Mowing Mower deck blades reinstall on 48" mower....

[pajoube]

Re: Mower deck blades reinstall on 48\" mower....

Not a bad idea. Going to open mine up this morning to look inside and see that type of build up I have under there. Thinking of using my air compressor with the long extension air nozzel.
PJ

 

[MossRoad]

Re: Mower deck blades reinstall on 48\" mower....

I opened mine up for the first time last week. It wasn't too bad. Lots of dry grass. I cleaned it all out and wanted to see where all that grease goes when I lube it up. There was a large blob on the inside of the right(operator's viewpoint), front side, but other than that it apparently vanished. So I lubed it up and some grease came out of the spindle above and below the deck after about 15-25 pumps, depending on the spindle. Man, that's a lot of grease. There has to be a better spindle design somewhere. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

Anyhow, I was toying with the idea of removing the grease zerks and running steel tubes up through the deck to a central grease block just for ease of maintenance. However, I am concerned I'll hit something or grass will rapidly build up on the 2-3 inches of tubing that would have to be exposed beneath the deck. So, I'll just keep doing the way all of us do it for now and keep thinking. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[pajoube]

Re: Mower deck blades reinstall on 48\" mower....

Opened mine up just now and found only a little chaff but no real build up after a season of mowing.
I also checked the spindles for grease and saw none so brought out the air grease gun and started pumping. Facing from drivers seat the left spindle did not take much before it started showing. The other two took about 20 trigger pulls before I saw grease. I'm glad I checked as I thought with each mowing and putting in 3 to 4 trigger pulls was enough. It will be enough now as all three are full. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
PJ

 

[MossRoad]

Re: Mower deck blades reinstall on 48\" mower....

I put an honest 10-12 pumps in each 8 hours and apparently that wasn't enough. I can't imagine where it all goes. Like I've mentioned before, my late 60s Simplicity has sealed bearings and still works like it did new. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

Any bearing experts out there care to enlighten me on bearing technology, as I don't get it! /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[pajoube]

Re: Mower deck blades reinstall on 48\" mower....

Unless with the high RPM's it flys out. Or, as it is a very high temp area it liquifies to some degree.
PJ

 

[Bob999]

Re: Mower deck blades reinstall on 48\" mower....

I am not a bearing expert but it may be of interest that the maintenance literature that came with my 62" Toro ZTR said that a leading cause of spindle bearing failure is OVERGREASING. The maintenance instructions are to limit greasing to once every 8 hours of operation.

 

[stray]

Re: Mower deck blades reinstall on 48\" mower....

I asked this question earlier and i know you all can help me out with this. I have a question. On the center pulley of my 48 inch mower it only has a bolt in it. There is no cup or flat u shape bracket as the two outside ones have. I bought my 422 used and am wondering if may be it has been removed?

 

[DHS]

Re: Mower deck blades reinstall on 48\" mower....

I bought my 422 two years ago and greased the mower about five strokes per bearing initially and then a couple of strokes every time I mowed. That was not enough grease. I replaced the front bearing and spindle within six months because it was noisy and grooves were worn in the spindle. Now I give each bearing about seven strokes after each use. I don't know where it goes. The spindles and bearings are tight and spin freely.

 

[J_J]

Re: Mower deck blades reinstall on 48\" mower....

I agree with you on the over greasing. Most people don't know what kind of bearing that is in the spindles. If the spindle has a sealed bearing, it will not take any grease until the rubber or steel seal is worn out, then it's almost to late. A short cut to this situation is to remove the inner seal so that it will take grease when you apply it. I have had some sealed bearings to last several years.

Heat is the cause of most bearing failures. When that spindle full of grease heats up, and it will, the grease will expand, become liquid, and be forced out. It usually expands out the bottom due to gravity.

The belts also generate a lot of heat and some is transferred from pulley to spindle. If you touch the pulley after a good cutting, you might get a blister.

I don't think the brush cutter turns as fast as the finish mowers, and therefore probably does not get as hot. The bearings should therefore last much longer.

 

[MuncyBob]

Re: Mower deck blades reinstall on 48\" mower....

Checked my pulleys...all seem to be attched by a bolt and a flat washer. Do not see any cupped washers under there. I plan to use some lock tight soon on the bolts as I did have one come loose the 2nd time I was cutting(but I suspect it was not tight enough from the factory as I've not had a problem since with apprx. 35hrs of mowing).