Snoopy11 5,714 #1 Posted September 28, 2021 (edited) Hey, guys! I have gotten some messages from some guys about front wheel bearings. On my build, I had to do some different stuff to reduce wear, and support the weight of my engine, and dozer blade. So, for starters, I began by using the stock wheel bushings and grease. Wheel Horse front wheels came with bushings as well all know. That did not work out for long. I began to see a lot of wear. SO... I began thinking... I read that some people go to ball bearings instead of the bushing setup with all the grease crap. Great idea... so you would think. Truth is, in my case, Marathon ball bearings are great for smooth terrain. I have very bumpy land, where my wheels go in holes, over my rocky driveway... etc. I blew out Marathon bearings after a couple of months. So... what I have come up with is Stens 215-267... which are better than ball bearings, as the Stens 215-267 bearings are needle-bearings, rather than standard ball bearings. These are identical to what are in the transmission of our tractors. What you can do also is use a combination of Marathon bearings on the inside of the rim, and Stens needle bearings on the outside of the rim. Thus, you get a good combination of ball bearings and needle bearings. I am running Marathon rims now, thus I have to manually repack both ball and needle bearings. At the moment, I am running all needle bearings in the front end... both inside and outside of the rim, without issues. These bearings support a heck of a lot of weight and can do so over the longterm... as long as they are greased properly. These bearings also fit in my stock Wheel Horse rims, in the place of the bushings. These can be used with Marathon tires and rims. BUT to get the bearings to fit into the Marathon rims, you need to grind some of the insides of the rim out where the bearings go in. You can use a C-clamp to press the bearings into the rims, instead of pounding them in with a hammer (as the blows by hammering could damage the needle bearings... I proved this the hard way). Stens 215-267 looks like: The inside looks like: Again, some people are interested to know what I did... and so I thought I would share site-wide. I would like to add... stock Wheel Horse front wheel bushings are part number 256-170. The stock wheel bushings are harder and harder to find... mostly in stock on ebay. If you want to go aftermarket, you can substitute for Stens 225-818... but I highly suggest sticking with stock bushings. The reason I say that is because the Stens 225-818 bushing is wider than stock, leaving less room for grease storage. Otherwise, just search the part number 256-170 on Ebay... and you will find bushings such as the following: Or you can search and buy something like this on Ebay: 114-1640 And if anyone has anything that they would like to add to this, or anything that they use that has worked-out well, feel free to share. Also, shout-out to Lowell over at Wheel Horse Parts and More... he sells some bearings for the front wheels https://wheelhorsepartsandmore.com/product/110513-front-wheel-bearing-4-for-wheel-horse/ Don Edited October 23, 2021 by Snoopy11 4 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
peter lena 8,564 #2 Posted September 28, 2021 @Snoopy11 always looking for a better way on a failure , yours very interesting , would suggest using lucas x tra heavy duty polyurea chassis grease , $ 5 at walmart , made for brutal conditions ,and also anti sling rated . use this on all my bearing failure areas , like pto bearings, same mower deck bearings , pto cone needle bearing . no noise or failures , worth a try , pete 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Snoopy11 5,714 #3 Posted September 28, 2021 1 minute ago, peter lena said: @Snoopy11 always looking for a better way on a failure , yours very interesting , would suggest using lucas x tra heavy duty polyurea chassis grease , $ 5 at walmart , made for brutal conditions ,and also anti sling rated . use this on all my bearing failure areas , like pto bearings, same mower deck bearings , pto cone needle bearing . no noise or failures , worth a try , pete Awesome comment! I will try that for sure! Right now, I am running some old stuff that I have had laying around for a while from Sunoco. I always like Lucas though, very good product line. Don 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
peter lena 8,564 #4 Posted September 28, 2021 @Snoopy11 https://www.walmart.com/ip/Lucas-Oil-Xtra-Heavy-Duty-Grease-Green-14-5-oz/36052505?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&wl13=1964&adid=22222222420449455996&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=501107745824&wl4=pla-293946777986&wl5=9003307&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=local&wl12=36052505&wl13=1964&veh=sem_LIA&gclid=CjwKCAjw-sqKBhBjEiwAVaQ9awglckiSx_-XoWiYkiN4CdiZp1J47qKAokPMlFGWBFTfESOk7cKsvRoCMicQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds , read the specs on the enlarged site . I use it and it stands up , pete 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Snoopy11 5,714 #5 Posted September 28, 2021 Just now, peter lena said: @Snoopy11 https://www.walmart.com/ip/Lucas-Oil-Xtra-Heavy-Duty-Grease-Green-14-5-oz/36052505?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&wl13=1964&adid=22222222420449455996&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=501107745824&wl4=pla-293946777986&wl5=9003307&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=local&wl12=36052505&wl13=1964&veh=sem_LIA&gclid=CjwKCAjw-sqKBhBjEiwAVaQ9awglckiSx_-XoWiYkiN4CdiZp1J47qKAokPMlFGWBFTfESOk7cKsvRoCMicQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds , read the specs on the enlarged site . I use it and it stands up , pete 5$... Exactly what the front wheels need. I don't even have to wait 'till payday... Don 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pacer 3,165 #6 Posted September 28, 2021 ALL RIGHT!!! Now thats using the old gray cells!! Great idea!! (I knew I had all ready liked needle bearings for some reason....) 3 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 67,121 #7 Posted September 28, 2021 2 hours ago, Snoopy11 said: Stens 215-267 Well done! 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skipper 1,788 #8 Posted September 28, 2021 One thing to consider though. For those needle bearings to be good long term, they do need a very good fit of the axle, and that axle has to be in really good nick too. If you put them on a less than round and fine, tight fit axle, they tend to go boom of obvious reasons, so keep that in mind. On a perfect axle, they are superior. And so they should be, at the price tag they have compared to the common ball bearings. But in all fairness, it is rather hard to bust a good quality ball bearing too. The ones I use regularly in the front wheels are not high grade in any way, but are still rated at 900lbs static, and 1500lbs dynamic, each. Meaning each wheel can take a load of up to 1800 lbs at stand still, and 3000 lbs when spinning. You would have to beat it rather hard to bust that, I have to imagine? 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Snoopy11 5,714 #9 Posted September 28, 2021 (edited) 7 minutes ago, Skipper said: One thing to consider though. For those needle bearings to be good long term, they do need a very good fit of the axle, and that axle has to be in really good nick too. If you put them on a less than round and fine, tight fit axle, they tend to go boom of obvious reasons, so keep that in mind. On a perfect axle, they are superior. And so they should be, at the price tag they have compared to the common ball bearings. But in all fairness, it is rather hard to bust a good quality ball bearing too. The ones I use regularly in the front wheels are not high grade in any way, but are still rated at 900lbs static, and 1500lbs dynamic, each. Meaning each wheel can take a load of up to 1800 lbs at stand still, and 3000 lbs when spinning. You would have to beat it rather hard to bust that, I have to imagine? For sure, do share what bearings you use! The ones I have been able to find are... quite crumby! That is why I created this thread, so guys can share the best ideas and parts for front wheels. Guys have been asking around here for a while... 'bout time to put all the questions and answers together for everyone! ...especially with the knowledge base we have here!!! Don Edited September 28, 2021 by Snoopy11 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Snoopy11 5,714 #10 Posted September 28, 2021 Originally, I used the following off of Amazon, which is potentially exactly what Skipper used. They worked fine for a while. However, with my land, the weight of my tractor, gravel... etc... they just did not last. The needle bearings have been going strong for a long time now. As long as you keep the Stens needle bearings greased... I don't see why they wouldn't last years... That isn't to say that the other ones I used aren't good... just not with the amount of weight on the front of the tractor, and a very bumpy, brutal landscape. Don 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skipper 1,788 #11 Posted September 28, 2021 (edited) Sure, I just buy these 10 packs. Cheap and easy. I use them on all the machines I sell, that are sloppy in the bushings/bearings. Newer had a single complaint yet. Use bunches of them. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MF5A4GF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 The 5/8" version fits the big deck wheels on the 60" by the way And yes, you can get much better bearings, but at that price, they are just fine. If those needle bearings don't last either, I can recommend going to trailer hubs. If you break those, you have talent Edited September 28, 2021 by Skipper 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Snoopy11 5,714 #12 Posted September 28, 2021 Just now, Skipper said: Sure, I just buy these 10 packs. Yeah, that is what I thought. Nothing wrong with that, just not as durable as the needle bearings. I do question with the grease speed of those though, at 3,200 rpm. That appears to be the rating. I don't know what the rpm is at the wheels, but I question if that has something to do with durability? Don 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Snoopy11 5,714 #13 Posted September 28, 2021 3 minutes ago, Skipper said: they are just fine I agree. I have about 6 left out of that kit that I bought. I just don't happen to need them since I put in my Stens bearings though... Don 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skipper 1,788 #14 Posted September 28, 2021 Yeah, due to the low speed, you should see it as pretty much just static. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Snoopy11 5,714 #15 Posted September 28, 2021 I do also know... with work you do with dozer blades, not just because of the weight of the blades, but also the pressure of what you are pushing (dirt, rock, trees...etc.) that also has something to do with bearing durability! Don 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skipper 1,788 #16 Posted September 28, 2021 Yes, it sure has. Ball bearings don't like that sideways pressure so much. Yet another good reason to go the trailer hub route 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pacer 3,165 #17 Posted September 28, 2021 When I got my first WH (mid 80's?) - a like new 1978 D180 - it had the deck spindles that had needles in the bottom (with NO means to grease them!) Every mowing season for about 3 yrs I would have to replace them ... I finally decided that was not getting it!! So I buy 3 more new ones and took a die grinder with a cut off wheel and made a very small 'slit' in the wall of the bearing, next I drilled/tapped the side of the spindle housing for a grease nipple to align with the 'slit' ----- I had that tractor some 20+ yrs and never had to change them again! Of course I gave them a shot of grease pretty regularly. 3 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 67,121 #18 Posted September 28, 2021 1 hour ago, Skipper said: go the trailer hub route 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Snoopy11 5,714 #19 Posted October 13, 2021 Just an update... since installing the Stens needle bearings... I haven't had 1 issue with bearing/wheels... That... my friends... is after a hard summer of work with the Horse... Don 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jeff-C175 7,199 #20 Posted October 14, 2021 (edited) On 9/28/2021 at 2:02 PM, Snoopy11 said: Wheel Horse front wheels came with bushings They did? What models? BTW, I call those "roller bearings" ... I guess in the truest sense they ARE needle bearings, but those are some pretty hefty 'needles' ! Edited October 14, 2021 by Jeff-C175 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Snoopy11 5,714 #21 Posted October 14, 2021 2 minutes ago, Jeff-C175 said: What models? L-157 is for sure one that did... I have seen other tractors around here with these steel bushings and grease slop... those guys might pipe up here... I think... most stock that I have seen grease fittings... perhaps not on later models...? Don't tell me that you've never lubed-up... there @Jeff-C175? Don 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Snoopy11 5,714 #22 Posted October 14, 2021 The wheels on this sweetheart here have grease fittings and bushings... if you look really close you can see the grease in the wheel... Don 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Snoopy11 5,714 #23 Posted October 14, 2021 And this is the result of those steel bushings... Thanks to @71_Bronco for photo... Don 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Snoopy11 5,714 #24 Posted October 14, 2021 (edited) Here is a picture of a new bushing... Don Edited October 14, 2021 by Snoopy11 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Snoopy11 5,714 #25 Posted October 14, 2021 Some people go with bronze... and other types... Don 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
