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Arbor maintenance on #422 mower deck


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Posted
It all started by buying my neighbor's 727 Broadmoor he no longer wanted...after driving it across the street, I quickly realized this funky rider was simple, bombproof and mowed grass like a dream. Years of his neglect couldn't faze it, but now its at MY house- and time for a bit o' TLC. After removing the mower deck (I identified it as a #422) I started in with the putty knife to chunk away the solid mass of alien-looking, hardened mold encrusted grass buildup underneath, knowing somewhere there must be blades in there that needed to be reaquainted to the business end of my sharpening file. Half a bushel (!) later, there they were- all three blades, rusty and gasping for breath. The blades came off. Thats when it really started. The deck shell is now bare, cleaned and primered wanting for a new coat of paint in my shed. So are the top covers, lift bar and deflector. All the parts are lined up, cleaned and lubed. I've got a pair of jeans with so much rust on em they're magnetic and my cologne is officially WD-40. This leads me to my question- the arbors DO NOT have grease fittings on the side, and because one has a bad seal at the top, I can feel grit when I spin it. I want to install some zerks, so I tried to disassemble it...just so I wouldn't contaminate the interior with drill and tapping shavings. I pounded on the shaft straight down and after about an inch it occurred to me these things might not be serviceable. Are they? The arbor shaft now has vertical play and I'm committed to either replace it or break it down. If anyone can help, thanks in advance!
D-17_Dave
Posted
Yes, they are serviceable. Look on top inside where the belt runs and underneath for hidden set screws thet may still be holding the sheaves on. Corosion in the keyways and on the shaft may make it difficult to remove them but they will come off. While you have them off, REPLACE the bearing. Rough bearings while they aren't siezed-will produce a lot of noise, heat and eventually wear into the shafts. And I'd bet good money they haven't been replaced in a number of years. Don't go to all that work and put old bearing back in. That being said, there are a lot of options and discusions on wheather or not to install grease zerks and grease otherwise sealed bearings. I won't go into all the detail of each side but I'll give you my point of view. I like to leave the bearing seals in place and rely on the factory bearing grease to lube the bearings. I do feel like the moister buildup inside of the houseing is an issue so if the houseing doesn't have a zerk fitting I install one and pump a little grease into the air space to keep rust and moister under control. Grease exspands under heat so I don't try to pack it full. You can also grease the arbors too much and damage the bearing seals so don't get carried away. The bearings lasted this long without anything extra, give them some clean arbors and reassemble and enjoy your newfound tractor. BTW, don't forget to check the idler and idler bracket bushings.
jambluemtn
Posted
Dave- Thanks for the advise! I'm going to hammer the shaft outta the housing and follow your lead. Even with the arthritic amount of rust these assemblies have, its encouraging to see that with a little attention they come right back to smooth operation. I wish the definition of 'durable goods' as it applied to my old tractor translated into products that are manufactured currently. Thanks again-
HubbardRA
Posted
I agree with Dave on the seals. Some people like to remove the inner seals so that the grease that comes from the fitting placed between the bearings will lubricate the bearings. I personally feel that this gives the grease in the upper bearing a way to get hot and run down, out of the bearing, into the cavity between. As Dave already said, the grease will expand as it gets hot and contract when cool. This means that there will not be any kind of pressurized grease in the cavity between the bearings to keep the top bearing lubed. If the machine is run for a long time mowing, it is my feeling that the upper bearing will start to run dry. This is why I think the bearings last longer with both seals in place.
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