Spindle replacements for John Deere X380

jlanglois · Saturday at 2:41 PM

I think the noise being created by the 54 inch mower deck on my John Deere X380 is coming from the spindles.
I could also be the blades.

I called the dealer about spindle replacements and they were over $100 each.
I know that they have the sealed bearings in them, so adding grease was a waste of time, but I wondered if replacing bearings would suffice.

The third market spindle replacements are in the $30 to $50 dollar range. Is there a manufacturer that I should look for?

Thanks

beenthere · Saturday at 4:10 PM

If you have access to a press, then it is not a bad job to remove the old and put in new.

With the deck belt off, you may be able to detect which of the spindles has the bad bearing by a grinding sound, if there is one.

Also may be able to feel the spindle after a mowing session and tell by the warmth (heat) which spindle is in need of a bearing or two.

2manyrocks · Saturday at 4:48 PM

If these are aluminum spindles, sometimes it can be difficult to remove the mounting bolts without breaking the spindles due to galvanic corrision of the threads.

PA318Guy · Saturday at 7:03 PM

The old parts site lists an alternate spindle for it: PN# A-B1JD71 You might see if your local dealer can get you a price. I couldn't find it on the shop.deere.com site as available.

2manyrocks · Sunday at 11:44 AM

Although the bearing can be replaced and this may be the most cost effective option, the key to this is getting the spindle off the deck without breaking the aluminum housing. Soaking the bolts with penetrating fluid before hand is a good plan.

Some that have posted comparison videos on youtube apparently have the opinion that the JD OEM spindle assembly is higher known quality than the aftermarket versions whose internal parts can vary. If the mower has many years of service left in it, going with the OEM spindle if needed might still be the better option if those comparison videos are accurate.

arto98607 · Tuesday at 5:08 PM

jlanglois said:
I think the noise being created by the 54 inch mower deck on my John Deere X380 is coming from the spindles.
I could also be the blades.

I called the dealer about spindle replacements and they were over $100 each.
I know that they have the sealed bearings in them, so adding grease was a waste of time, but I wondered if replacing bearings would suffice.

The third market spindle replacements are in the $30 to $50 dollar range. Is there a manufacturer that I should look for?

Thanks

Nothing wrong with OEM spindle price of ~$100 each!

At that price they were probably meant to be replaced once worn out...

Spanner · Tuesday at 6:58 PM

2manyrocks said:
If these are aluminum spindles, sometimes it can be difficult to remove the mounting bolts without breaking the spindles due to galvanic corrision of the threads.

It's easy to knock the spindle out and replace the bearings without removing the housing from the deck

In any case the X380 spindles are the 'new' style with studs and locknuts so they don't have the corrosion problem.
So - You can remove them easily if necessary.

Bearings can have the inner shields removed to allow greasing after replacement.

It's usually the lower bearing which fails due to grass, debris & moisture.
I leave the shields in the upper bearing and only remove the inner shield from the lower bearing.

Few operators can, in my experience, maintain a full housing of grease to ensure new grease reaches the upper bearing. Leaving the shield in that one ensures the OEM grease stays up there.