Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[Halftrack]

Did one side of my 918 last year at this time. The bearing box from Motion Industries displays part # 1207 ENT9. That and the seal are in SKF boxes. The seal is labeled 35X62X7 HMSA10. That bearing comes basically dry and when I put it back together, I pulled the zerk and squeezed in some 00 (pourable) grease and replaced the zerk. Filled the area about half way and have not touched it since. Hopefully the seal stays intact and so far so good. The other side is being greased and we will see which fails first.

 

[OhioCowboy]

Halftrack: Thanks for the part numbers, Do you have the 918H? my shaft is 1.25". Yours is 35mm (1.377"). Mine is probably 15 years old. Maybe they changed the roller studs ends and bigger bearings since mine was built? I'll check the O.D. when I get the chance to see if your bearing fits the housing. Thanks again for your help.

 

[Halftrack]

Mine is a 918H 60" but is at another farm so I can't give you a serial #. ID on the shaft bearing is 35 mm and OD is 72 mm. I believe the seal sits on a step inside the bearing cup so it has an OD of 62 mm. Sorry I did not recognize the discrepancy and am glad you did.

View attachment 508520

 

[Halftrack]

Found a 2007 Flailmaster catalog and this is all they show. Makes me wonder if yours has been turned down to 1.25 at some point in time.

 

[aczlan]

Found a 2007 Flailmaster catalog and this is all they show. Makes me wonder if yours has been turned down to 1.25 at some point in time.

View attachment 508521

Perhaps the previous owner had a bearing freeze up and turned​ the end down to be true and round?

Aaron Z

 

[Trails End]

I remember paying about $50 at the Ford dealer about 4 years ago when I last replaced them.

If you still have the invoice from the Ford dealer, it should have the part number of the bearings that you replaced 4 years ago.

 

[OhioCowboy]

Maybe I screwed up. When it blew the bearings this time it had also tapered the shafts. I measured the previous shaft as 1.25" and welded a 78" 1.25" rod through the center of the roller rather than welding stubs on the roller end caps as it came from Ford. Can't believe I misread 35mm as 31.75mm, but knowing all the mistakes I've made in my lifetime, it's not impossible.
So I'll be looking for a Double Row Self-Aligning Ball Bearing - 31.75 mm ID, 72 mm OD, 17 mm Width if that's what happened.
I'll let you know what I find. Always wondered why they had the oil seal anyway since its sealed in the housing the way it is.

 

[OhioCowboy]

Trails End: LOL - not quite that organized. I lose tools in my workshop. Still looking for a pair of reading glasses I was wearing last week.

 

[OhioCowboy]

Wow. Prices sure have jumped up in 10 years. Bearing $57 to $97 (+70%) and side housings up from $257 to $413 (+60%)
The Caroni is starting to look better tonight.

 

[IslandTractor]

I'm not sure if anyone with a Caroni here has put 2000 hrs on it and I don't recall anyone needing to replace bearings either. I do have a vague recollection that someone who was once a Caroni dealer (?Dave in CA) noted that replacing Caroni bearings was a bigger job than on the US manufactured flails. Still, at under $2k plus shipping for a 75" cut, it is hard to beat the Caroni deal.