Mace Canute
Elite Member
Umm...no. There is a huge amount of empty space in most mower spindles that would have to be filled up first before any grease made it to the bearings let alone into the bearings.
Finish mower spindle bearings
- Thread starter tmajor
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Umm...no. There is a huge amount of empty space in most mower spindles that would have to be filled up first before any grease made it to the bearings let alone into the bearings.
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tmajor
Platinum Member
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- Oct 9, 2007
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- 686
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- NE PA
- Tractor
- 2010 MF 1529, Woods ZTR MZ1952, National Mower sickle bar circa 1963
There are a few things, which I've learned. One of the sets of bearings, in the replacement spindles, which I installed and greased (60 pumps), had the bearings full of the grease, which I pumped in. Yet, it was starting to fail! .... This tells me, "that the seals weren't 'sealing good'" and lack of grease wasn't a factor.
Of the bearings, which came with the replacement spindles, they had F&D bearings, which seem to have been made in China, with seals on both sides. Of the "rebuild kit", which I bought, there was no name of manufacturer on the bearings. The bearings in this kit were sealed on one side only. All of these bearings failed prematurely! This, throws up a red flag on China made bearings, to me. I was offered a replacement spindle, but could see no benefit, if the spindle had the same quality bearings, as the original replacement spindle.
Of the bearings, which came with the replacement spindles, they had F&D bearings, which seem to have been made in China, with seals on both sides. Of the "rebuild kit", which I bought, there was no name of manufacturer on the bearings. The bearings in this kit were sealed on one side only. All of these bearings failed prematurely! This, throws up a red flag on China made bearings, to me. I was offered a replacement spindle, but could see no benefit, if the spindle had the same quality bearings, as the original replacement spindle.
I went through this belt tension issue with a used 84" Land Pride RFM. What I could find was 1/64" deflection for every inch of span between pulleys with 7 to 10 lbs. | Plant Engineering
In my case that worked out close enough to 1/2" of deflection and I shot for 7 lbs of pressure. That seems to be just fine so far this summer after 29.6 hours of mowing.
....and some additional sound advice on greasing rolling elements can be found at Bearing Lubrication - Resources And Advice
Last edited:
KennyG
Super Member
I have replaced spindles on several mowers, and they all had zerks and appeared to have sealed bearings. My understanding is that keeping the housing full of grease keeps water and dirt out of the bearing if (when?) the seals fail as well as cooling the bearing.
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tmajor
Platinum Member
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- Oct 9, 2007
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- 686
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- NE PA
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- 2010 MF 1529, Woods ZTR MZ1952, National Mower sickle bar circa 1963
Follow-up on finish mower/bearings:
I had replaced the factory bearings with Nachi bearings. In between torrential rains, managed to mow for short test periods. In the last 2 days, I mowed about 3 acres without incident. The spindle bearings are as tight as new. I did not apply any additional grease, as the new bearings were sealed on both sides. The pulleys continue to run hot to the touch.
According to the spindle supplier, the spindles are supposed to have Timken bearings installed from the factory. My spindles had "F&D" bearings, which seem to be made in China. The supplier told me, the company, which they were made for, had even sent a large quantity of Timken bearings to the manufacturer, to be used in these spindles. Also, he told me, "no one else has had a problem". ??
I had replaced the factory bearings with Nachi bearings. In between torrential rains, managed to mow for short test periods. In the last 2 days, I mowed about 3 acres without incident. The spindle bearings are as tight as new. I did not apply any additional grease, as the new bearings were sealed on both sides. The pulleys continue to run hot to the touch.
According to the spindle supplier, the spindles are supposed to have Timken bearings installed from the factory. My spindles had "F&D" bearings, which seem to be made in China. The supplier told me, the company, which they were made for, had even sent a large quantity of Timken bearings to the manufacturer, to be used in these spindles. Also, he told me, "no one else has had a problem". ??
OP
tmajor
Platinum Member
- Joined
- Oct 9, 2007
- Messages
- 686
- Location
- NE PA
- Tractor
- 2010 MF 1529, Woods ZTR MZ1952, National Mower sickle bar circa 1963
Follow-up on finish mower/bearings:
I had replaced the factory bearings with Nachi bearings. In between torrential rains, managed to mow for short test periods. In the last 2 days, I mowed about 3 acres without incident. The spindle bearings are as tight as new. I did not apply any additional grease, as the new bearings were sealed on both sides. The pulleys continue to run hot to the touch.
According to the spindle supplier, the spindles are supposed to have Timken bearings installed from the factory. My spindles had "F&D" bearings, which seem to be made in China. The supplier told me, the company, which they were made for, had even sent a large quantity of Timken bearings to the manufacturer, to be used in these spindles. Also, he told me, "no one else has had a problem". ??
I had replaced the factory bearings with Nachi bearings. In between torrential rains, managed to mow for short test periods. In the last 2 days, I mowed about 3 acres without incident. The spindle bearings are as tight as new. I did not apply any additional grease, as the new bearings were sealed on both sides. The pulleys continue to run hot to the touch.
According to the spindle supplier, the spindles are supposed to have Timken bearings installed from the factory. My spindles had "F&D" bearings, which seem to be made in China. The supplier told me, the company, which they were made for, had even sent a large quantity of Timken bearings to the manufacturer, to be used in these spindles. Also, he told me, "no one else has had a problem". ??
Agvg
Elite Member
Sounds like a fairytale, quite commom to hear the stranges stories, and they admit to nothing, even products with known faults and the internet is full of complaints they has never heard of anything.
Had they ordered quality bearings of a known brand then you would have had it, they did not specify bearings and got toy bearings from the factory.
Had they ordered quality bearings of a known brand then you would have had it, they did not specify bearings and got toy bearings from the factory.
