Folding ROPS on JD 3x20

[jba3520]

Has anyone one else had a problem with the pins not coming out or going back in, once extracted, on the folding ROPS on the 3x20 series tractors? I had to use a hammer and rod to pound out the pins and now cannot get them both back in.

 

[Woody_NH]

Yes, that is the way they come. While each individual hole is 3/4 inch and the pin will pass easily through any one hole, the overall alignment is not exact enough to easily slide a pin through all four holes.

I bought a 3/4" drill bit, hammered one pin in for overall alignment, then drilled through the 2nd side with the bit. This shaved off just enough material so the pin easily slides through. With the pin in 2nd hole, I drove the 1st pin out and then ran the bit through that side. Now both pins slide through easily by hand.

Use safety glasses and run the drill on low speed.

 

[jba3520]

Thanks, I kind of figured I would have to do something like that to remedy the situation, I am just surprised to here that this is normal.

 

[HuskerInVA]

Mine are like that too. I'll have to try the drill as well. I was hoping that the standard 'hammer' method would eventually loosen things up but it hasn't.

 

[Woody_NH]

The dealer told me that the pins are hard to drive out on all they get. He also told me that they would "wear in" in time. Given how hard they were to drive out and the amount of material removed by the bit, the wear in would have taken more that my lifetime.

Overall this is a bad design; they should have drilled the holes after the two parts of the ROPS were "assembled". It is a safety hazard to deliver a folding ROPS that is very difficult to put back up. Safety devices should be easy to use.