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Deck Spindle Bearing Replacement--My Experience


Allis_914_Owner

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I just recently tore down two 48" decks for the Allis 900 series. Both needed de-rusting, priming, and painting, and both needed spindle bearings replaced. One needed some significant welding done to it (it came on a parts tractor I picked up). I read all over the discussions, and was also told by the Simplicity dealer that the new bearings should go on the spindle quite easily, and you should be able to put them on by hand without any help from a bearing press. Well, considering that it took quite a bit of force to remove the bearings from all 6 spindles (I borrowed a large bearing puller to to this--make sure you have a bolt in the spindle top to take the brunt of the force), I was skeptical. My uncle, a mechanic, suggested that I clean up the spindles really well with crocus cloth, so I shined them up nicely where the bearings would be seated. Then, I oiled up the shaft to let the bearings slide on more easily. It was still a bear to get these buggers on. There's no way these go on the spindle with simple hand pressure. What I did: I don't have access to a press, so I used two parallel bar clamps as a press. I put the top and bottom bearings on, and put the clamps as close to the inner race as possible, and started turning the clamps to apply downward pressure. I left enough room between the clamps to let me tap the bearing with a small hammer after each tightening. After much alternating between tightening and tapping (about 40 minutes worth), I had the bearings seated on three spindles, and was ready to reassemble the first deck. So, for those who are told that putting these bearings back on should be easily done without any tools, I offer my experiences to the contrary. I'm sure you could get the same result with a hammer and the appropriate support, but I'm not that brave. Good luck to those of you performing this fun task!
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I can imagine some of them are quite tough. I used and old bearing, then the spacer from the center arbor and finally a block of wood to hit with the hammer to get mine in.
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I just rebuilt all three on my 60" deck and they went on with little resistance. One of the pulleys was really hard to get off.
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Those are a press fit. Typically a good bench vise will do them, or a large hammer and the proper driving tool so that you don't beat on the outer race and damage the ball bearings. You always want to drive a bearing like that with the inner race - use a socket or heavy wall tubing to fit over the shaft and push on the inner race. Removal of old bearings isn't as critical - you are not saving them - just set the shaft and bearing up in a vise, and as you noted, put a spare bolt in the end of the shaft to take the brunt of the force, and drive the shaft out of the bearing. If you have the later style 2 piece, cone shaped arbor housings, those can sometimes get waddled out and not sufficiently hold the bearings in them. Either prick punch the bearing seating areas, or very lightly crush them in a vise so the outer bearing race is held in place and doesn't spin. You should smear grease inside the housings, unless they have a fitting, then use a grease gun. If you buy factory bearings, or the proper equivalent, they are a sealed bearing - greasing doesn't do any good other than to keep moisture from building up inside the arbor housing. The 2 piece cone shaped ones should have a thin bead of silicone applied at assembly between the top cover and the bottom - again to keep moisture out. Your bar clamp idea was a good one. Hope this helps, Tim
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Okay, John, now you've given me two reasons to envy you: (1) you obviously have a Pow'rMax or the AC equivalent, and (2) your bearings went on with little resistance. I really want a Powr'Max or the AC equivalent, and will get one as soon as I can find one for a price I can swallow. A 60" deck would be phenomenal for my 4 acres of mowing.
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Originally posted by comet66
I just rebuilt all three on my 60" deck and they went on with little resistance. One of the pulleys was really hard to get off.
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Thanks, Ambler. I was scratching my head trying to figure out what other old model AC/Simplicity had a 60 inch deck.
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Originally posted by ambler
John has those new fangled Sunstars, a sissy tractor with power steering
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