Noisy 48" mower deck

[DougC 2,641]

My spare mower deck mounted under the 88 520H  is so noisy when engaged I need to wear my radio headphones while mowing.    I have greased the spindle zerks very generously many times now and with no improvement. It seems to be time to buy 3 new spindles . Toro dealer wants 135 bucks each. I see on a few web sites they are selling for between 110 and 130 bucks no tax and free shipping. What and where do you guys buy yours and how much do you pay for em?  Should used spindles even be considered. I'm still paying the credit card company for the new snow cab I bought for the 95 520H........

[953 nut 55,051]

       Could be the deck around the spindle has fractured. I have had to weld mine on a couple of occasions, seems the stamping process fatigues the metal and over time it work hardens and cracks. jack it up and shake each blade and you may find one that moves too much to be a bad bearing.

[Ed Kennell 38,021]

I would take the deck off and remove the deck belt so you can check spin each spindle individually. Look for bearing noise. tight spots, and excess clearance.  Also check for a loose or bent blade or a loose pulley.   Check the tensioner pulley bearings.  And like Dick said,  look for a spindle broken loose from the deck.

I would do a lot of investigating before I would invest  $400  in three new spindles.  Good Luck.

[oldredrider 2,548]

Don't forget to inspect the mule drive pulleys as well. They get noisey before they go South.

[608KEB 795]

6 new bearings are about $35.00. I had a bumping noise on my 42"rd. I thought it was the belt. Turned out 1 of the bearings was bad. 

[MalMac 1,331]

Loose blades and loose pulleys, will make all kinds of noise and vibrations. Usually does not last long before something flys apart. Then it becomes very apparent what was causing the problem. Noisy bearing do make noise but a lot of vibration. By the time they are that bad you can usually grab the blade and fill the play in the bearing. Also a extreme blade out of balance will talk and vibrate making itself known.

[squonk 41,018]

Before just replacing the bearings, Make sure the spindle mounting tabs are in good shape and not all corroded away.

[grinchsr 626]

I agree with oldredrider.  Check the mule drive.  They will make a lot of noise when the bearings are worn.

[DougC 2,641]

I had the time today to remove the deck and belt. 2 out of the 3 spindles are noisy and rough when spun by hand. The 3rd is smooth and quiet. I removed the left and center pulleys and the spindle bolts and knocked the 2 spindles out of the deck. I then decided to take the spindles apart and removed the blades and lower spindle bearing snap-ring, used my seal puller to extract the lower bearing then removed the sleeve, a ton of grease (I pumped those babies full a few days ago  ) and knocked out the upper spindle bearing with a hammer and punch. The lower bearings were very rough and causing all the noise I assume as the deck its self is fine and the pulleys and spindle shafts are good with no wear and excess play. 

 

Instead of replacing the spindles I want to just install new upper and lower bearings, a very simple and hopefully inexpensive repair compared to the cost of new spindles. 

 

Can anyone tell me what bearings I need to purchase at my local NAPA store as I can't quite make out the numbers on the old ones even with my old man magnifying glass.  .       I think I'm gonna stay away from the Toro dealer  this time, He's a very nice guy, but a very expensive parts source I have found out. Thanks everyone for all your advice and experience. It let me go into this unknown area with confidence and saved me several hundred dollars hopefully!  

[953 nut 55,051]

I would just take the bearing to NAPA and let them match them up, even if you could read the numbers it is a good idea to let them determine what part you need.

[Kurt-NEPA 755]

I'll take a shot at the bearing number.  My 1994 48" deck used 6203-2RS bearings 17X40X12 mm.  I had to remove the rubber shield from the inboard side of the bearing to allow the grease to enter.  I just used a pick and popped it out.

 

6203-2Rs is a very common bearing.

 

I think all the 520H 48" decks (and probably the 42") used the same spindle assemblies. 

[doc724 925]

If you buy new bearings get the 2RS variety-sealed both sides.  No need to grease.  Make sure you remove the zerks and replace them with set screws

[Ed Kennell 38,021]

How do you grease the bottom needle bearing?

[cleat 5,808]

These decks do not have a needle bearing, just 2 ball bearings per spindle.

 

Some leave in the seals and run that way, others (like me) take out the inner seals and grease them.

 

I guess one could try different ways on different spindles on the same deck as an experiment to see what is better.

 

At work I grease all bearings in the blowers and pumps but the electricians leave the seals in the motor bearings and don't touch them. Motors and blowers, pumps etc all seem to run just as well either way so who knows.

[Ed Kennell 38,021]

Did the older spindles only  have the lower needle brgs. ?   What year did they switch to two ball brgs.?

[cleat 5,808]

Unsure of exact year but if you have round spindles (not the one with 2 flats on them) then you likely just have ball bearings.

[DougC 2,641]

21 hours ago, Kurt-NEPA said:

I'll take a shot at the bearing number.  My 1994 48" deck used 6203-2RS bearings 17X40X12 mm.  I had to remove the rubber shield from the inboard side of the bearing to allow the grease to enter.  I just used a pick and popped it out.

 

6203-2Rs is a very common bearing.

 

I think all the 520H 48" decks (and probably the 42") used the same spindle assemblies. 

 

Thanks for the number Kurt. I took an old bearing to NAPA this morning and said I need 4 of these and didn't say another word. The counter guy looked to be about 12 years old so I did not expect a good out come. He walked back among the parts bins for about 5 minutes and came back carrying 4 boxes. I then said what did you come up with for a part number 6203-2RS  17X 40X12mm? He said Yep we sell a bunch of these. I was very happy as well when he told me my total would be $53.42 which is $12.60 each plus tax. The description on the receipt says alternator bearing. 

I did remove the rubber shield from one side of each bearing and I'm glad I did. 2 were packed full of grease and 2 had little if any grease in them at all. I installed the new bearings in the old spindles and reassembled and installed the deck to the 520H, fired it up and engaged the PTO . I now have a nice quiet smooth running 48" spare mower deck and only spent a little over $50.

 

Thanks for all the help you guys gave me. I was ready to just buy spindles. I had no idea how simple and inexpensive it is to replace just the bearings!  

[Kurt-NEPA 755]

Congrats!  You "got er done"!

[953 nut 55,051]

48 minutes ago, DougC said:

I'm glad I did. 2 were packed full of grease and 2 had little if any grease in them at all.

Good thing you went "Old School" and decided to make it greasable.   

[tbarnhart 240]

The debate on sealed vs. open or shielded bearing life depends on several factors. First, what is the quality of the sealed bearing in question? A lot of the sealed bearings today come from low-cost bidders in china and come with little grease, and the quality of the lube itself is often poor. The seals may not be the best at keeping the lube in or contamination out. If a bearing has a good name brand, it is often at a better level of quality control and materials, and will often last for a long time. Honestly, the Japanese bearings are as good as any. The other thing to consider is the intended application. The wheelhorse spindle design is really pretty good for greasable bearings. The zerk on the top puts the grease above the top bearing. As you continue to pump, the grease is forced through the top bearing into the spindle housing where it is carried by heat, vibration, gravity, etc. down and into the bottom bearing. When you pump in fresh grease, both bearings should receive lube, although the lower one may be delayed a bit. The third thing to consider is the cleanliness and quality of the grease you are using. If you are using a dirty gun, or not cleaning the zerk, you are just putting contamination into the bearing and would be better off with a quality sealed bearing. Ideally on the wheelhorse spindles-a shielded bearing on the top which keeps the grease in the bearing, but allows it to purge through when greasing, and a single sealed bearing on the bottom with the seal on the lower side. Regular, but small (2-3 pumps every time you mow) applications of a high quality grease through a cleaned zerk. Or, as stated above, a quality (nsk, Koyo, insert-your-own-favorite-brand) sealed bearing and replace every five years.

[cleat 5,808]

8 hours ago, tbarnhart said:

The wheelhorse spindle design is really pretty good for greasable bearings. The zerk on the top puts the grease above the top bearing. As you continue to pump, the grease is forced through the top bearing into the spindle housing where it is carried by heat, vibration, gravity, etc. down and into the bottom bearing.

Not quite. The grease fitting is on top but a passage in the spindle carries grease to below the top bearing where it fills the void between the bearings.

Since it is closer to the top, you will often see grease come out of the top bearing first.

Gravity and heat of operation will as you say allow the grease to flow downhill keeping the bottom bearing well greased. This is good because the bottom bearing sees most of the contaminates.

[tbarnhart 240]

Ok, Cleat. I spoke before I did all the research. I was going by the spindles that I had previously worked on which were the older '79 vintage with the 3/4 in. bearings and pulleys. Those do grease like I stated, and have a spring-loaded seal at the top above the bearing to prevent the grease from coming out the top. The top bearing is unsealed, and the grease passage is drilled in the spindle above the top bearing. It looks like the newer metric bearing spindles went to a center lube arrangement like you stated. I hadn't ever taken one of those apart, and was just assuming that they kept the same design when they went to metric bearings and pulleys.