Bx 60" deck

[redharley]

My bx 2230 with 60" mid mower has started making more nosie from deck than it should. I've own both since new now have 1200 hrs on tractor. Spindle bearings do not seem to have any play in them but I'm thinking nosie is coming from them. Wandering if anyone has found bad bearings but had no visible sign of failure before disassembled.

 

[JWR]

Take off your two sheet metal belt covers. Run the mower deck at normal operating rpm (which is wide open.) Do you see the belt flapping in/out a lot? Could be tension not enough on the belt or maybe worn out belt ? I think mine makes a lot of extra noise from that belt flapping. I've run 4 different decks on that type machine (2 B2150s and 2 BX2200s) which all operate about the same. No, I've never had a bearing go out so far but I do not have any decks with more than 800 hours.

Any better description of the noise? Tried putting pressure on various (non moving) points with a wooden handle or something safe to see if you can affect the noise?

 

[Grandad4]

I had same tractor, only with 54" deck. What is condition of the blades? Are they properly tightened to the spindles? Does the gearbox have oil? Have you ever replaced the belt?

 

[RickB]

Remove the belt and turn each spindle by hand. Noisy, rough bearings will be apparent. How often do you grease the spindles? Does the gearbox have oil in it? Has that oil ever been changed?

 

[JWR]

I had same tractor, only with 54" deck. What is condition of the blades? Are they properly tightened to the spindles? Does the gearbox have oil? Have you ever replaced the belt?

That triggers another thought: jack it up and get a good look at those blades. If you lost a chunk out of one the imbalance could create vibration and thus more noise. Did you hit anything before noticing the notice? As RickB suggests grab hold of those blades and try to shake them laterally (which would expose spindle issues) and rotating them (would expose bearing issues.)

 

[rademamj1]

Even a bent blade would create serious vibrations and noise. A quick visual of the blades would confirm if any blades are bent from hitting something. Jack it up high enough to look with a flashlight and see if any blades are damaged.

 

[Henro]

Take off your two sheet metal belt covers. Run the mower deck at normal operating rpm (which is wide open.)

Any better description of the noise? Tried putting pressure on various (non moving) points with a wooden handle or something safe to see if you can affect the noise?

AND pay attention to where your feet are at all times if you do this. The wooden handle will save your fingers…but not your toes.

 

[4570Man]

99 percent chance it’s bad bearings somewhere. Take the belt off and spin everything by hand and it should be apparent what’s making noise.

 

[DB Pilot]

My 2001 BX2200 did the same thing about 11 years ago. Probably had 1000 hrs on it at that time. While everything felt tight, when I took the belt off and loosened the top bolt on the main arbor I found the hex shaped pulley on each side spindle to be enlarged. Also the arbors themselves were rounded off. My Kubota dealer had all parts for a rebuild in stock. New arbors, bearings, grease seals and top bolt, leaving the spacers you will find as is. I have never changed the center spindle as it looks much harder to do but the noise disappeared and everything has been running well for years now.

 

[redharley]

Thanks for your thoughts. Deck is off now standing on storage wheels. No play anywhere. Will remove belt next and check individual components next. Deck has been serviced regular by myself since new. Gear box is full and oil was changed several times thru its use.

 

[JWR]

Thanks for your thoughts. Deck is off now standing on storage wheels. No play anywhere. Will remove belt next and check individual components next. Deck has been serviced regular by myself since new. Gear box is full and oil was changed several times thru its use.

Have you checked the mid PTO shaft for lateral wiggle ? The U-joints with the drive shaft ? Again any better description of the noise ? Did it suddenly change or just slipped into getting your attention? Depending ... maybe there is nothing wrong ?

 

[redharley]

Joints and shaft appear ok. Shafts Not loose joints are free and not binding. To describe noise better i would say bearing noise. But have yet to find the culprit with out further disassembly. When deer season gets over will continue, maybe once belt is off something will have play.

 

[diesel85]

It is the bearings. Trust me on this.

It's also a very simple procedure and cheap too.

Make sure you keep everything super clean and make sure you align everything correctly with the zerk opening.

 

[NCL4701]

Good advice above. If you follow it and are still having problems isolating the cause, an infrared thermometer aimed at the various bearings while running can be quite helpful in isolating a bad bearing. The good ones will give you a baseline for appropriate temp. A failing bearing will almost always run hotter.