when my grandfather was still driving trucks for a living one night he had a diff failure and it locked the drive on the prime mover he was driving as he went to cross the burrum river bridge.

what happened was a tooth had broken off and jammed the crown wheel and pinion. he had a full semi trailer load of coal for a local sugar mill.

grandad managed to slow her down a bit and steered her across and off the other side of the bridge to the road verge and stop just off the road.
the drive tires were all worn nearly to the rims.

a passing farmer pulled up to help and came back with timber blocks so they could block it up and remove the wheels. and had rung my grandfathers boss jim mcbride to come help.
by the time jim got there with new tires and the oxy torch. the truck was jacked up and my grandfather was pulling the axle shafts.

the shaft splines were so twisted they had almost sheared off so they cut the splines off and put em back in, fitted 8 spare tires and grandad then drove the truck from there with the diff lock engaged all the way to the mill tipped the load drove back across town to the depot, and then he drove home to get a few hrs sleep. he was late getting home by about 4hrs.

he then got up after about 5 hrs and went back to the depot and started pulling the diff apart so they could fix it.
they had the truck working again in 4 days including waiting for parts.
he worked for jim mcbride for 35yrs full time not bad for what was supposed to be a crushing season job.

today most modern machines need a diagnostic computer connected just so you can do a basic service of oil and filter change.
the prime mover dad used to drive didnt even have a dipstick the onboard computer told you if it needed oil.
there is a good thing to the electronics though it saved a blokes life one night, the forward looking radar/adaptive cruise system picked up this fella walking along the fog line wearing dark clothing it alerted dad before he could see him the extra few moments allowed dad to take evasive action.

so heres a tip if you break down dont walk near the fog line particulary in dark clothing at night. at highway speeds you wont be seen till its too late.

TK88: I see some folks straddle the fog line here on a busy interstate to do whatever; Contestants for a Darwin award...AND with driver side door wide open!
Back to the old Hardy machines, most ran off of a pair of 1150 CAT V8 engines, the unit used for propelling the machine turned at low rpms compared to the other for threshing etc., most components turned slowly and we were advised to lube sparingly. Parts were "off the shelf", so you could go just about anywhere to find them, should you ever have a breakdown. In all the seasons I cut rice for the same large operation, I think it was me that only got sidelined, and only because I plugged the feeder house twice. Well built machinery, made to last and easy to work on. JM

its a pity most gear isnt like that anymore they are so packed in to give all the features in a smaller package it makes things hard to repair. we live in a throw away society but that does keep manufacturing going making new things which keeps people employed and the economy going so we can have the things we want.