Belt for 48" deck

[ldabe]

Started work on the mower deck. (Broken coupler and spider.)
Took off the top motor coupler bracket from the mower bracket.
Removed mower coupler (one allen set screw holds it).
Loosened pulley set screws (two allen screws on the pulley).
Drove the spindle shaft down to get coupler off.
Placed lower spindle with blade still attached on a block of wood and lowered deck down, to push spindle back up and hold in place.
Pushed pulley (still on spindle) back down into place and tightened the two allen screws with as much pressure as I could without breaking the allen wrench.
Lifted mower deck up to check to see if there was any "play" in spindle shaft...THERE WAS!
Decided to take spindle completely out to check bearings...good thing I did, the top bearing was completely destroyed, thus the "play" in the shaft. (I replaced both of those bearings on that spindle less than a year ago!)
Also, when I loosened the pulley allen screws, despite all the pressure I thought I put on them to tighten them, I barely had to put any pressure on the allen wrench to untighten.
(Not a good design if you ask me. If those allen screws for the pulley and coupler come loose, the shaft can begin a downward slide with all that vibration.)
So, I now have to stop again to order new bearings.

I am going to try and post some pics, but I am not sure how to do that.
Any help would be appreciated.

 

[woodlandfarms]

simple to post pix.. Make sure the pix are not bigger than 1 meg each... 256K is a good size if you can reduce them a bit. Put them in a folder you can easily find.

When you write a response to this, scroll down, See where it says manage attachment? Click on that, then add a picture by browsing to your folder of pictures and attaching... Very simple...

Carl

 

[SnowRidge]

Here's a great program to resize and/or crop your pics. It's free, too.

IrfanView

 

[ldabe]

simple to post pix.. Make sure the pix are not bigger than 1 meg each... 256K is a good size if you can reduce them a bit. Put them in a folder you can easily find.

When you write a response to this, scroll down, See where it says manage attachment? Click on that, then add a picture by browsing to your folder of pictures and attaching... Very simple...

Carl

No. I don't see where it says "manage attachments".
On the bottom left I see a heading that says "Posting Rules" then under that:
"You may post attachments"
but there is nothing to click or open.
Down further it has:
" code is On"
but again, I don't understand if that is what I am suppose to use.

I am sure it is easy once I find the thing to click or use. I have sent pics through email many times, but I either don't see or don't understand what to use on this forum.

Thanks for your help.

 

[ldabe]

No. I don't see where it says "manage attachments".
On the bottom left I see a heading that says "Posting Rules" then under that:
"You may post attachments"
but there is nothing to click or open.
Down further it has:
" code is On"
but again, I don't understand if that is what I am suppose to use.

I am sure it is easy once I find the thing to click or use. I have sent pics through email many times, but I either don't see or don't understand what to use on this forum.

Thanks for your help.[/QUOTE]

Ahh! Found it (I think)
You have to click on "Go Advance".

Let's see if it works:

 

[ldabe]

And a few more:

 

[ldabe]

Carl thanks for your help, and Snowridge, thanks for the Link.

 

[woodlandfarms]

Great pix. Just for future reference, what method did you use to get the spider off the spindle? Hammer? Gear Puller?

As for everything else, man, that bearing is completely messed.

 

[ponytug]

Looking at the sheared spider, and the trashed bearing, I wonder if you would benefit from a pair of pillow block type bearings, with some built in shock absorbtion and/or a larger spider, if it would fit. After the fact, it is hard to tell if the broken spider ate the bearing, or vice versa, or whether a series of impacts caused them to fail. (Your mower blade looks good which argues for one of the first two, as does your memory of not having hit anything.)

Great pictures! Thanks for posting them and the work flow.

All the best,

Great pix. Just for future reference, what method did you use to get the spider off the spindle? Hammer? Gear Puller?

As for everything else, man, that bearing is completely messed.

 

[Marks481]

So, I now have to stop again to order new bearings.

Are you ordering all the parts from Power-Trac, or sourcing them elsewhere?

 

[ldabe]

Carl,
The spider doesn't attach to the spindle, but goes in between the upper motor coupler, and the lower coupler that is attached to the spindle. The spider is rubber (or plastic) and is for a buffer between the upper and lower couplers.
The coupler on the spindle, I just drove the spindle down with hammer and wood dowel, after loosening the allen screw.
To get the messed up bearing off of the spindle (at least what was left of it) a gear puller would have been nice, but not having one, a vice, hammer and blunt scrap steal to knock it off is what I used.

Tim,
I have been ordering from PT. (If I had time and new where to look or go, I might try and find a different way. But most of the time it just costs me as much money trying to track down another way, or parts somewhere else.)

BUT!

I have now found that the spindle shaft itself is damaged from the bearing. Where the bearing sits, it has caused a groove in the shaft (and has also started wear to a lesser extent on where the lower bearing is).
Keith at PT was going to be gracious and send me the bearings. But with the spindle shaft damage, well, that changes things.
And the company that made that spindle shaft do not make them any more! So a different one will be substituted and is about $150.

I am going to take a few more pics as soon as I can to send to Keith at PT of my mower deck, just to make sure we are on the same page of what I have, and what can be interchangable or not.

 

[J_J]

The price for that spindle is a big rip off. I have replaced many bearings and spindles on my Dixie Chopper. The complete assembly is only $75.00. My shaft is 1 in. The bottom of my spindle is twice the size of the shaft, and takes a 5/8 bolt to keep the blades on. A machinist could probably cut you a shaft using your old shaft as a copy. The bearings can be purchased off the Internet.

Do you know if the bearings are/were sealed bearings? How often did you apply grease?
There are also different manufacturs of those spider couplers .

 

[J_J]

Just for the h*** of it, I did a search for my spindle assembly for the Dixie Chopper on the Internet, and found the complete spindle assembly at $54.00 up to $149, for the same product. Simply amazing.

Just search and you shall find.

One has to be quite knowledge in all things dealing with Power-Trac, or they will take your dolors.

 

[Clarke]

Idabe,

It looks like you are forcing a lot of grease into that spindle. The bearing shown is a sealed bearing and requires no grease. I re-built my 60" deck. Bought the bearings on ebay for 2.99 each. I do not grease the sealed bearings anymore and will replace them every couple of years.

sg

 

[SnowRidge]

Idabe,

It looks like you are forcing a lot of grease into that spindle. The bearing shown is a sealed bearing and requires no grease. I re-built my 60" deck. Bought the bearings on ebay for 2.99 each. I do not grease the sealed bearings anymore and will replace them every couple of years.

sg

IMHO, the best way to grease PT's sealed bearing is very carefully. Once in awhile I pump just enough by hand, never with the air gun, to keep the cavity full to keep moisture out and help transfer heat from the bearings.

 

[ldabe]

Well, I am back at it again, seeing the grass is getting higher and higher.

It is time to attack this mower problem again (actually way over due. I thought I would be able to get to it this winter, but......what was I thinking, I guess I wasn't).

Here is what I sent to Keith at PT:

Keith,

This is Abe from Michigan.

I need to know how much it will cost to get this mower (48' - 3 blade, T3025 / 15211) running again.

I believe it all went bad when the "center spindle bearing" took a crap and allowed spindle to wobble.

This wobbling caused the lower "coupler" to break (which I already purchased a new one from PT) and the
"spider coupler" to break apart also (also purchased a new one from PT).

I think, the right (viewing from front) "pulley" top nut must have loosened also, thus allowing it to wobble
and creating an oblong hole.

The "spindle shaft" (showing currently with a bearing on it toward the bottom, and the inside portion of a bearing
on the top) also looks like it is worn away, or has a groove worn into it about 3/4 the way down the shaft.

And, since this occured last fall, I have misplaced a couple "washers".

So, it looks like these are the parts I need:

1 - Spindle Shaft
1 - Spindle Key
2 - Spindle Bearings (M15068)
2 - Spindle Washers (M15071)
1 - Pulley (outside, not center)

Last fall you faxed me the Center Spindle Assembly pic / parts / description sheet [M880X1] for 48' Mower.
On it, it says there are "4 - 3/8 inch - 16 Elastic Stop Nut" (part # NE037-16) but has an asterisk by it that says "Not Shown".

Am I suppose to have these 4 parts also?

I will send this email with pics, and then give you a call to see that you received it and if parts are
available.

Thanks,
Abe
~~~~~~~~~~
Well, I have the "old" style mower, and no parts availible.
So, I have to buy the "new" complete assemble for the center and the outside spindles!

$249 for all.

I guess it could be worse....and have to buy a whole "new" deck!

 

[ldabe]

Let's try the pics again.

 

[ldabe]

Just wondering....

Would it be hard to find one of those rotary blade mowers, like you see on a golf course, and fabricate it to a quick attach plate.

I have mostly flat ground.

It sure would be nice not to have to worry about the hydro motor, spindles, bearings, etc. just to mow grass.

Any ideas or suggestions?

 

[ldabe]

Like this (pic) but larger.

 

[ldabe]

Or, has anyone any experiance with something like this?