Greasing BX 60" deck. How much? Kinda confused.

[chucky79]

So I spent some time servicing my BX2370's 60" deck the other night and have a question about the volume of grease. When dad taught me how to grease equipment 20 years ago it basically went like this.... Pump a little grease until you see it start to ooze out then stop. Pretty easy, and useful info that has served me well. I noticed on the BX deck though that this isn't the case either because im doing it wrong or some of my grease points were bone dry and seemed to have a 5 gallon reservoir?? The u-joints and deck pivot point both no problems, couple pumps and grease oozed so I stopped. The one on the rear of the deck (that has the arm with spring attached) just wouldn't take any grease no matter how hard I tried to pump the handle so I stopped before I caused problems.. The big question though is the spindles.... I pumped one of them like 10 times and never saw any grease ooze out anywhere so I lifted the deck and checked the bottom to see if it oozed there and the same....no grease. How much grease do you need to put on those spindles? I read somewhere that they are under filled from factory and people have put like 90-100 pumps before grease fill the cup and ran out on bottom. Im ok with doing that I just wanna make sure its correct and im not damaging anything or blowing out some sort of seals (if they exist) on the deck. Give me a little insight here please people...

 

[pmsmechanic]

Here's what I've been taught. Other may have different ideas but this is what works for me.

On a u-joint I grease till all four joints have grease coming out. Then you know the whole joint has fresh grease. On a vehicle I use a waterproof grease. The grease is about three times more money but rear u-joint on my Cummins went from being replaced yearly to once every five years. This is a win as replacing u-joints is not my favourite job.

Ball bearings are a bit different. If you over grease you can push the outside seal off. On a mower spindle I just give three shots and quit since they don't need a whole lot of grease to survive. If I'm greasing a bearing in a pillow block usually one or two shots of grease is lots. The bearing will warm up and push the extra grease out and if you put to much in they can overheat.

 

[chucky79]

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...rck60-24b-bearing-failure-10.html#post4068260

this makes me think they are under filled from factory and at least need an initial good greasing....

 

[kcender]

I only give the spindles one pump of grease each,usually after each mowing.The excess grease is collected in the large cup between the spindle and the blades.I don't think the grease in the cups actually serves any purpose.The cups are there mostly to protect the bottom of the spindle from being damaged.

 

[rick480]

I only give the spindles one pump of grease each,usually after each mowing.The excess grease is collected in the large cup between the spindle and the blades.I don't think the grease in the cups actually serves any purpose.The cups are there mostly to protect the bottom of the spindle from being damaged.

Wow, after each mowing? I service my mower once a year, in the fall when I take it off. No problems yet after 4 years.

 

[J_J]

I posted this awhile back, but here is a copy.

I have replaced many bearings on my Dixie Choppers due to sand and water. The spindle full of grease is supposed to take up space so water can't get in and lessen the replacement time. The sealed bearing is supposed to seal out dust, sand, etc.

On the subject of bearings, Most of you probably don't know what kind of bearings you have. About the only way for you to know would be to have replaced those bearings.

If you have sealed bearings, and you keep pumping grease into it, you will probably blow the seals, and then you have an unsealed bearing.

Some say that they are greasing every couple days, or hours. Seems like a waste to me. The bearings actually run in the oil extracted from the grease.

Excerpt:

Too much grease volume (over-greasing) in a bearing cavity will cause the rotating bearing elements to begin churning the grease, pushing it out of the way, resulting in energy loss and rising temperatures. This leads to rapid oxidation (chemical degradation) of the grease as well as an accelerated rate of oil bleed, which is a separation of the oil from the thickener. The heat that has been generated over time along with the oil bleed eventually will cook the grease thickener into a hard, crusty build-up that can impair proper lubrication and even block new grease from reaching the core of the bearing. This can result in accelerated wear of the rolling elements and then component failure.

If you really want to know what the spindle looks like when you think it needs grease, take the time to break down the spindle and bearings and take a look, analyze the situation and go from there . It's your grease gun and your machine, do as you wish.
If you search the internet for over greasing , there are many articles on the subject.

New technology is using IR and Ultrasound to monitor and troubleshoot bearings.

With IR you can see the change in insufficient lubrication, normal and over greasing.

With Ultrasound you can hear when the bearings pick up the injected grease.
J.J.

 

[oldballs]

......What kcender said. The BX 60inch mower OE manual doesn't say how much. It just says to grease the illustrated zerks. Back in 2009 my MMM would not take any grease on one zerks called the "balance shaft". I took that joint apart several times, checked the zerk, and even sanded the joint articulation...........several times. It finally would take some grease after a lot of grunting. I suppose a commercial high pressure system would have fixed that one. A couple pumps should be enough on a regular basis.....probably 10-20 hours of mowing. Here's a picture of the underside where the spindle cups collect the grease where you can't see it otherwise.

Cheers,
Mike

 

[radioman]

You cant see the grease coming out on BX mower deck spindles unless the blade and cup is off. I pump about 5-8 times each 3 spindles for every 5ish times mowing which is almost once a month. If you are pumping over 12 times, then you gone way too long without grease.

 

[DuckSlayer1017]

+1 for what JJ said. Most of the mower spindle bearings are sealed and don't need grease. My dealer told me the same thing when I bought my ztr last year. He also said guys thinks things with grease zerks are better quality so they put them on there. If you fill the cavity between the upper and lower bearing with you risk breaking the seal and reduce bearing life.

 

[Tractor MD]

For what its worth this is my experience which tallies with just about everyone else's input . If its a UJ pump until its just starts to peak out but dont go mad. If its sealed,grease little and often so you dont blow out the seals . I use High speed grease on my mower deck but I would not recommend Moly . That just dries up at high speeds . I think molly is more for links under High pressure loads such as excavator buckets.

For every two hours work I put two squirts from a regular cartridge size gun in the cutter bearings . The tension pulley does not need as much . The grease nipples on the plain bearings of foot pedal etc , probably only need a squirt every six months or so . No point wasting grease , its not cheap.
U joints I do maybe every two months when I take out deck , clean it up , switch blades over . I take the blades out, sharpen them up and put in the fresh . I keep a spare set so I can sharpen the others and balance them at leisure . Way to many folks dont do this often enough .
I think its good practice to change blades regularly . Less load on machine , gives you a chance to thoroughly clean and inspect everything then slide it back in.

Decks take a helluva lot of punishment . You have to keep up the maintenance . Kubota decks do a great job though when they are sharp and well adjusted .