Swisher 52" Trail Mower Broken Shaft/Bearing (photos)

couragealways · Jul 1, 2014

So, I was hauling this 52" Swisher Trail Mower behind a Polaris Razor to mow a field. All of a sudden there was this metallic scraping sound so I immediately disengaged the mower and shut it off.
In the bottom-right photo, you can see that the pulley began to grind into the metal of the mower deck. There were grinding marks like this at each of the four corners.
I'm trying to troubleshoot this so I can fix it, so I'd like to hear if you think that it's just a bearing that went bad or if the shaft got bent.
Any tips for disassembling the shaft would also be greatly appreciated!
Let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks for your help!
-Andrew

boggen · Jul 2, 2014

you might want to drain oil out of the engine before hand. so the oil does not leak out, but more so, the oil does not leak back into the pistons or out the muffler. ((remember you will be tipping this baby most likely on its side if not upside down possibly.

drain the gas out of the engine if you think you will need to flip things on its side or upside down.

get the air compressor out, and give it a good cleaning, flip the unit up on its side, and clean the bottom of the deck out. (flat head screw driver, paint scrapper, push style razor blade) to get all the dried on crusted on old grass off the deck. possibly a wire brush on bottom side of it as well.

then start taking things apart to see what is wrong with it.

it could be bearing, could be deck itself cracked, it could be other, no sense trying to guess, till ya get it apart and look at it, to see what is wrong with it.

couragealways · Jul 2, 2014

@boggen
Thanks for replying and leaving the tips!

Stimw · Jul 2, 2014

Looks like the top bearing failed and the whole shaft is dropping down and probably wobbling.
Remove the nut on top, the bolt on the bottom and see if it will come apart.

Coyote machine · Jul 2, 2014

Probably a spindle bearing at top near the pulley. Remove pulley top nut and inspect, then remove remaining bolts under deck, after disconnecting spark plug and draining oil; if deck needs to be tipped, as stated.
Owner's manual probably online if needed.