Ferris is2000s spindle broke

[nancyk]

Why would the top of this spindle break off?

 

[Eagle1]

Looks like just the pulley, but a Rock (or other hard item) getting sucked between belt and pulley can do that on a cast pulley. I've busted one or 2 using a puller to remove.

 

[WinterDeere]

Did the spindle actually fail, causing the pulley damage, or is that just a broken pulley? As Eagle noted, could've been a rock or stick, if just the pulley.

If spindle failed, then most often that's due to insufficient lubrication, or hitting a protruding root or rock. Having said that, I've hit roots hard enough to jar tooth fillings loose, and never damaged a spindle, so... have you been lubing those spindles every 50 hours, as prescribed?

 

[nancyk]

The spindles are lubricated with red grease every 10 hours or so. The spindle does turn freely, so that may mean just the pulley has been compromised. I will call the shop tomorrow.

 

[WinterDeere]

Get the belt off and see if it spins freely. If no wobble, vertical play, or grinding noises, it’s probably fine.

But greasing every 10 hours sounds excessive, unless your manual actually prescribes that. Normal would be 1-2 pumps every 50-100 hours.

 

[nancyk]

My husband was a grease fanatic. Now that I am in charge of maintenance, I attempt to keep an eye on that. The fittings are always wiped off before we grease and just put in grease until we see a bit come out. His motto was: grease is cheaper than a new part.
Ferris manual suggests greasing the deck every 25 hours, more so in dusty or hot conditions.

 

[RjCorazza]

My husband was a grease fanatic. Now that I am in charge of maintenance, I attempt to keep an eye on that. The fittings are always wiped off before we grease and just put in grease until we see a bit come out. His motto was: grease is cheaper than a new part.

Everyone has there own procedures, but on spindles I don't grease until I see grease. I give each one 6 shots from an electric grease gun and call it good every 30-40 hours. All other grease points get grease until I see some push out.
BTW, maintenance conscious people almost always seem to avoid failures due to their selected grease or other lubricant "procedures". I suspect regular greasing is WAY more important than the number of strokes.

 

[WinterDeere]

BTW, maintenance conscious people almost always seem to avoid failures due to their selected grease or other lubricant "procedures". I suspect regular greasing is WAY more important than the number of strokes.

lol... exactly what usually goes through my head when I see guys here arguing about engine oil brands, etc. The fact that you're putting fresh oil in the machine on the prescribed schedule, is 10,000 times more critical than what brand you're using. I've never heard any pro mechanic or OEM ever claim any engine component failure was due to running the wrong brand.

My ZTR spec's spindle lube every 50 hours, and I do about 70 hours of mowing per year. So I give it 2 shots during my winter maintenance, and another 2 shots sometime mid-season, averaging 35 hours per lube cycle. But for many years, I only did it once per season, before I had taken notice that my yearly usage was above the lube hours spec. My mower is 18 years old and has 1200 hours on it, no spindle failures yet.

Now that I think of it, my 1963 Cub Cadet was 50-something years old when I sold it, and still running the original mower deck spindles! They got 2 shots of grease every year, because that machine didn't have an hour meter to tell me how many hours I mowed each year.