Flail Mower Caroni Flail Roller Bearings

greg_g · Jul 8, 2012

A little off-season modification might extend the life of that mower. The existing design is flawed. On higher end flails, the stubs are integral to the roller. The bearing assemblies then get tapped onto the stubs, dirt seal facing the roller. Once seated, they're held in place with spring clips. End caps then seated on the installed bearings. Mine seated easily with a block of wood and a little tapping with a 3 pound hammer. Then the completed roller assembly gets bolted back onto the mower frame. No slop in that design.

//greg//

joemd11 · Jul 8, 2012

I don't want to hijack this thread from sunspot. I think my mower is ok for the rest of the season. The way the roller is mounted on these Caroni flails is not very robust. I'll tinker with it over the winter. I hope sunspot posts with the progress he has made with his repairs.

sunspot · Jul 10, 2012

I could not crack the bearing race with a cold chisel and hammer. I even tried heating up the piece.
I finally used a diamond drill and that worked.

Now to tackle the outer race in the roller ends.

I might try a cutting torch.

joemd11 · Jul 11, 2012

Dana, was that race frozen to one of the axle stubs? Looks like that was a pain to get off. Do you have to buy the replacement bearings from Caroni or can you get them elsewhere ?

Joe

leonz · Jul 11, 2012

All Bearings are metric and you can buy replacement bearings at any well stocked
auto repair or bearing reseller-purchasing them at KAMAN Bearing will get you a bearing
faster as they have a huge local inventory.

sunspot · Jul 11, 2012

joemd11 said:
Dana, was that race frozen to one of the axle stubs? Looks like that was a pain to get off. Do you have to buy the replacement bearings from Caroni or can you get them elsewhere ?Joe

Joe, the race was not frozen but it was what I call a press fit. The diamond drilling took about 30 minutes on a drill press. I'll probably order the parts from Agri.

joemd11 · Jul 11, 2012

Dana,
I'm eager to see how this goes back together with the new parts. Please keep us posted. I've got a few questions but will hold them until your finished. I don't want to pester you with a lot of mundane questions. I think I may have done something to tweak the roller mounts on my flail. One side may be splayed outwards and this is what is causing the side-to-side slop in the roller.

sunspot · Jul 12, 2012

Hi Joe

Ask away. There may be a time setback for fixing my flail. My torch failed and has been sent out for repair. Also I have been IM'img with Leon who has been in touch with Agri about the bearing issues.

The roller support on my setup is straight and true. I believe they cost $55 each at Agri.

8404 · Jul 12, 2012

8404 said:
View attachment 272263 View attachment 272264must be something in the air. Mine did the same thing and my mower is only a year old. I added grease every time i mowed and it still failed but i think the problem is because i mow in wet conditions in the spring time and moisture and grit is getting into my berrings especially on the offset side that i use to cut the lowest part of diches with.
Im going to be going a differant rout on the repair this time im going to remove the roller and replace it with two bush hog tail wheels. ive been thinking about this for some time. with the roller out of the way it will cut going backwards too and the roller wont interfear with the discharge of tall grass as much either. anyway ive always ended up modifiying my mowers for better or for worst.

Ok so here is my fix for my roller problems i just finished it and mowed with it and it perfect at least for now. It acually has a rear dishcharge now and will cut going backwards. and when i cross gravel or asphalt its quiet rather than the rumble of the steel roller crushing gravel. past experiance with bush hog wheels makes me think it will be a while till i have any problems again.