IH Cadet - greasable spindles for my 42" mower deck

A

andyd

Joined
Sep 25, 2004
Messages
10,061
Location
Marshfield , MA
Thats the one thing about that mower deck that I like. After market parts are cheap. It seems that it takes the same parts as many other mowers. Whilst paying attention to car and truck repairs, my front lawn tried to change into a hay field. No sooner than I had the RF wheel back on the Tacoma. I started mowing. Got the lawn mowed and I had emptied the bagger bins when the right spindle started getting loud and hot. 2 yrs ago I trashed the new spindle on a rock. The Aluminum housing was cracked. I dug the original spindle out of the trash and put the new parts into the old housing. I remember bemoaning the lack of grease fittings that kept the spindles of my '77 IH Cadet 80 trouble free. I ran the Inty 15 yrs until the pulleys wore out. So I got on line and ordered up a set of greaseable ones. They'll be here Monday.
 
You really can get some serious life out of them, greaseble or not. I've seen a bunch of units with zerks on them, yet the bearings inside were "sealed", so I'd be mindful of that on the new ones.

I don't know how many hours are on my 20yr old Husqvarna group built Craftsman LT2000 with the 42" deck, but it hasn't had an easy life and the spindles are the factory units yet.
 
I guess I am thick headed bur I fail to see how putting a grease fitting on a spindle that has sealed bearings is supposed to work. I replaced the 14 year old spindle bearings on my mower last year. Only one bearing had a slightly rough feeling when you rotated it. The other three were still smooth. They were sealed bearings and no zerk fittings.
 
oldcodger said:
I guess I am thick headed bur I fail to see how putting a grease fitting on a spindle that has sealed bearings is supposed to work. I replaced the 14 year old spindle bearings on my mower last year. Only one bearing had a slightly rough feeling when you rotated it. The other three were still smooth. They were sealed bearings and no zerk fittings.
Click to expand...
My only guess is that the grease might tend to keep water and dirt from collecting in the chamber. Possibly working it's way around the outer edge of the bearing. And who knows, a little bit might get inside the bearing too.
 
I ordered bearings for the spindles in my mower, but now I have two new complete spindle units as I realized both had problems beyond bad bearings. One was wollowed out so the bottom bearing race fit way too lose. The other had small cracks in the case. Both had galled up shafts and one had stripped the threads after having to use the 3/4" impact to get it apart.

I guess I'll see if the replacement Chinesium spindle units are any better than the original ones.
 
my beat up 1982 deere 316 deck has rust holes in it and half the bottom metal that directs the clippings is ripped off..
but still mows. I've had my eye out for a replacement deck but people want $500 for ones that need rebuilt.
 
oldcodger said:
I guess I am thick headed bur I fail to see how putting a grease fitting on a spindle that has sealed bearings is supposed to work. I replaced the 14 year old spindle bearings on my mower last year. Only one bearing had a slightly rough feeling when you rotated it. The other three were still smooth. They were sealed bearings and no zerk fittings.
Click to expand...

I hear that. All I can figure is the grease might give the innards of the spindle a fighting chance against corrosion, helping the bearings to come out easier. Maybe a little bit of lubricant could wick itself into the sealed bearings as well. I dunno,
 
ripcord said:
It's easy to pop off the rubber inner seals on those bearings to let the grease in. Only on the inside facing sides, obviously.
Click to expand...
Thank you all for your replies. Popping off the inner seal is a good idea. IIRC, I did that to pack the bearings when I 'fixed" it after the housing cracked
 
oldcodger said:
I guess I am thick headed bur I fail to see how putting a grease fitting on a spindle that has sealed bearings is supposed to work. I replaced the 14 year old spindle bearings on my mower last year. Only one bearing had a slightly rough feeling when you rotated it. The other three were still smooth. They were sealed bearings and no zerk fittings.
Click to expand...
You would think that the factory would have removed the seal or at least drilled some holes in it if the grease fitting was more than a sales gimmick. My cub cadet zero turn zforce that is 20 plus years old actually has bearings with a grease seal removed on both inner sides of the bearings. The original deck rusted beyond repair but two of the original spindles were still good.
 
andyd said:
Thats the one thing about that mower deck that I like. After market parts are cheap. It seems that it takes the same parts as many other mowers. Whilst paying attention to car and truck repairs, my front lawn tried to change into a hay field. No sooner than I had the RF wheel back on the Tacoma. I started mowing. Got the lawn mowed and I had emptied the bagger bins when the right spindle started getting loud and hot. 2 yrs ago I trashed the new spindle on a rock. The Aluminum housing was cracked. I dug the original spindle out of the trash and put the new parts into the old housing. I remember bemoaning the lack of grease fittings that kept the spindles of my '77 IH Cadet 80 trouble free. I ran the Inty 15 yrs until the pulleys wore out. So I got on line and ordered up a set of greaseable ones. They'll be here Monday.
Click to expand...
All the ones I've taken apart the greaseable feature is virtually useless.
 
The original spindles on my " Toy Built" - 4yr old - 42" deck rider mower lasted 1 season, ( about 4-5 months), on 3/4 acre. I priced out new original ones, and the cost was ridiculous. Took them apart just to see where they were manufactured. Of course it was China. Too far gone to rebuild, so I purchased " greaseable" Chinese spindles off of Amazon. They last 2 seasons, at less than half the cost of OE. I'm sure the bearings are probably sealed on the inward side, but grease must be wicking into them somehow since they are lasting a season longer.
 
50yr Street Mech said:
The original spindles on my " Toy Built" - 4yr old - 42" deck rider mower lasted 1 season, ( about 4-5 months), on 3/4 acre. I priced out new original ones, and the cost was ridiculous. Took them apart just to see where they were manufactured. Of course it was China. Too far gone to rebuild, so I purchased " greaseable" Chinese spindles off of Amazon. They last 2 seasons, at less than half the cost of OE. I'm sure the bearings are probably sealed on the inward side, but grease must be wicking into them somehow since they are lasting a season longer.
Click to expand...
It's probably worthwhile in your case to remove the inner bearing seals, to let grease get in. Or at least take the bearings out and pack them with your own grease; too often they come with hardly any grease from the factory. YMMV
 
SilentType said:
It's probably worthwhile in your case to remove the inner bearing seals, to let grease get in. Or at least take the bearings out and pack them with your own grease; too often they come with hardly any grease from the factory. YMMV
Click to expand...
I agree. Before I put in the next pair of spindles, I'll take them apart and remove the inner seals. Thanks for the heads up -)
 
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