Finish mower spindle bearings

[tmajor]

I bought a used King Kutter, 6' finish mower. I knew the right spindle was worn and would need to be repaired or replaced. While "bearing and seal kits" are available, I went for the new spindle assembly. Thereafter, the center spindle shaft, blade mounting hole stripped out, so I went with another new spindle. In the meantime, I rebuilt one of the spindles.

The mower seemed to get a low pitch whine to it and the pulleys were hot. I ordered a Kevlar belt. When getting ready to install the new belt, I noticed that one of the new spindles had gotten sloppy (with about 10 hours on it). At that point, I installed the rebuilt spindle.

The top rubber bearing seal had popped off of the bearing in the new spindle, so I took a look inside ... I saw no grease and only some black residue. The bottom bearing had, what looked like Vaseline on it, but not much!

One confusing factor is: the shafts have grease fittings, but the bearings are sealed on both sides (ZZ). One person has told me, that "he's seen them with 1 seal or 2 seals". The seller claims, that the manufacturer says to fill the chamber with grease (grease gun), which will help keep it cool. It would seem to me, with a grease fitting available, the inside bearing seal should be removed. But on the other hand, my Woods ZTR has no grease fittings and the bearings have lasted for 15 years or so.

My guess, they are junk bearings, improperly lubricated. What's the best solution ... good bearings with one shield or good bearings with both seals in place?

I'll add: They are fairly hard to maintain with a grease gun, as you can't tell when they are full. Either there isn't enough grease or you blow the rubber seals out. I would lean toward metal seals, in this case. ??

 

[mddorange]

I went through a similar problem with the spindles on my mower deck. The spindles that came originally lasted for 7 years. When one spindle finally went out and I replaced with the same OEM spindle from the same manufacture. It lasted 6 months. Since it only had a 90 day warranty, I had to take the loss and replace it. When I took it apart, I am sure that the bottom bearing never had any grease in it. But with only a 90 day warranty, I was SOL.

 

[Agvg]

Would buy a FAG, SKF or simular quality bearing in 2RS version, no point to grease if you don't have proper sealings able to handle pressure from the grease gun.

 

[tmajor]

I think, that is good advice. I'm going to make a trip to "Bearings & Drives" tomorrow, to see what they come up with.

 

[DJ54]

On a sealed bearing, you can normally feel a little resistance on the grease gun handle, when it's full. You just have to go easy.

 

[Agvg]

What's the point? 2rs should be just fine with the grease that are in them, pop the sealing and they go dead quickly.

 

[Rocky J]

This is what I use to make sure it was greased with out removing the seal.
Amazon.com: Plews 5-37 Grease Injector Needle: Automotive

 

[IchabodCrayne]

Have had similar issues with spindles on newer riding mower. Usually end up replacing all three or more each year.
I have noticed they often have no grease in them when I get them.
I've started "rebuilding" them when I get them now.
Pull apart, remove inner seal from both bearings, drill small weep hole in spindle housing just above where lower bearing sits, reassemble and grease until it squirts from weep hole.
So far so good this year. ��

 

[tmajor]

Pull apart, remove inner seal from both bearings, drill small weep hole in spindle housing just above where lower bearing sits, reassemble and grease until it squirts from weep hole.
So far so good this year. ��

I think, this is a reasonable solution. Most things, which you grease, you can grease until you see the grease coming out, somewhere.

I bought a pair of Nachi, Quest bearings (Japan) with double seals. I'm going to try these, without further grease, upon my next spindle failure. Bearings and Drives seem to feel these were comparable to SKF.

The dealer, who I bought the spindles from was willing to replace the spindle, but I thought, it probably wouldn't be any better than the first.

 

[tmajor]

I don't seem to be having any luck at all with this King Kutter finish mower! I'm sure it worked fine, at some point.

After running the mower for about 1/2 hour tonight, the new Kevlar belt broke. Plus, the new spindles have a little bit of slop in them. I still think, the bearings in the new spindles are junk. When they show a bit more slop, I'll install the spindle with the Nachi bearings.

At one point, I checked the belt tension, which I read somewhere, that it should defect 1/4" with 7-10 pounds applied. Can anyone confirm the proper tension? Does anybody have any further suggestions, as to what the problem(s) might be?