but it SHOULD NOT bind or pop or anything like that which indicates something is bent or busted or a shot bearing...
Other than that, not much to go wrong with 'em... sounds like a lot, but really once you know what to look for, you can go over one stem to stern in about five minutes...
Later! OL J R
