Weird wear on 2135 mower deck drive pulley?

   / Weird wear on 2135 mower deck drive pulley? #1  

Jack Vines

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May 23, 2008
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As part of the spring cleaning, I always lube the mower deck and sharpen the blades. This year, I noticed the dual pulley which takes the main drive and transfers it to the deck was loose. Closer examination showed the top ball bearing OD was .100" loose in the pulley housing. I've never seen a ball bearing get loose and wear the OD that much. I made a shim to take up the loose fit, but WIGO there?

jack vines
 
   / Weird wear on 2135 mower deck drive pulley? #2  
Most likely the bearing isn't that tight of a fit in the housing, and when the bearings get hot, it seizes and then you are spinning the bearing in the housing. Probably will have to replace the pulley that bearings runs in.
 
   / Weird wear on 2135 mower deck drive pulley? #3  
Most likely the bearing isn't that tight of a fit in the housing, and when the bearings get hot, it seizes and then you are spinning the bearing in the housing. Probably will have to replace the pulley that bearings runs in.

:thumbsup:
 
   / Weird wear on 2135 mower deck drive pulley?
  • Thread Starter
#4  
Guess I haven't looked in the right places, but I've never seen a ball bearing get hot enough to seize and spin in the press-fit housing, but then still turn smoothly when cold. Usually, if they've gotten hot enough to seize, they turn like they're full of rocks.

Probably should have replaced the pulley, but I enjoy at least trying to fix the old one. I found a piece of steel tubing, cut a length and made a spacer to fill the worn space. I'll have to tool-post-grind it to exact ID press fit, but should work for a while.

FWIW, the bearings are dirt-common 6203-2RS. I found a pair of new-in-box SKF bearings in a box of Saab parts. Wish I could remember which part of which Saab I bought them for.

jack vines
 
   / Weird wear on 2135 mower deck drive pulley?
  • Thread Starter
#5  
FWIW, the double pulley, without bearings and snap rings , Cub Cadet/Yardman/Troybilt/MTD 756-3113, is $80 from the dealer and the Chicom knockoff is $28 on ebay.

I'm finishing the insert shim and installing $10 worth of new bearings today. It'll take a few weeks to see how the shadetree fix holds.

While looking over the assembled deck, I note the double pulley doesn't sit level with the drive belt. It seems to tip forward. I disassembled the mounting and there's nothing obviously bent on the bracket arm onto which the pulley mouts or the deck where the bolt hold it all together.

I'm wondering if trying to bend the bracket arm to align the pulley might be trading a headache for a stomachache?

jack vines
 
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   / Weird wear on 2135 mower deck drive pulley?
  • Thread Starter
#6  
Actually, the Chicom knockoff dual deck drive pulley was $45 with shipping. I found another genuine Cub part on ebay for $67 with shipping, so ordered that as a backup. They come without snap rings or bearings and one mentions "without grease fitting". Mine had two sealed bearings and no grease fitting. Were some greaseable?

jack vines
 
   / Weird wear on 2135 mower deck drive pulley?
  • Thread Starter
#7  
Through two sessions of hard use the shimming of the old pulley bearing bore has held.

I just got e-mail confirmation the new pulley is on the way. I didn't want to chance the mower being laid up when grass is growing the fastest.

jack vines
 
   / Weird wear on 2135 mower deck drive pulley?
  • Thread Starter
#8  
Received the new pulley, removed the snap rings from the original, installed them in the new pulley, along with new bearings. I'm used to automotive and general machine practices, where the outer race of a bearing is a light drive fit in the bore. These just drop in. There's nothing holding the outer ball bearing race from turning in the pulley bore. I now wish I'd used red Loctite to secure the outer race.

In any case, it's working and is noticeably smoother and quieter than the old unit.

jack vines
 
 
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