So I went to put new blades on the zero-turn mower.
I found one of the spindles had broken ears where the mounting bolts were. (2 out of the 4). The other bearing spindle had cracks on 2.
So I looked up on Amazon. $34 each and I can have them tomorrow…Supposedly OEM, not a chinese knockoff.
Then I called the local place where I bought the mower. They had the parts in stock, and they were just a few bucks more. I like supporting the local places, so I drove in and got a pair.
THey offered greaseable, and non greasable. Grease is cheap and it keeps the bearings happy, so I asked for the greasable ones.
Got home, and I had one greasable and one non greasable. Back to the mower place.
Got home, pulled the pulleys, got the spindle bolts loose, and found out that the replacement spindles were an inch and half longer than the ones I was replacing. Called the mower place, yeah, they have the correct ones, and drove back to town and exchanged ’em….taking the broken part with me to make sure they gave me the right one….AAAnnd the ones they were trying to give me were a half inch shorter that the ones I needed.
They did have the right ones. Supposedly it matters according to serial number on the mower as to which spindle length….I pointed out that THEY HAVE THE SERIAL NUMBER AS THEY SOLD ME THE MOWER. They simply never bothered to check….(I later found out that the parts don’t change according to serial number but MODEL number…
Christ on a pogo stick. This isn’t that hard, kid. Use the information tools they provide and don’t just get a part that looks similar off the shelf. And this counter guy has been employed there for several years. All told, it cost me an additional $10 in gas (Thanks Brandon!) and an hour of time to finally get the right parts…..I’d have been better off going through Amazon.
You’re lucky the bolts holding the spindles to the deck cooperated during disassembly! I’ve had to do this job a few times. I don’t even hope to re-use the old bolts! I order new ones with the new spindles.
Watch it when greasing the new spindles. Most grease points have a place for excess grease to exit. That’s usually how you know when you’ve pumped enough in. If your spindles are anything like mine they don’t, and give you very little pushback before blowing the seals out… under the deck… where you won’t know of your mistake until about three uses down the line when the spindles fail again… Ask me how I know this…
I may drill a small hole at the top then.
Good thing Phil wasn’t with you, he would have been more than vocal about the lack of knowledge at the parts counter.
nah, the amazon one was counterfeit chinesium parts, and likely the wrong fit too. ask me how i know,lol.