Rear Finish Mower Rhino FM72A (72") finishing mower.

[rmissildine]

I hope someone here can help me with this problem. A couple of weeks ago I was mowing my 10 acre horse pasture when I noticed blue smoke coming from my mower. Thinking a blade had jammed causing a belt to slip. I shut down the tractor and mower to check it out. What I found was that I had lost at least one spindle bearing in the left side spindle.
I knew I could get "some" parts for this mower either to rebuild or replace all three spindles, so, I began to search. Most of the complete mower spindles I found were between $90.00 and $200.00 each, but I couldn't find the one for mine using the rhino part number. So I went to the only place I could find the blades, German Bliss. When I looked up the part number it had a price of around $860.00. So, I was thinking that maybe that was for a set of 3, like the blades. WRONG. When I contacted them I was told that was for one spindle assembly!!!
I went ahead and removed the bad spindle and tore it down and cleaned it up. I was able to find the bearings and seals, regular automotive style made by timken that were very reasonable. I had left the spindle and housing soaking over night and when I got them cleaned this morning, I noticed the housing and lower portion of the shaft had some damage that from the looks of it had been occurring for some time. I can probably get the shaft cleaned up at a machine shop, but I don't know about the housing.
So, my question is, does anyone know of a mower spindle assembly that might act as a replacement? Or should I try and repair the one I have. I would buy all three spindles to keep everything the same.
Thanks for any and all help,
Roger
p.s. If you need any pictures just let me know.

 

[leonz]

Rhino is owned by Alamo or at least I thought it was.

You can contact Rhino through thier web page and get a better answer about your mower.

As old as it is it may be time to look at a Caroni flail mower with a B rotor to replace it as
replacing all three spindles/arbors would equal the cost of a new flail mower.

Caroni also sells rear mounted rotary mowers.

 

[rmissildine]

Rhino is owned by Alamo or at least I thought it was.

You can contact Rhino through thier web page and get a better answer about your mower.

As old as it is it may be time to look at a Caroni flail mower with a B rotor to replace it as
replacing all three spindles/arbors would equal the cost of a new flail mower.

Caroni also sells rear mounted rotary mowers.

You are correct, Alamo Group does own Rhino Ag. It used to be Servis Rhino, then I think Alamo bought them. The only reason I'd like to keep this mower is because it is a heavy duty and up until now has cut like a dream. I am using a Bush Hog brand RTDH 72 now and with new blades the cut isn't quite the same to me. Thanks for the info..

 

[Vigo327]

Can we get pics of the damage? Depending on what kind of damage this is there’s a solid chance id just ignore it. Granted all my experience with damaged shafts and housings is wheel bearings on cars but ive never had one come apart, ever, and if it did it might kill somebody, so i feel pretty confident commenting on a mower spindle.

 

[rmissildine]

Can we get pics of the damage? Depending on what kind of damage this is there’s a solid chance id just ignore it. Granted all my experience with damaged shafts and housings is wheel bearings on cars but ive never had one come apart, ever, and if it did it might kill somebody, so i feel pretty confident commenting on a mower spindle.

Thanks for the reply.
I'll try to get some pictures today and post them. These bearings are actually the same as wheel bearings available at automotive parts stores. I found them listed by all the stores in my area. My only concern is where the spindle meets the inside bearing. It's rolled up a bit from the failure of the old bearing and will not let the spindle fit flush against the new bearing. I know this will cause premature failure of that bearing. As far as the housing goes, also on that same side, there is wear where the seal goes into the housing from the wobble from the spindle which may prevent that seal from seating correctly. I'll get some pictures posted so maybe you can see what I'm talking about.
Thanks again,
Roger

 

[workinonit]

I'm curious why the housing was damaged. Did the bearings wear out that bad? Did the spindle get itself into the housing? I've replaced spindles on my FM but never had to replace a housing. When the bearings start going bad it roars like heck.

 

[rmissildine]

I'm curious why the housing was damaged. Did the bearings wear out that bad? Did the spindle get itself into the housing? I've replaced spindles on my FM but never had to replace a housing. When the bearings start going bad it roars like heck.

workinonit, thanks for the reply and questions. First, yes and no in that order. The lower bearing actually came apart inside the housing allowing the lower part of the spindle, the blade end, to wobble around and damage the inside of the housing where the seal goes and the lower end of the spindle that goes through the seal and seats up against the lower bearing. I took a couple of pictures this morning as requested by Vigo327. The housing is worn to where the seal just slips down to where the damage stops. Maybe you can see it in the pictures. The first one is the lower part of the housing. You can see the groove that the bearing caused where the seal would sit. The second is the spindle showing the metal kinda rolled up that will prevent the spindle from seating squarely against the bearing. When I pulled it all apart the lower bearing cage up to the middle section of the housing.
Any ideas? I'm hoping I can clean up the spindle with a 1/2" belt sander and maybe build up that part of the housing with JB Weld and hone it back into shape to hold the seal. Any thoughts.

 

[Vigo327]

Yowza, i guess you can’t ignore that.

I think getting the bearing race to sit in its proper position on the shaft will be easy, and getting the housing to hold the seal shouldnt be TOO hard, but getting the sealing surface back on the spindle is probably going to require a lathe and a welder, or maybe just a lathe if you find a seal with same od but smaller id.

Its probably going to depend on the machine shop you end up dealing with whether it is cheaper to repair or replace that shaft. Assuming you could find one cheaper than $800. I would guesstimate a machine shop would charge $100-200 but it really depends on the shop..

 

[duffer]

I'm with Vigo on this one. Take the spindle and housing to a machine shop and let them work their magic. I don't think you can ignore it, nor do I think a belt sander and JB weld will do the trick. You'll get much better precision with a machine shop.

 

[workinonit]

Yep, that's a mess. That thing was making a really loud noise for a really long time.