Riding Mower Spindle Bearing Mod
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- Опубликовано: 13 сен 2024
- This was done on my Husqvarna lawn tractor but would apply to any manufacturer. I replaced the spindles because the bearings were bad. Turns out, the sealed bearings are unable to get grease into them. If your spindle doesn't have a grease fitting (zerk), you can drill and tap a 1/4-20 hole on the opposite side and screw in a fitting from your local auto parts store.
Looking at the comments everyone seems to be super critical but this video helped me as I'm rebuilding some spindles on my snapper zero turn. Mine already have the hole but I wasn't sure which way they came apart and seeing yours come out the blade side I went and with a few hammer strikes got my spindle apart and now I have some bearings on the way. Went from around $300 for spindles to $70 for bearings (probably still too much but I'll take it).
Thank you. Glad it could help.
You can go to any bearing store and they will match the original number with a bearing that they sell for about $7.00 each . You don’t have to buy your bearings from the dealer .
Just to let viewers know, they do make press-in zerk fittings, no need to tap. I'm lucky, I have a lathe. I chucked up spindle housing, and deepened the (blade) side bore to install two bearings on the output end; one open and one with dust seal on outside.
That’s a good idea. Extra support on the blade bearing
Real savvy boss.
Never Seen grease push out outer seals theres enough area grease will squeeze out
question cub cadet 2016 mower 3 rd set of spindles 182 hours on it with zerk fitting and bearings have done it again . I put grease in until it comes out top and bottom . 1 youtuber said take seals off inside of bearings another one said leaves seals on both sides because grease will get inside the seals even with seals there . Zerk fitting is in the bottom of my spindle about half way up it . I already drilled hole for screw and self tapped it to let me see better that grease is all in there and put screw in but i don't want to put it back together until I check this out . First spindle and bearings were also sealed inside and outside . I still kept all the parts to look at . They were under warranty . But I am getting tired of this
good video thanks
Just had a thought. Maybe they should make mower spindles like a push mower engine block, same diameter shaft w/oill slinger, same engine bearings(plain) and seal and fill with 30wt engine oil, seams like the ball bearing and grease thing hasn't worked out too good. Like I said, just a thought😊
What would happen if you installed new spindles, new belt and got the pulley's back on but maybe in the Wrong place? I almost got done cutting my acre and a half and the belt snapped....no idea what happened. The grass was not high and nothing got up under there like branches or anything.....
I’m not sure you can put the pulleys in the wrong places. There are little metal tab retainers that hold the belt from slipping off of the pulleys, I would certainly check to make sure none of those are broken, allowing the belt to drop off and getting tangled up and breaking. Pull up a parts diagram for your model and double check that all the parts are as they should be, including potentially damaged bearings.
Nice video, seen another one showing the grease actually coming out from the bearing. By surprise he didn't even have to take out the plastic dust/debree cover either. He did do the weep hole thing also. So many opinions out there today. Is it a waste of grease? We really don't have a 100% guarantee unless we have a transparent model of the spindle/housing in action. The main goal is keeping the grease to both bearings. So what do you think?
Sealed bearings are just that, sealed. Grease can not flow easily into the bearing. Of course if you pump the grease in under high pressure, it will push past the seals. The goal here is as the grease warms up, it takes on a more “liquid” like state and will coat the bearings but is not under pressure so it can not push past the seals. Grease, like water air and electricity will always find the path of least resistance and if you open a weep hole, The pressure will push the grease out that hole before it ever goes into the seals on the bearing. This is why the inner seal must be removed.
@@MrPetRooster Thx much for your input. Now are you talking about taking the inner seal from the top and bottom bearing or ? Thx.
@@toddrhine7648 yes sir, just the inner seal from each bearing. Removing the outer seal will allow the grease out of the spindle.
@@MrPetRooster OK, I shall try that. So what would be your opinion on why the manufacture didn't remove these inner seals? Thx.
@@toddrhine7648 my guess would probably be the same reason there is not a cure for cancer, money. They can sell you more parts if they fail prematurely.
Nice video and great idea.
Thank you and thank you
Thank You
Nice, good vid.
Thank you
This is what I need to do to my 5,000 Gravely Zero Turn mower. That does not have grease zerks
Really bad idea that will hasten the demise of that bearing. You can pump the housing full of grease up to the point that it fills the upper bearing but as soon as it gets hot, that grease will fall away and there is nothing to keep it in contact. No you are running a dry bearing almost as soon as you start using it. Why do you think Huskvarna used a double sealed bearing up there in the first place?
Where does it go? The grease will certainly soften as it gets hot. Even if it went to liquid, it’s full, where will it go? I understand your reasoning. I’ve used this mower for 2 seasons after this mod with nary an issue. Of course I regrease the spindles at the beginning of each season along with all the other maintenance. Appreciate your comment. For me, so far so good!
@@MrPetRooster The fact that you are able to add grease is an absolute positive indication that the grease from the top has gone away. It actually leaks past the seal in the lower bearing.
I’m not sure if you actually watched the video or not but I have a bleed hole that I open up when I add grease. There are no leaks on the bottom of my bearing seals. I’m telling you from experience that this works and works great, but it is certainly up to you to believe whatever you’d like.
This technique IS effective. I do this as well. I think your advice to keep grease in spindle is what’s most important. Spindle manufacturers leave the top bearing sealed bc the average person doesn’t add grease to the spindle until there’s sign of wear. At that point it’s too late. Top bearing gets less abuse than lower bearing and survives several seasons in sealed form. I grease the spindles every other time I mow (2-1/2 acres). Grease finds a way out of spindle housings so if grease isn’t added regularly, an unsealed top bearing is not going to last long. Thanks for video
Just pressure grease into the bearing with the seal in place. ruclips.net/video/7Ke430rf7hM/видео.html
Grease Fitting
This myth needs to stop being promoted. The original drain works fine if you put enough grease in, it does get through the rubber dust/moisture shields.
I've never seen a grease zerk fitting with 1/4-20 threads. A standard thread is 1/8-27 pipe thread.
I have seen sealed bearing run 24 hours a day for decades. If you have bad bearings on mower spindles you probably have other issues. I have a Simplicity with a 48" deck that is 30 years old which I bought new. I have never touched the bearings. I did have to weld up the deck because of rust but the spindles are just fine. I checked the spindles when I welded up the deck and said not thanks those bearings are just fine.
Remember you only run your mower a couple of hours a week in the summer. Very low hours.
I have no idea why they put grease fittings on mower spindles.
"I have seen sealed bearing run 24 hours a day for decades" so it's like your mom working the street corner...
How did you remove the bearings with the inner spacer tube?
The spacer should move enough out of the way to tap the bearing out with a long punch or screwdriver
To much is as bad as not enough ! It was tight when you turned it , that’s a bad thing!
No way to put to much.
The grease will go rigjt tjrough the rubber seals. No pressure release hole needed.
Not advised. The grease could push the seal out of the bearing completely
what size of tap is that?
1/4-20
Wonder why they did that. They must be assuming nobody will grease it and the top bearing won't get grease. Then again when the grease gets hot it's supposed to turn into more of a liquid or so I read one time so that throws my theory out the door.
My guess is that the spindles fail prematurely because :
1. The machine is being used on something that does not even closely resemble a Lawn.
2. The blades are turning ten times faster than they are designed for.
3. The belt tension is wrong.
4. It is a machine designed for homeowners being used by lawn care professional wannabes.
5. The blades are out of balance.
6. The machine is not suitable for the area that you are mowing.
You may be right on most of those.
Bearings need grease. The small amount that is in a bearing from the factory will be gone in no time at those high rpms. The spindle housing cavity is meant to be full of grease to prevent them from ever running dry and burning them out prematurely.
"1. The machine is being used on something that does not even closely resemble a Lawn." ... you need to get rid of the field grass somewhow...
Or the garbage that’s being sold is garbage and we should stop buying it.
Hello, we are an Amazon seller, we have a lawn mower spindle bearing, can you cooperate?