Fritz Maurer
Well-known Member
Changing all the washers and spacers to fix the sloppiness on my adjustable depth press wheels wasn't going to work. The slot on the wheel bracket was beat out and there was no easy way to fix it. I made my press wheel assembly rigid, yet still adjustable. First, remove the factory spacers and washers. You will need a 1/2" lug nut, a 3/8" grade 8 bolt about 1-1/2 to 2" long, an all-metal lock nut and two 3/8" fender washers per row. Position the lug nut on the bolt so the tapered end enters the worn-out slot of the press wheel bracket. The fender washers are used between the press wheel bracket and the disk opener frame to align the press wheel to follow centrally behind the disk openers. Tighten the nut and pull the tapered lug nut into the slot of the press wheel bracket. If the slot is really bad, the whole lug nut will pull into the slot. That's OK , just keep going till it's tight. But before you do all this, set the depth handle at the number you want before you tighten it up. Run it for a couple acres and recheck the bolt torque. When you want to change depth, just loosen the bolt and tap the bracket with a hammer to loosen the lug nut, and make the depth adjustment in the normal manner. You will find this takes no longer than unjamming, lubricating, and fiddling with the original system when it became packed with dirt. With the drill properly leveled, and openers resting on a hard surface, measure the distance that the press wheel is off the ground, i.e. the planting depth. This is because the numbers on the depth selector may no longer match the depth stated in the owner's manual, as a result of this repair and/or worn openers.
