Rice Paddy Yanmar RSB1503 shaft bearing replacement

[Ken1945]

Good morning gentlemen, I have one of the 5 FT 1503 rice paddy tillers. It came with a used tractor I purchase and it is well used. I have read in many places these are excellent tillers for leveling and garden use. From an attachment on the rear of this unit it appears this one may have been used as a potato bed maker around the St. Augustine FL. area.

I am doing repairs such as replacing tines, these are well used... at 1/2 inch left on the business end. The new ones are 2 inches on the business end.

I need to replace the tine shaft ball bearing on the right end... right end viewed from the rear of tiller. Bolts came out without to much difficulty after soaking with PB Blaster for 3 days. My question is how is that bearing removed? It appears that I may need some type of inside puller to get it out. I would appreciate any advice and guidance anyone may provide. And does anyone know where I might get a schematic drawing of this tiller?

Any and all advice and guidance is appreciated by this 70 year old buzzard!

Top of the day to all, Ken

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

No expertise here but I want to see pictures!

 

[careyo63]

Yanmar-Fredricks Outdoor,Parts,Tiller and the Dia. is there.

 

[Ken1945]

Thanks fellows... I appreciate the help! I'll post some pictures when it stops raining so I can take them. I'll be sure and show you how thin the tines are and good that used bearing looks in the race. You won't believe it still rotates smoothly. But it is still getting a new ball bearing whether it likes it or not. Ken

 

[Ken1945]

Here are some pictures, all in all I can tell it is well used due to tine wear. The existing tines are 1/2 " to 1/4" on business ends compared to new tines which are almost 3".
- new tine---------old tine-------Bearing cover "note wear hole"--Old bearing r/s--Frt View not--Bed maker attchment
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------bad for well used

You can see why the right bearing has problems...tilled dirt washes by the cover and wears a big hole in it, which lets dirt and water into the bearing. I can make a heavy metal deflector to stop this problem. The wings are tri wings with the two back sets are thinner metal which bends easily. There are adjustable screw rods behind them to adjust the size of the bed.

In IMHO these machines are rugged and do a excellent job of tilling the soil, but as anything that is used parts will wear and need replacing, as you can see with this tiller. I would suggest only 2 to 2.5 inches depth on un-tilled hard packed soil at a time and making several passes in different directions until you get the depth you need. If you have a large heavy disc set and rip the hard pack first it is much simpler and you only need 2 passes with the tiller.

Great tillers, work great and last a long time. Ken

 

[Ken1945]

UPDATE... This applies to the Yanmar rice patty tiller RSB1503 Tiller, but it may also apply to other series yanmar tillers.

For anyone looking to replace the right side, as viewed from rear, main tine shaft bearing... A really good Japanese sealed bearing is available, brand and part numbers are:

Koyo part number is 62082RSC3 XM only additional info on label is UPC 4 549250 158414

Oil seal for this shaft is SKF part number 564113 additional info on label is 40X72X10 HMSA10 RQ

These parts seem to be readily available. My machinist ordered them late on Thursday afternoon and they arrived at 8 am Friday.

The bearing on my tiller had to be cut out with a torch, it would not drive off with a 2 lb shop hammer. It may removable with an air chisel. I didn't try that due to my compressor being down for rebuild.

Hope this helps someone else with the same maintenance issues.

Ken

 

[Ken1945]

I did the overhaul of this old pto driven roto-tiller last fall but did not use it until 3 weeks ago. As you can tell by the last few words in that sentence, I did not get to plant a spring vege garden this spring. Broke my tractor and my body at the same time. I got going again in mid may... fixed the tractor fuel system and used the Yanmar till to rework 2 acres of front lawn. It was getting rough from removing pecan tree stumps and the stump holes were settling. It was getting so rough it was knocking the fillings out of my teeth when trying to mow. I tilled it to about 8 inches deep, leveled it with a weighted chain link fence drag, reseeded it and watering a couple times a day. Grass now starting to grow. I soaked the Bermuda grass seed for five days so it would germinate. You have to change the water every 24 hours when germinating that way. I mixed the wet seed with dry tall fescue seed to get a more even spread.

The real point of this message is... if you get a chance to get one of the old Yanmar tillers, by all means don't hesitate because they are worth it. Be aware you will probably have to replace the tines and the two end shaft bearings. That job is not all that expensive or difficult and these tillers are great for ripping up hard or soft ground. I think my total bill for rebuilding and the old tiller, doing it myself, was about $300 for tines / bearings / shaft U-joint bearing, and $150 for the tiller. Your sure can't buy a 5 foot tiller that does the job for that sum. If you need one, and don't want to spend big bucks for a new one, you don't have to give it a lot of thought, they work great!:cool2::dance1:

 

[Cord]

I'll attest that they work really well. If buying a tiller, it must come with the driveshaft. The input shaft can use a oddball spline that is very difficult to match too. I also wish the tillers were reverse cut. On occasion, the tiller would climb on top of the dirt, drive it's self under the tractor lifting the rear tires. You are now being propelled forward at a very quick rate with no control.

 

[Ken1945]

I've had mine climb on top a couple of times. Tractor takes off like "moody's goose". Wild ride for a spell. I found that lifting the tiller and starting the tractor moving then lowering the tiller stopped that problem on mine. The pto shaft on mine was a little too long and busted one u-joint. I shortened the shaft about one inch and everything worked great. I didn't have any issues with matching the splines on this one.

I put my old tiller through some really hard cement like front lawn, 2 acres of it, and on the first pass it went down 6 inches no problems. I just geared it down and no problems with it about 3 mph. The only time it tried to jump was when it hit a chunk of brick every now and then.

I wouldn't wished that job on a 350 hp deere towing a bat wing disk.