Kubota RCK60 mower - removing pully

[johnw1]

I had to replace the bearings on the left side of the deck. Removed the shaft with pully and got the lower bearing off. Having a very difficut time trying to get the pulley off. Seems to be some type of key that holds the pully on. In a real bind -- having a big barbecue and need to get the rest of the yard mowed

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
John

 

[zman007007]

Hi John, its possible you may have to heat the pulley with a torch and maybe even use a hydraulic press to get it off. If the top of the shaft is threaded make sure you put the nut back on, flush with the end of the shaft, before pressing to ensure you dont mess up your threads. I have seen some pulleys before stuck on so bad that I had to cut them off with a torch and replace them. You could maybe try some PB blaster 1st and see if that helps. Pete

 

[milkman]

I just rebuilt both outer spindles on my RCK60-21z mower deck and the pulley came off easily after I removed the nut and washers. When you put the pulley back on, be sure and clean the collar on the bottom of the pulley as that is the sealing surface for the top seal. The bearings and shafts were easy to get out also, I pulled the top seal and took it all out the top without removing the bottom lock ring and seal. I also packed grease in the bearings and packed the area between the bearings before I put the bearings and shaft back in the spindle housing. The deck is so quiet now that I can barely hear it running, the mower is quiet enough that I can hear my phone ring in my pocket while I'm mowing. Hope you get it apart and you'll probably be amazed how quiet it is.

 

[canucklehead]

PERFECT THREAD for me ...i hope.... I have 2 Kubota T1560 ride on mowers. One has a 42" deck with 2 blades and sounds normal; bit noisy, but normal.

second mower has 44" deck with 3 blades. as soon as I engage tensioner, it's got a strange noise...I'm guessing pulley/blade spindle bearings. With deck off, i can turn all the pulleys and nothing is seized. Hard to tell if the bearings are badly worn, or if they are only noisy once spinning fast to cut.

The pulleys have a key holding them to spindle/shaft. It is not coming off. I've tried PB Blaster & pry bars, but not moving. Also smacked it with a hammer. Should I use heat???

Should I replace bearings on all 3 pulleys, plus bearings on the main drive belt pulley? what are these like to re&re? Anyone ever get a generic bearing number (so I don't have to pay 10X more from Kubota vs. bearing shop) ?

LAST question.... I noticed the cut is a bit uneven. one edge scalps a bit lower. is this also worn bearing issue, or is there some way to level/plumb the deck & finished cut? My 2 blade deck makes the nicest, even finish cut of any ride on mower I've ever owned.

 

[canucklehead]

I tried using puller and ruined the pulley by bending it. thought maybe I'd be able to straighten it, but I still had to get it free of the key. so I used heat. I pried and the pulley separated into 2 pieces. definitely destroyed now.

How do you get these bearings out of the pulley holder/spindle ? I see they sell a kit with new pulley holder and bearings, all ready to go. That might be the way to go.

the bearings are 6205. Kubota told me they are 6205 2RS $8 each and good quality made in USA.

 

[canucklehead]

I paid $4/per bearing at local hardware store.

has anyone ever done this job? Kubota parts digram shows a bearing cover both upper and lower. I'm not certain if they were on before. Whatever was between spindle and bearing inside the pulley holder is pretty much disintegrated so it's hard to tell. It looks like it could have been some sort of plastic cover. Kubota quoted me $15 each and I'd need 6 (3 upper and 3 lower). This seems whacky since everything else is reasonably priced and this is double the cost of the bearing. And it looks like a $2 piece of plastic. this part is not making sense.

After ruining the first pulley I gave all the others a good shot of PB Blaster, and I also hit them with NitroLube (another snake oil that claims to do it all). Let them sit over night. Mostly, i think I used my brain when I was fresh today. I put the 2 jaw puller on the pulley and put nut on top of spindle. I tightened puller just snug, maybe a bit tighter. Then I smacked the top of the puller hard with a big hammer. Did this a couple of times. Then puller got loose, so I re-attach/snug puller and kept repeating the smack as it slowly lifted pulley off the key/keyway. No damage= proper removal method (I think).

For the spindles, I put nut on again, then smacked nut a few times downward, not too hard, basically tapped out the spindle. Then the pulley bearing holder removal ..... I just hit on the bearing I could see inside and the pulley holder fell off. I had tried prying from inside deck, which also worked but is not correct and more work, plus risk of damaging deck. I'm replacing all the bearings anyways, so hitting top bearing to remove pulley holder works better and no risk of damage to deck.

one other thing: Kubota sells a complete assembly with new spindle, bearings, bearing holder. They call it an optional kit. Cost is $191. Seems steep for $8 worth of bearings. Although I'm still unclear on the "lower cover" and cover parts/purpose.