GinNB
Gold Member
- Joined
- Dec 8, 2007
- Messages
- 336
- Location
- NB, Canada, eh?
- Tractor
- 2x Kubota M108S, M105S, 2x M9000, IH885, IH584, IH484, IH454, F3000, F3610, C50, JX70, Landini 5830, JD4630 sprayer
First thing- use the recommended grease. Second thing- give it maybe one squirt per day. Don't overgrease. It'll push out the dust seals and help dust/crud get back in when they go back in place. Three- make sure it's in balance. Missing teeth are hard on bearings and the main mower frame. Four- Make sure you aren't winding grass, string, or whatever around the shaft next to the bearings. That'll cut the seals and cause premature failure.Hello I had a question on a rears mfg flail. I have managed to blow to bearings up in the course of 6 months and I have no idea why. I grease it everyday once a day in the morning as I use it during our busy season for mowing in between our orchard rows. When I pulled the first bearing out I found metal fragments but nothing was wrong with the bearing from what I could tell and so I replaced it and when I ran it again I blew the second one. I could really use the help thank you.
That said, it's pretty rare to have two factory bearings go out in only 6 months. Tons of hours or only a couple of hundred? Cuttershaft bearing life should be measured in thousands of hours, not hundreds, unless one of the four above issues aren't happening. I wonder if they got a bad batch of bearings or maybe put some cheapos in? Possible improper installation if they've had staff turnover? Just guessing here though. I've never had a Rears though so I can't offer brand-specific experience. Some brands are a lot better surviving harsh use than others, but from what I've read Rears is a good brand.
p.s. One flail manufacturer recommended to me to NEVER grease cuttershaft bearings, but if they've been greased once to keep greasing them. They were getting thousands of hours on ungreased (factory grease only) bearings on their personal machines. They pulled the zerk and put in a plug. I've tried it and didn't magically increase my bearing life but I couldn't tell a difference between that method and normal greasing.