Keeping the firming & closing arm pivots working properly can be a real hassle on the JD 50/60/90 drills. Even after Deere upgraded them circa ’09 to include seals, they still have a habit of packing full of dirt and not taking grease. But with the Aricks bushing kits from Australia, these pivots will run smoothly and you’ll never have to grease them again! The Aricks seals for the firming & closing pivots have a Teflon coating on the seal contact lip and are designed to run dry, unlike a competitor product from USA — and the Aricks kits have an 8-year track record to prove their durability and trouble-free nature. The bushings themselves are fiber-wound Teflon impregnated, and the steel sleeve has a hardened chrome finish, for silky smooth action, and proven to last at least as long as OEM (usually significantly longer). Tolerances are much tighter than a competitive product from USA, which has 2 – 3x as much wiggle of the bushing over the sleeve.
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Aricks main opener pin kit
The main pin & bushings at the front of the opener on the JD 50/60/90 drills (where the arm attaches to the rockshaft) is another wear item, and it’s critical to maintain furrow width. If these get sloppy, the furrow gets narrower and the boot and firming wheel no longer fit, and seed placement is awful. The first time around, simply rotate the pin by 180-degrees (loosen the bolt locking it in position; put a pipe wrench on the end of the pin). If this has already been done, and they’ve gotten sloppy again, the next step is to replace pins & bushings. Aricks’ front pin kits have been in the field for 4 yrs, and proven to last at least as long as OEM, sometimes significantly longer. However, the Aricks front pins & bushings are a fraction of the cost of OEM, and with Aussie persnicketiness for quality control. Aricks front pin bushings are steel with a Teflon inner layer, and the pin has a hard chrome finish.