Thanks for Watching! Find a link to all of my "Must Have", Favorite Tools HERE!! www.amazon.com/shop/chickanic?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_aipsfshop_aipsfchickanic_9ERPFPBNGQ924P8NS63B
There is nothing better for establishing of confidence in the credibility of another, than for that person to say "I was wrong" when they were wrong. I salute you.
I like it. You found out more information on a repair you covered and you shared it. Just goes to show ya that you DO go that extra mile. Says volumes about your ethics. Thanks Chickanic You are AWESOME.
I’ve put plastic sleeve (basically a piece of thick wall pipe) inside my spindles. It takes up space to reduce the huge amount of grease otherwise needed.
@@mizzouxc3824 So these brilliant Engineers decided to put in zerk fittings but leave the seal on the inside on both the upper and lower bearing eh? Additionally these Engineers decided not to put any grease into these cavities after manufacture ? I like the old Engineers that made auto engines that a normal person could work on and gave you the room to work on it.
My ages old White Horse 50 inch deck came with zirk fittings AND sealed bearings, which I discovered when a bearing failed. Inner bearing seals removed and no more bearing failures. Thanks for the great content!
Your videos are so informative ! I love watching them I have a 19 year Dixie Chopper yep sealed bearings. I always greased them because they spin some r's. Had to replace one of them because I screwed it up bought parts the replacement were sealed. the pin was wrong so I took every back and got a whole assembly. Was having belt eating issues crossing my fingers that its fixed .It's been a good one but they don't make them like the used to!!!!! will never buy another on mainly because of dealers !!!!!! Wishing you and your husband a wonder Sunday !!! Thank you again.
not speaking to you directly chickanic, just what I've learned over the years. this is for those die hard seal lip removers lol. the seal lip is designed to keep the grease IN the bearing, so if you remove the top bearing seal guess what happens? the grease will just drop out and leave the bearing dry if the spindle isn't greased regularly, even though they are sealed, and you grease the spindle the grease will squeeze past the seal lip and into the bearing....think of the grease seal like a check valve....when i went to the ayp / dixon update school both manufactures were adamant about this (dixon uses ayp decks).....they also stated that the grease filled spindle will keep moisture out of the spindle especially those folks who like to power wash their machines great video as always! thanks for the shout out!
I concur. I do not recommend tearing sealed bearings apart. I finally got some quality stickers, so send me your address on Facebook so I can send you them and the size of shirts for your and the misses.
a lot of this lawn equipment is made so cheeply , it breaks when you need it the most , you do great explaining the problems with these things and how to solve problems with these things
You are a good mechanic on small engines and I am 63 years old and I been working on small engines off and on since. Jr. High school. But I still am learning. From you. And. Tary at. Grass rats garage
I love your videos. They are so clear and complete. I also love that you are showing girls that they can do anything. My granddaughter is eleven and likes to tinker. I'm a retired 70-year-old engineer who loves showing her how things work. You are a splendid example for young women to show that they can do anything they set their mind on. I also like that you show how you can make a good living in a trade. I went to college and graduate school long before they became too expensive. We desperately need skilled trade/craftsmen(women). I don't know your educational experience, but I do know you're smart and dedicated to your work. Thank you for showing young women how to succeed in any field.
I admire her but she is still very rare. Generally women aren't interested. No one is denying women this but they have to have the interest from an early age just like most males do.
No, no women can't do anything they set their mind to. Nor can men. And there are some things where men and women are NOT interchangeable. And that's a good thing. But that doesn't stop some delusional people from trying...
Glad I just purchased a new Grease gun, I have just started picking up old not being used mowers and fixing them and selling them. And all of you that are supplying all these tips keep up the good work.
I don't have a riding mower but I thought I would mention that not knowing how easy it is to get your grease gun onto that straight up zerk you can get a different end for your gun that slides straight on from the side. It has a slot in the side so you push it on straight instead of trying to get the hose bent to put it onto the top of the zerk when it points up. Very handy. I used to work in auto service and it comes in very handy for low clearance areas where the hose won't bend enough and you just pump grease out and not into the bearing or in my case ball joints. Hope this saves someone some time and frustration :)
Hi Chickanic, Recently saw video where he removed top and bottom bearings on a J Deere riding E 100.. He removed bearing covers and completely cleaned both top and bottom grease free.. He installed bearings on spindles and on to the deck. He packed the spindle housing with GREEN grease. He then ran J. Deere for awhile. Mind you he is sharing this as he un installs spindle housing. He then removes both top and bottom bearings with dust covers still connected. He then removed dust covers from bearings. And both top and bottom had green grease in them. Since seeing this video, I also grease the housing until it sguirts out. I also notice now when engaging mower blades, they engage very smoothly. Hardly or very little vibration. I saw and tried it and it works.. Keep up the great work your putting on You tube. Joe Cruz
Interesting video for me since I got na new Husqvarna about nine months ago. How about a making a video on greasing lawn equipment for those of us like me who a really mechanically inept. I stumbled on you RU-vid channel some time ago and really like it. Your how to videos a clear and precise.
Wow! Here in Uruguay grass happens big time and mowers are way pricey.Poulan Pro @ $3000!! replaced by a Husq 52" zero-turn cost us $9000!!! We grow 500-1000 million year old granite bedrock causing many repairs. You have provided the most concise info of anyone, and I have been looking and in need. Thank you.
Love your content! You've helped me get a few of my small engine machines fixed. Everytime I watch a video & your intro music comes on it reminds me off the movie Mallrats!😂
I don’t know how you came to that conclusion. I have been saying for my whole career that they actually may have an advantage getting hands into locations I can’t get my large hands into without cuts, scrapes, etc. Need to learn electrical, hydraulic flow and the rest can be figured out.
I still think that roller bearings last longer when sealed. Its good they did leave the seal in the top bearing because if that spindle is not full of grease then the top would fail very fast. The double automotive or ATV style sealed bearings you see on some bigger commercial units are really a huge improvement. I've yet to see one fail.
I bought a Cub Cadet commercial ZTR and it has grease zerts all over it, so I'm glad to see that they made the blade spindles grease-able, but the first thing I thought when you opened it up was that's a mighty large grease cavity, each spindle assy probably takes a half a tube of grease.
When I rebuilt my spindles I removed the inner seals and filled the cavities with bulk grease before putting it back together. It’s cheaper than tube grease.
@@BossPrepping That sucks, Quality long lasting lawn equipment is expensive and getting harder to find without buying commercial grade. I just happened to end up with a commercial ZTR on accident and I love it.
This is good news. I bought a 42" Husqvarna zero turn this spring. I found your channel 6 months and subscribed after watching the first video. Thanks for what yo do.
My feeling would be, once you get that cavity filled up with grease, future greasing applications should be very light unless you see a large discharge past a seal. It’s likely that Heat from the summer temps and usage will cause expansion and push some out past the seals.
I believe you are absolutely correct but it takes a lot of grease to fill the void close to a full tube 70 pumps with the grease gun. I have done some testing with a different coloured grease and when the cavity has been filled the different coloured grease does enter through the rubber seal. Is it enough only time will tell but once filled we grease them whenever they come back for service and we use a paint stick to identify each spindle so we know we have greased them previously.
Most of the spindles I replace for customers are from bad bearings. I live in Missouri and we grow rocks here too. Rarely see cracked spindle housing or completely pooched star pattern. The cheap Chinese aftermarket spindles I usually use are sealed bearings (plastic seal), but I am not going to take them apart to pull off seals. Just pump a bunch of grease in them, at least moisture and dirt/debris is kept to a minimum.
On older Snappers the spindle had a zerk in it, however Snapper told me to look at the zerk. I looked and it did not have a bb in the end of the zerk. Was told this was a vent so the pressure didn't push the grease out of the sealed bearings.
I have a 20 year old 61" commercial Husqvarna that has zerk fittings on the side of the spindle and sealed bearings. I grease them anyway and they are the originals...
If you retrofit these spindles....the most reasonable method I've seen is to take off the inner dust shields on the bearings, drill a hole in the side of the spindles for a zerk(if there isn't one)...but that only gets you grease inside the spindle. How much to put in??? Well, you need a small air hole drilled in the spindle that can have a rubber plug put back when the grease starts weeping out the air hole....like they have on hydraulic floor jacks.
I like the drinking with us lol I thought about just removing the inside seals but to much pressure would pop off the outside seal but if done carefully who knows? I think the best way is just to manually grease with high temperature grease?
Gotta use high temp grease on bearings I greased one out in the field away from shop with universal Grease and it blew apart and was dry after a few days like it never had grease and I packed it!
I do! These are just the ones that everyone sent me out of the kindness of their hearts. I gotta get off my butt and order the other ones. Bwahahahahaha!
Commercial ( golf) are greased open bearings with a sleeve to space inside inner races too. Grease , grease, grease. Also find the smaller 24” blade hubs more durable compared to the heavier 27” more mass more chance of damage .
There's a lot of chatter on various lawn and tractor forums about sealed vs greaseable bearings. I like the fact that you took the time to dig into the issue and make another video showing what you found. Thanks Bre.
Use caution with gresing those one piece spindle housings, especially if the inner seal's are removed. What you have there is essentially a hydraulic cylinder, and will easily blow the outer seal's off the bearings. An example of the power of a grease gun is bulldozers, tracked hoes and tracked skid steers use a grease gun to fill a cylinder to set and hold the track tension. My mid 80's Simplicity / AC GT's use a 2 piece spindle housing, with a loose fit and excess grease simply flows out between the 2 halves. I have been drilling and tapping spindle housings for grease fittings since the early 80's. In my experience the lower bearing was the first to go bad, often with rust and water sitting on top of it. I never removed the seals, just filled the housings to stop condensation / water entry in them, this took me from replacing bearings every 1.5-2 years to 5 or 6 years sometimes more ;-)
See my post above. You need a weep hole drilled in the spindle so that the grease won't pressurize inside the spindle. Cover the weep hole with a rubber plug when you see grease weeping out....simple.
Excellent information good to know. In all my fixes I always put grease to all components at hand even it’s not why I went inside for. Lubrication and cleaning is a good thing. Love this channel I learn a lot every time, keep up, thanks.
I recently watched a video where the poster showed that even though they may be 'sealed' bearings, they will still take grease through the grease fitting. Problem is that the manufacturers do not put a lot of grease in the spindles at the factory so, the first time you lube it you have to be sure to fill the housing. Try it, it works. I did. See 'Woodchuck Russ the Deck Dr' here on RU-vid.
I've been taking my spindle bearings apart for 30 years on my Craftsman GT 6000 garden tracktor and removing the seal and hand greasing. All original bearings and spindles work great.
My 17 year old Husqvarna was like that when I took the spindles apart. The bottom bearing was sealed on the bottom and open on top. So they’ve been doing it for at least that long, on some mowers anyway. The top bearing had spacers though. Also, if you grease a spindle that has sealed bearings and then and open up the seals you will notice that they will get grease. It’s easy to tell if you use a different color grease, so it’s never been useless to grease sealed bearings, the grease easily gets right around the seals.
In my experience with my Murray ride on, replacement spindles have always come with sealed bearings and yes the grease does indeed get past the seal if pumped up sufficiently but does not receive enough grease before it starts coming out the zerk for this reason I still remove the inner seals.
Very nice! The last time I replaced the spindles on my old-enough-to-legally-drink Deere STX38, I took them apart. Yup, sealed bearings! One of the two spindles was trash - egged out pulley splines, obvious twisting of the shaft, etc... Since everything else with the other one was okay, I ordered new SHIELDED bearings and rebuilt it. When I applied the grease gun, I got a nice stream of grease thru the shields. When the new ones fail due to sealed bearings / lack of grease, I'll rebuild them with shielded bearings that can be greased. :)
One suggestion I have is that the housings come with a steel plate that is fastened to the housings by the same installation bolts to the frame. I made some from an old deck that was shot. Have never had a housing break since. One other thing, I drill out the housings for a pass through bolt and nut. Otherwise the soft bolts provided will break off into the aluminum if attempted removal.
thanks for the educational videos for the DYIers, and finally the manufacturers might start to listen to the consumers to fix issues like these. much greatful for you showing us the mistakes they made so more people can voice about getting the proper equipment from the start
The "fake" zerk does keep the sealed bearings packed and cooler, but that's about all, unless you force grease past the seal. My 12 year old Hustler has been greased regularly and has yet to need serviced.
WoW, A Chick using a 3lb. hammer. I almost stopped the vid. and rubbed the crystal ball. lol You are Genuine and I do learn great stuff from you, thank you!
Very surprised to and glad see this video. You are a very special Chickanic. When I commented yesterday about not greasing the spindle, I just assumed that if they included a grease fitting there might have been a reason for doing so. Like I told you in my comment, I don't have a Husqvarna, I have a Toro zero turn. However I do have a Craftsman anniversary 42 inch cut riding mower that took me about 3.5 hours to cut 2 ackers. Again, thanks for the updated video today. Keep up the great informative videos. I still need to tear into my Mccullagh weed Wacker and my lawn boy 22" self-propelled mower that I just can't seem to get started lol.
I too have watch so many videos that is pro and con on this subject leaving me unsure of what to do, but now that I am hearing it from you, I will definitely get the grease gun out! You are the BEST!
Funny I just watched it and commented on it as well about how the greasing works. The interesting thing is there was no grease in there. The ones I have changed are full of grease and the bearing seal has been removed from the two inside seals. I imagine maybe some were not assembled properly or not replaced properly. I have always worn-out bearings, when they start to roar it's time and quite often had I removed the plugged zerk and put a new one on they would have likely been saved but they are cheap. Again great video helping more people out. I share your channel with everyone who might benefit.
Interesting. I work on Bonanza/Baron aircraft. These have not changed much since 1947 but 2018 models and later look the same but everything about them is a little different if you look close. Same deal with these spindles. Sharp eyes are necessary! You have them.
Awesome news!! Thanks for sharing this. I remember the Saloon having quite a number of comments and have read a huge amount of forum questions on this subject. I suppose it would be a shame to miss a corny pun opportunity. IE: "The squeaky shaft get the grease!"... Wow, that felt silly just typing it. Ya know cause it would probably be more of a grinding sound... I will stop now. Thanks again Bre!
Another Arky here. Dixie Choppers use convex Belleville washers instead of starred shafts to hold the blades on. They serve as very effective clutches and do not destroy the shafts when a rock or root is hit. When I have to work on a shaft on any mower of any brand, I always clean out the housing and drill a small hole in the housing that I tap for a grease zerk if it is not already fitted with one. I then remove the inner bearing cover on the top and bottom bearings so they are exposed to the grease zerk. I put it all back in and force grease into the housing until it starts coming out around the shaft. No dry bearing problem anymore.
It would be nice if the manufacturers shared some of the "why we do it" info with customers. But, I guess that would mean the products could last a lot longer... Your channel is GREAT Bre! I haven't used the info yet, but when I start getting back to the real world, your videos are going to be a BIG help. THANKS!
So, the next step is oil filled spindle bearings? Service factor is much, much higher (little problem with a top mounted bearing), ie there are almost no tractor trailers running grease these days
I have a 2014 Craftsman, (Husqvarna made) i just replaced one of the 3 spindles on its 54 in deck. All originals, it had the open bottom bearing! But it didnt have the integrated spacer top bearing. So evidentally they have been doing it for a few years.
I had deere 120 48" had to put spindle bearings in it every year. after 5 yrs sold it. got a cub cadet z force grease fitting everywhere, had it 15 yrs no problems
Awesome...Headed out in a few to look at a Used, 2020, 54" Husky Mower with 85 Hours and New Blades? Now I know what and where to pay closer attention to for impact damage and lousy spindle noise or excessive vibration. This Mower apparently has a 'Less than Macho' reputation for mowing my 3-4 acres of uneven terrain and grass. However, $4,000 for a new one that isn't even made anymore in 2023? Thanks Chick...You Rock!!!
I had an MTD bought around 1991....The spindles lasted a long time....Got my replacements locally from a farm supply that would last one or two seasons....Switched to Dixie supply and their bearing lasted for years as did the original factory bearings....After 25 years of good service, even the seat lasted 20 years, I bought a Husqvarna Z246....That seat lasted 5 years before cracking....
I would replace the bearings in my 38 inch cut mower every year, I took the spindle apart took the bearings out, seen a number on them . Went to Tractor Supply bought 4 bearings. Worked good as new. Then I went to a mower shop and wanted to get more bearings, was told, you have to buy the whole spindle, can't get the bearings. So I went to a bearing Supply, gave them the number, and they had just what I needed. Some mower shops may not know the bearings can be changed.
The Husqvarna ZT mowers are the former Dixon designed mowers made in South Carolina at the Dixon plant which they bought in the early 2000's. The rider 'lawn tractors' ARE made by AYP for them (Husqvarna). I believe they also bought Yazoo-Kees around the same time which was a super machine. Husqvarna just killed the brand. I had a chance to buy a 72" Yazoo with a 31hp Kubota turbo diesel a few years back, real low hours. One of the last ones made, 2004 or 05 maybe. It was way more mower than I needed though. Would've loved to spool up that turbo cutting my grass for the neighbors to hear!
As someone who spent years changing bearings and then years buying bearings for a global manufacturer of automotive components, there is nothing wrong with sealed/shielded bearings in this application as high speed and/or precision aren't at play. As long as the seal/shield isn't damaged, they will last a long time. In this application, I would prefer shielded over sealed. I bet you'll be changing out more bearings in the future as open bearings are more prone to failure if not maintained properly.
On your fuel test, you did. If you put your plum on the unlock blk button and your fingers on the flat grip and squeeze, it will pour alot better.and stay in control of the container.
My Wheelhorse had open bearings in it. The replacement one's didn't just take off the covers on one side works good that way u can grease them thanks for sharing. My Wheelhorse is a 1981 they don't make the like that any more. In 1981 I payed 2700 for it. But they are a garden tractor.
I've taken backing off several bearings to be able to grease. I'm talking bigger finish mowers. It does work. They last a lot longer. It's the same on lot electric motors . They have plugs or fittings so people grease and ruin bearings because there actually sealed . Read manuals on all equipment. I wish I lived in your area I'd take everything to you . Just to see you. Love seeing your videos.
Thanks again Chickanic. On my riding mower which is a 2003 Troy-Bilt LTX 1842. I am very very particular about my equipment I wash it and wax it armor all the wheels.... It literally looks and runs like a 6 months old. I do all my own maintenance and repairs as I do on both my vehicles. However.... I have replaced my share of worn out pulleys belts springs even the transaxle at one point.... And I have noticed some design and engineering flaws in the tractor. One of those would be there's no way to lubricate the transaxle. So when I went to replace it and I got a brand new one I looked at the design saw what moves drilled some holes, threaded them for some bolts so I can add your oil as needed. But yes and what are my idler police you have to literally take the entire body off to get to the top bolt which is underneath the floor where you put your feet. So when that time came I cut an access hole in the floorboard so I can access that bolt. And yes on my 2003 Troy-Bilt LTX 1842 my spindles do have a zerk fitting at the bottom and it just goes into a hollow cavity and it does not lubricate the bearings all my bearings are sealed. So yeah it makes you wonder how they design things.... Love your channel love the videos keep on keeping on!!!!..,👍👍👍👍👍
This debate has been going on since late 90,s. Sealed/ not sealed. My experience has told me unsealed bearings and daily greasing lasts longest. That is in the UK
I have a Husqvarna riding mower about 15 years old. Every time since it was new it backfires when I turn it off. Still runs great and cuts good. But I also have to give it a shot of starting fluid when I start it. But once it's started once it will start every time the day of use. Better than buying a new mower. 👍👍
That's interesting!, I've learned a few things myself about zero turns and that is for the price of the cheaper home owner brands they arent worth it!, I got rid of my cub cadet after 2 yrs I replaced a spindle, belt, deck wheels, and the 2 deck cables!. I mow 15 of our 30 acres mostly with a tractor w/a 6' finish mower my other half mows up around the house and trees with the zero turn!. So I bought a commercial Bob-Cat zero turn, omg its ten times more comfortable for her and after 675 hrs with proper maintenance it's still like brand new and no problems!. Great video!, you do a very good job of explaining and teaching people!.
My 20 year old Simplicity/Ferris came with no grease fittings on the spindle shafts, and many years later, I had to replace the spindle housings, and those came with grease fittings on the shafts because they aren't using the sealed bearings anymore. I always feel a little better when I have to manually grease bearings in some cases, because then I know it has been greased, and am not depending on the manufacturer to have put in a non defective sealed bearing. In my area, there are rocks a plenty, and if I am not on top of it, there are gopher mounds loaded with rocks. Or if I listen to my neighbors mowing, there are also toys, tree branches, and anything else that gets hidden in 2-3 weeks of grass growth.
You can get those replacement shafts, I think they call them quills. The ones we get are open seal on the bottom bearing. So replace the top bearing with a 6203 RS and put in a new quill and half a tube of grease. That's what we do when we can. Bill in Ottawa
Good video, Husky has to do something to compete with the other cheap manufacturers as they are owned by Electrolux, I used to get old John Deere's in to fix and the spindels would take 40 pumps of grease each and the bearings didn't go bad. Only when parked outside or hit things. A grease gun can pump tons of pressure but people don't seem to realize that.
We just bought a Husqvarna zero turn mower in late 2020 hopefully it has the upgraded spindle design. Btw to anyone that needs a new mower never buy it online aways buy from dealer unless you're mechanically inclined cause there is so much stuff you need to adjust and repair on them right out of the box it had an oil leak out of the drain line, control panel where everything is wasnt assembled correctly had to reposition it, didn't track straight had to adjust the speed on the sticks and deck needed to be leveled didn't cut right and will destroy belts. Always buy from a store or dealer
