Mower spindle rebuild

[Donystoy]

I have an Ariens IKONXL60 zero turn mower with just over 300 hours on it. Had one of the spindles start to get noisy last summer and upon investigation found a second one getting tight. Found that instead of using Loctite on the bearing retainer nut as in the past they now use a retainer made from an alloy that includes brass. There is virtually no way to remove the nut without destroying the threads. No amount of heat etc would work. I ended up using a 24-inch pipe wrench. This was apparently done to make them unserviceable and force you to purchase the entire spindle instead of just a couple of bearings. I did order the only one available in North America last summer as I was in a bind to get it repaired. At the time I repaired the second one by threading the shaft to a different size and machining a nut of the same size and inserting it into the original retainer after machining it.
I just rebuilt all three with new bearings and did what was necessary to make these spindles serviceable with grease fittings. I removed what bearing seals was required to make it work so excess grease comes out just below the pully. The new one that I bought last summer for $300 will now be a spare.

My 30-year-old John Deere 345 has greaseable spindles and have never replaced any.

 

[je1279]

I have an Ariens IKONXL60 zero turn mower with just over 300 hours on it. Had one of the spindles start to get noisy last summer and upon investigation found a second one getting tight. Found that instead of using Loctite on the bearing retainer nut as in the past they now use a retainer made from an alloy that includes brass. There is virtually no way to remove the nut without destroying the threads. No amount of heat etc would work. I ended up using a 24-inch pipe wrench. This was apparently done to make them unserviceable and force you to purchase the entire spindle instead of just a couple of bearings. I did order the only one available in North America last summer as I was in a bind to get it repaired. At the time I repaired the second one by threading the shaft to a different size and machining a nut of the same size and inserting it into the original retainer after machining it.
I just rebuilt all three with new bearings and did what was necessary to make these spindles serviceable with grease fittings. I removed what bearing seals was required to make it work so excess grease comes out just below the pully. The new one that I bought last summer for $300 will now be a spare.

My 30-year-old John Deere 345 has greaseable spindles and have never replaced any.

It's truly sad that the vast majority of parts these days are considered to be disposable rather than rebuildable.

 

[chim]

This isn't apples to apples, but is one reason I like Caroni RFM's:

https://www.agrisupply.com/replacement-caroni-quill-assembly/p/107346/

 

[whatsupdoc]

If it has threads it should come off, strange.

 

[Donystoy]

If it has threads it should come off, strange.

Exactly! I wonder how many engineering hours went into making these unserviceable. Using the softer alloy along with unusually fine threads. In the 60 plus years of working on mechanical equipment I have never seen anything like it.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

Sounds like a royal PITA way to spend 2-3 days , arrrrrgh...
I consider it '2 thumb tech'. Design something that require you to buy/install 'modules' NOT actually fix. That way the 2 thumbers can do it and not get their hands dirty (or learn...).This is a result of the 'use once and toss aka disposable ' BS we have now.

Kinda wondering how the 'retainer' manages to 'self weld' to the spindle. This is a great example of 'let's see the engineer who designed it , repair it' !!!!

Curious ? If you got the last spindle, what do other owners do ????

 

[Donystoy]

Curious ? If you got the last spindle, what do other owners do ????

That is what I thought. Probably a shortage due to high demand. Not everyone has the equipment or inclination to overhaul the originals. Bought my lathe in 1974 and has paid for itself many times over.