zd21 deck lubrication

[jpthomso]

Had this mower 6 months. Pulled deck, replaced blades. I have only found one zert for the idler pulley. I know that the blade shafts need grease. Cant find them, top or bottom. ????

 

[Daren Todd]

Most of the time there is just one zerk on each spindle. And that's if they are serviceable. My finish mower is that way, and my old cub cadet was that way as well.

Usually the zerk goes into the space for the shaft, and as it fills it puts grease to the upper and lower bearing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[rjcorazza]

My zd326 has spindle zerks kinda angled into the spindle accessed from the top of the mower deck. The center spindle zerk is right below the gear box. When I got my mower I researched how long the spindle bearings last, and never found anything. So far I have about 1200h and everything is original, including the belt.
Perhaps yours are sealed bearings.

 

[lugbolt]

A very few of the really early ZD18/21's had nongreaseable spindles. Some of them had the fittings off to the side of the pulley, kind of poking up through the deck shell-and many times they're buried under dirt and clippings. On those, normally there's a cutout in the deck belt shield for access. Others had them in the center of the spindle shaft-right in the middle of the pulley, dead center. Seen more than a slew of them with broken off fittings, then dirt gets around it and packed down good, and they look like they don't have a grease fitting-they almost look flat. I've trained my old eyes to look a little closer at them now.

 

[jcansler]

On my ZD28 the zerks are below each spindle pulley. If you haven't cleaned under the pulley covers they can be hard to see as they are easily covered by grass clipping, etc. Take your fingers and wipe around the area under the pulleys and you will find them if your deck is like mine and I think it will be if it is a later model, mine is one of the last ZDs produced. They may be sealed as lugbolt says if it is an earlier model.

Good Luck...

Joe