Finish mower caster wheels

[Mosey]

Has anyone had their finish mower caster wheels apart? I have a LandPride FDR2572. The manual, which calls the caster wheels "gauge wheels", has a diagram that shows how the wheel is connected to the yoke. Apparently, there are no roller bearings, just a bolt and a "spacer tube". Is that typical? One of the wheels has a fair amount of slop in it now, I can wiggle the top of the wheel left to right about 1/4”. I figured it would be a good winter project to take them all apart, clean, and inspect them. I don't want to wait until the wheel hub starts wearing before I replace the spacer tube. I've only used the mower for 2 summers, so I'm surprised it shows any wear at all already. I've always greased them as often as the book says, actually even more often, and I always keep it dry.

 

[Bird]

Danny, unfortunately, I have the same situation with my Bush Hog finish mower. The wheel hubs show no wear, but the bolts that serve as axles are wearing, and the holes in the yokes are wallowing out (on the rear wheels; front ones are OK). Of course, I know that mine gets some pretty rough use, so I haven't felt like I had a complaint. I'm just going to have to replace those two bolts and do a little welding, grinding, and drilling to make the holes in the yoke the right size again.