Sealed or serviceable bearing: your choice?

[RandyT]

On both of mine the zerks are on top of the spindles and the spindles are cross drilled to allow the grease to enter the cavity. I stand my mowers up regularly anyway to clean the decks off.

Some are top of the shaft with cross drill like you have. Some are on the side of the mandrel housing in which the belt shields need to be removed to access them. Some are in the mandrel base next to the deck and a few are positioned between the air slots in the housing that can only be found after cleaning the grass from under the deck and around the spindle.

 

[GrumpyL5030]

Lube question. so i've replaced a number of idler pulleys on my zero turn, a few on my pickup. never seen a grease serviceable idler pulley, all sealed.
asked an engineer friend who designed pulleys, and a good small engine guy why so...they both said sealed bearings are superior & will outlast grease serviceable, due to contaminants, etc.

your take? do you agree w/engineers & mechanics above based your own experience? btw, i'm glad to have grease serviceable mower spindles & front end zerks on my old pick up. thx in advance

For myself and my personal equipment, -serviceable every time. It's usually simpler to use a zirk fitting than disassembling things to access a bearing to replace it.

 

[big bubba]

For myself and my personal equipment, -serviceable every time. It's usually simpler to use a zirk fitting than disassembling things to access a bearing to replace it.

my take is that engineers & manufacturers will have none of a grease serviceable idler pulley bearing. they insist sealed will outlast zerk type. my experience tells me otherwise.

a good compromise would be to have a replaceable press fit bearing in a pulley, ran across that type only once on my older truck.
as we speak, i'm having to replace one on my zero turn. they don't last long with constant use. thankfully, if the part # is good, i use Jacks Small Engine or even Amazon for replacement.

 

[LD1]

Everyone keeps referencing idler pulleys.....but how would you all propose one makes them greasable.

They are a SINGLE bearing.

Spindles are easy....because they use TWO bearings. So inner seals can be removed and greased either via the housing or a bored and cross-drilled shaft. But how to do a single bearing? Have a THICKER pulley hub with two separate seals?

An idler pulley costs what....$20 and takes 5 minutes to swap. A greasable bearing with seals....you'd spend the $20 for if it ever needed replaced....because you'd probably change the seals also. Just dont seem to make sense.

Sealed bearings have their place. And good quality ones CAN certainly be made to last. Look at tensioner/idler pulleys on the front of your typical engine.....those seem to go out pretty infrequently. OR as I mentioned earlier.....modern wheel bearings. Even the two bearings in your mowers electric clutch.

Maybe some of the ones experiencing frequent failures of idler bearings on a mower deck are using a powerwasher way too liberally? or doing it right after mowing when things are still hot?

 

[big bubba]

no, power wash is not the prob, i blow my deck clean. think the challenge is that the belt train generates quite a lot of heat. eventually the bearing goes dry.

am sure a grease zerk could be designed on the shaft w/galley, etc. manufacturers aren't going to do that. i can live with constant replacement, rather easy now that i have good sources. prices range between $30-75 depending on pulley. much more so if one has a shop do it. i am just venting some frustration. best regards,

 

[WinterDeere]

my take is that engineers & manufacturers will have none of a grease serviceable idler pulley bearing. they insist sealed will outlast zerk type. my experience tells me otherwise.

Engineers and manufacturers aim to minimize in-warranty repairs, and on that a sealed bearing will always win. What happens on a 20-30 year old machine is of concern to the guy who owns it, but not the OEM.