Rear Finish Mower What kind of bearing?

[searay]

I use a Woods Heritage RD72 mower behind my New Holland TC35D tractor. The upper bearing on all three blade spindles are getting noisy. I don't want to pay the $16 for each Woods brand bearing. The bearings are a common metric size, 25mm bore x 15mm thick x 52mm dia open one side, sealed one side. I can find many sources $5 each but I don't know the type of material or if they should be "deep groove". Anyone have any guidance for me?

 

[Stonehaller]

It is probably just a common 6205 bearing, deep grove, chrome steel. Easy to find double sealed ones. You could pull out the seal on one side with a dental pick.

 

[KWentling]

I agree with Stonehaller. You want a 6205z or zz and just pick out the other seal. I would avoid a cheap Chinese bearing. I've had poor luck with any bearing made in China and in a generic box. I would stick to a name brand: SKF, Fafiner, KOYO, NTN, FAG, etc. Amazon has several choices.

 

[leonz]

I use a Woods Heritage RD72 mower behind my New Holland TC35D tractor. The upper bearing on all three blade spindles are getting noisy. I don't want to pay the $16 for each Woods brand bearing. The bearings are a common metric size, 25mm bore x 15mm thick x 52mm dia open one side, sealed one side. I can find many sources $5 each but I don't know the type of material or if they should be "deep groove". Anyone have any guidance for me?

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Just be sure to pull one or all three spindles before you jump into replacing the upper bearings.

The same stresses are created and amplified at the lower bearing if it has stacked bearings and it may be time to replace all three spindles and bearings which is the normal way to do this providing there is no metal fatigue/cracks in the mower deck.


I am not trying to spend your money but I would rather see you replace the spindles as well as the bearing housings and or the lower bearings if used are sure to fail shortly as most of them are slip fit bearings.


Our six foot cub lowboy mower failed after one season in 1969 with one season of mowing as we mowed 16 acres of good sod(what passed for good grass sod and overgrown pasture each week-we had too small a mower and mule for this type for the job.

I would check with the folks at flail master to see if they carry complete spindles for your Woods rotary finish mower to obtain prices to replace the multiple spindles on your mower.

 

[searay]

Thanks Guys, that is EXACTLY the kind of guidance I needed, The upper bearings don't get enough grease so that's why the bottom bearings are OK but the top ones are getting a bit noisy. I have always been afraid of over greasing the spindles and pushing the seals out of the bearings. I can't complain, the mower is 5 years old. I love this forum! Thanks again.

 

[LD1]

A good brand bearing is under $10 per bearing. Some good brands are listed above. SKF, NTN, KOYO, Fafnir, etc.

Given the work involved of disassembly and cleaning.....replace all of them. I question why the uppers arent getting "enough" grease? IS the seal out in the lower bearing allowing all the grease just to push out the bottom bearing? Are you using too light of a grease? Not putting enough grease in there?

What makes you think its only the upper bearings that are bad? HAve you dis-assembled a spindle yet?

Cleanliness is everything. Clean out all the old grease and keep things clean.

Get bearings with rubber seals and NOT ones with metal shields. Metal shields are harder to remove the inners on. And dont seal as well.

 

[searay]

A good brand bearing is under $10 per bearing. Some good brands are listed above. SKF, NTN, KOYO, Fafnir, etc.

Given the work involved of disassembly and cleaning.....replace all of them. I question why the uppers arent getting "enough" grease? IS the seal out in the lower bearing allowing all the grease just to push out the bottom bearing? Are you using too light of a grease? Not putting enough grease in there?

What makes you think its only the upper bearings that are bad? HAve you dis-assembled a spindle yet?

Cleanliness is everything. Clean out all the old grease and keep things clean.

Get bearings with rubber seals and NOT ones with metal shields. Metal shields are harder to remove the inners on. And dont seal as well.

LD1,
I am going to replace both upper and lower bearings. I wasn't giving the upper bearings enough grease because of the bad experience of one of my neighbors who also owns a 6' Woods finish mower. He over-greased his spindles and ended up with a blade belt full of grease because excess grease pushed through the bottom bearings. The Woods owner's manual says only a squirt of grease should be plenty and also warned of over-greasing the spindles.
Two of the three belt pulleys were impossible to remove after my neighbor (a long-time farmer) and I spent about 6 hours trying to get them off. We ended up removing the entire spindle assemblies so I could get them in my 12 ton press to press the shafts through the pulleys. Only one came out even with some considerable effort. Even on the press the other refused to come out, only moved a little less than 1/8". I left that one under pressure and with a dose of PB Blaster overnight. Still haven't tried to press it out today.
As for the advice about getting bearings with rubber seals, I agree 100%. The original Woods bearings have metal seals. I found a couple of them rusted completely through allowing water and grit into the bearings. I am using the Woods recommended grease.
All the spindle assemblies (when I get the last one out) are being completely cleaned in my parts washer before reassembly. The only question I have now is, if I get bearings sealed both sides and pre-greased, should I still remove one seal and fill the spindle shaft cavity with grease, or, will just using the bearings as-is be a safer bet?

Thanks for all the great input, it's nice to have a place like this to come to to get advice.

 

[searay]

Still unable to press the shaft through the spindle assembly. I put as much pressure on the 12 ton press that I think it could stand without blowing a seal. I tried heating the pulley flange while it was under pressure on the press and banged away on the spindle housing with a hammer while under pressure. Still no joy. I was wrong when I said earlier that the shaft had moved 1/8". That was in my imagination, it had not moved more than 1/32" if at all. At this point I am at a loss as to how to remove the pulley from the shaft other than cutting it off. Any suggestions will be appreciated.

 

[LD1]

It would help to post a picture.. and just how you have it jigged in the press

 

[mike69440]

I agree with Stonehaller. You want a 6205z or zz and just pick out the other seal. I would avoid a cheap Chinese bearing. I've had poor luck with any bearing made in China and in a generic box. I would stick to a name brand: SKF, Fafiner, KOYO, NTN, FAG, etc. Amazon has several choices.

I Just ordered a 6203zz with ceramic balls for a supercharger Pulley from Amazon