Thought I'd share what I have done so far. I bought one pair of opener discs (part no. 603020R92) from the Case-IH dealer and one pair from Shoup (part nos. GD6031 & GD6032) for comparison. I agree whole-heartedly with MN Scott that the Shoup openers are very good quality and I think they are much better than the Case-IH openers. The Case-IH openers cost about one dollar more. I will be using the Shoup openers for any that need replacing from now on!
The reason for the right and left Shoup openers is for the left and right hand threaded bolts that come with the openers. The discs themselves are both the same.
The Shoup discs are .124" thick vs. .082" for Case-IH. The Shoup discs have a larger 204 series bearing vs. a 203 series bearing for the Case-IH. The Shoup bearings are sealed both sides whereas the Case_IH are sealed on one side and they have a rubber washer/seal (for an additonal dollar) that you need to buy in addition to the openers. The Shoup openers come with a bolt and dust cover. The Case-IH openers are just the disc and bearing assembly only. On the Shoup discs the bolt is a hex head and it is on the outside of the dust cover which makes it a lot easier to take on and off (you don't have to pry the dust covers off). Also, you can use a socket on the bolts whereas the Case-IH bolt just has two flats on it. Some might argue that the Case-IH bolt is better as it is a shoulder bolt and the Shoup bolt is just a standard hex head bolt, but I don't really see any disadvantage to that, plus the Case-IH bolt shoulder size is 11/16 which is an uncommon size for the lock washer that goes on it (I could not find them at local hardware stores although the dealer had them for a little over $4.00 a piece).
Finally, the quality is much better on the Shoup discs. They have a very nice paint job on them. The brand new Case-IH discs have rust spots on them!
If anyone changes to the Shoup discs, I'd recommend saving all the orginal hardware in case you ever decided to go back to the original equipment discs as the special bolts are probably quite expensive (just the lock washer for the bolt was over $4.00).
While working on the openers, I noticed that the hole in the bracket for the scraper assembly bolt (carriage bolt) is worn quite a bit. So much that it won't hold the carriage bolt from turning to adjust the spring tension on the scrapers. Has anyone else encountered this problem?
The reason for the right and left Shoup openers is for the left and right hand threaded bolts that come with the openers. The discs themselves are both the same.
The Shoup discs are .124" thick vs. .082" for Case-IH. The Shoup discs have a larger 204 series bearing vs. a 203 series bearing for the Case-IH. The Shoup bearings are sealed both sides whereas the Case_IH are sealed on one side and they have a rubber washer/seal (for an additonal dollar) that you need to buy in addition to the openers. The Shoup openers come with a bolt and dust cover. The Case-IH openers are just the disc and bearing assembly only. On the Shoup discs the bolt is a hex head and it is on the outside of the dust cover which makes it a lot easier to take on and off (you don't have to pry the dust covers off). Also, you can use a socket on the bolts whereas the Case-IH bolt just has two flats on it. Some might argue that the Case-IH bolt is better as it is a shoulder bolt and the Shoup bolt is just a standard hex head bolt, but I don't really see any disadvantage to that, plus the Case-IH bolt shoulder size is 11/16 which is an uncommon size for the lock washer that goes on it (I could not find them at local hardware stores although the dealer had them for a little over $4.00 a piece).
Finally, the quality is much better on the Shoup discs. They have a very nice paint job on them. The brand new Case-IH discs have rust spots on them!
If anyone changes to the Shoup discs, I'd recommend saving all the orginal hardware in case you ever decided to go back to the original equipment discs as the special bolts are probably quite expensive (just the lock washer for the bolt was over $4.00).
While working on the openers, I noticed that the hole in the bracket for the scraper assembly bolt (carriage bolt) is worn quite a bit. So much that it won't hold the carriage bolt from turning to adjust the spring tension on the scrapers. Has anyone else encountered this problem?
