"My Massey Ferguson 550 combine was a headache to operate in muddy conditions. Mud would build up next to the transmission shift lever, making it almost impossible to shift gears," says Jerry Kroll, Montague, Mich., who solved the problem by extending the left side of the front axle 10 in. to get the tire out away from the transmission, allowing mud to fall to the ground instead of packing in around the shift lever.

Kroll also replaced the combine's original 16-in. rear wheels with 24-in. drive wheels salvaged from a junked-out Massey 35 combine.

"The larger wheels raise the back end up about 10 in. and keep it rolling in muddy conditions. It now works like a different machine and goes through three times as much mud with no problems."

Kroll used 1/2-in. steel plate along with pieces of 4 and 6-in. sq. steel tubing to extend the front axle, then bolted the final drive onto the extension. He also extended the left side of the rear axle 10 in. and extended the right side 6 in. He lengthened the steering tie rod by welding a 16-in. long pipe into the middle of it and moved the steering cylinder 10 in. to left.

The original rear wheels had a 6-bolt pattern while the new wheels have an 8-bolt pattern. Kroll solved the problem by bolting the hubs from a junked out Massey Ferguson 750 combine onto the new wheels.