Finish mowers spindle problems

[Repair]

It seems like every time see a finish mower post it's about failed spindles but I never realized that it is a serious design flaw in many of the spindles.

If you search for the spindles online they are everywhere and cheap (27.00 to 99.00) so I started looking into the design of the 1500.00 to 2000.00 finish mowers and I was shocked at what I found.

The spindles are made with ball bearings, ball bearings are not designed to have side loads and that seems to be why they fail.

If you look at the spindles in a Woods RD6000 they use tapered bearings like front wheel bearings in a lot of cars and trucks and that's why their replacement spindles cost 236.00.

I'm planning to try and modify the ball bearing spindles to accept the tapered bearings.

Has anyone else found a different solution?

 

[MadMax31]

I think the combination of thrust and side load, mixed with wet grass and not enough grease is what kills the bearings. I rebuilt the outer spindles on my B7610 deck, because I left it outside for 16 months before I had grass to mow. Rain and snow got into them and killed them.

Tapered bearings certainly would be an upgrade, but I think youd be into some machining to make them work.

 

[D2Cat]

I would imagine a lot of the spindle problems are a simple lack of grease.

When you remove spindle with a bearing at the top and one at the bottom, there is quite a void between the two. That entire area has to be full of grease or the bearings have no lube. On the initial greasing it probably takes 1/4 tube of grease.

Most folks give a pump or two and move on. Soon the void is there, even if it was full at one point. Should be pumped until you feel a slight pressure, then quit.

As easy and the simple cost I don't think it would be worth the trouble to convert to a different set up. Just keep the spindles greased!!

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

A lot of hubs for cars are ball bearings, and they hold up just fine, and that's a heck of a lot more force than a mower spindle.
Like others say, the main cause of failure is not force on the bearings, it's the lack of lubrication that causes them to fail prematurely!

 

[Brewer]

Does anyone know if the 08101-06205 bearing (as used on most decks, apparently) is available as a generic part?

If so, do you have specs and/or third party mfr part numbers?

 

[85Hokie]

Does anyone know if the 08101-06205 bearing (as used on most decks, apparently) is available as a generic part?

If so, do you have specs and/or third party mfr part numbers?

Brew,

Not sure if a generic part.....but for 8 bucks, not sure how much cheaper you can find 'em. AND if they were cheaper....might be cheaper in QC too!

http://www.messicks.com/part/08101-06205/spindle-bearing

And I agree with all that said - grease, and sometimes a wasted amount is definitely your best measure to longevity with those bearings.