How to install grease fittings on riding mower bearings

Most mowers these days do not come with grease fittings on the mower blade bearing mandrels. I show and easy way to add to the life of those bearings by installing a greasezerk fitting on the mandrel.

[femtoman]

I've done this to every one of my lawnmowers also. You're correct in saying that once this is done, it is a commitment and must be done at least twice a mowing season. I also repack the idler pulley bearings once a year. The seals pop off and easily go back into place with a little effort. Doing this and regularly changing the engine oil will make your mower last many years.

[jgspeer]

Just want you to know that a few months ago I ran across your video here and loved the idea. I hit something a couple days ago and broke one the mandrel's and decided to go ahead and get all 3 new and do exactly what you have done. Thank you for this! Brilliant! :) And now I own a grease gun and I finally had a good use for the tap and die set I got 30 years ago.

[RobertKarlSkoglund]

Wow. You are a top drawer teacher. No wasting words. And getting right to the meat of the matter. Thank you. The humble Farmer

[pipedreams]

I have done this to every riding mower I ever owned. It works great. It usually takes about 50 pumps from a grease gun to fill these up. Synthetic grease lasts longer and pumps easier, especially in cold weather. Pump SLOWLY and watch for grease to come out so as not to blow the top and bottom seals out of the bearing. Also, you can buy zerk fittings that you simply drill a 3/16 hole for and drive them in place with a small socket. Socket must fit on the lip of the zerk and not the tip. This really adds a lot of life to the belts and the engine. Good luck.

[loubzac]

the housing is cast aluminum and break verry easy. great advice, i nave seen a few people put the grease fittings in but not take the face off the bearing

[bctruck]

i put a couple of pumps into mine whenever i change the oil. that is a few times a year. i mow 5 acres of grass in my yard alone and i mow my next door neighbors who is 80 years old. the manufacturers DEFINITELY did not intend for people to fix the weak points in these things. those weak points are, in my opinion, designed into these things. people are far more likely to just buy a new one, in this throw away, instant gratification world we now live in.I like stickin it to the

[wyattoneable]

I did the same trick to my Springer Harley and have never had to replace the steering bearings since then. Great trick to save some bearings! Nice work.

[Shortstuff]

Adding a Zerk fitting to a closed spindle is fine; however, you should always drill a vent on the opposite side. This will allow the pressure in the spindle to be reduced and also indicate when the cavity is full of grease. I always drill the Zerk fitting closer (downward) to the blade and drill the vent higher. I use a small sheet metal screw as a vent plug ti keep the dirt/dust out of the spindle cavity. Also, when tapping always oil the tap every rotation or so. Any oil is fine. I also blow out the metal shavings with compressed air.

[bctruck]

we have loctite but ive never used it on grease fittings. they break more often than they come unscrewed so being able to remove it for replacement is easier when its not loctited in there.

[citation]

Thanks for the help. I got both of mine done today :-) All was good until I went to install new blades and I noticed one of the stars were worn down almost flush. I wish I could have caught onto that before I did all of that work. Other than this doing this project is very very easy, but a without a vise I probably couldn't have done it .

Thanks again.

[eagleviewhd]

Should be a 1/4” x 28 TPI tap for most zerks. You should also drill and tap another hole in the spindle to put a weep hole that you can plug with a bolt. This will keep you from forcing the outer seal off of the bearings.

[leisuresuitlarry]

Pretty sweet hack there.   I was thinking of doing this to my Old school edger ( KS 19 STD) trim all.   the pulley/ blade arm bearings burned out and I was looking at how oddly it was put together. It lasted from 61 or so till now but I think it will last another 100 years with this new set up and a grease fitting. LOL 

    I like that you mentioned the Mowers these days are designs to fail, I have told people that over and over ( any new car is the exact way but it gets more technical when you go into automotive scams  )   

  But On the Lawn Mowers there is another big deal.    It's in the wheels!  most people don't think about the wheels, they work fine in the store after all, pushes great for a year or two, then all the sudden ya get the wobbley wheel thing going on.  used to be that the wheels ( I am talking far back ) had bearings or at the very least a metal sleeve. closely fit to the axle, Installing a bearing or, what I have been doing, us a new axle bolt fitted to dual ( inside and outside) steel Bushings.     tightens then up, gets rid of the wobble and it;s amazing the difference it can make to an old mower that should not be on it;s last leg.   I didn't fit them with grease fittings, LOL  probably get a little messy. it is an idea though.

[serge]

I have had my mover for 17yrs have not greased the spindles yet. It seams like they are working fine. Hope its not to late 😮.

[bctruck]

mandrel bolts or blade? if its mandrel, then i would sugest using a breaker bar and if you have to, snap them off, then put it in a vise and drill them out.if its theblade that you are having a hard time with, you may need to remove the deck and turn it over so you can get a 1/2 inch breaker bar on it and some extra muscle like a cheater pipe. let me know how you make out. if you send a couple quick clips, i could probably help you more.

[instrumentalbeats]

Would you recommend waiting till your originals go bad and doing this to a new set I just got a new lawn mower and has 10 hours so far would it be worth taking out the originals and rebuilding them with the new grease fitting?

[bctruck]

yep! them patio blocks are rough on a mower. so are bottle jacks that you forgot you used and the grass grew up around it and you didnt see it till it came through the top of your mower deck. I hate it when that happens.

[bctruck]

you have to remove both bearings because you have to remove the plastic grease seal on one side of the bearing. this side will beplaced back where the bearing rides so that the now open face of the bearing is facing inside. this is so the grease can actually get in the bearings. when you grease it after it is back on the deck and bolted down with pulley and blade on it, keep greasing until it squeezes out the top or bottom.

[citation]

Thanks ! I will remove the mandrel and give that a try ! Thank you vary much for the help .

[Swanny]

I agree, most people would just get a new one, I got my mower well used (100$), the guy who had it before me knew nothing about general matainace, it had a rod knock, the bearings in the deck where completly out, as in gone, ( luckly I have a lathe and bored out my old spindels installed bigger bearings), it was a basket case, after many hours of "enginering/fixing/painting, I can honestly say I have the coolest mower in the "town". I try to stick the man every chance I get.

[anniversary]

Thanks for the video. this is a great idea.  Do you have any video/details on removing the seals that you mentioned. Or is it obvious when you buy the bearings?