Spindle bearings ?

[bo dawg 567]

I had to buy a set of spindle bearings 109966, and out of a million to chose from got me wondering where does everyone else get theirs from? I see that most are made in China even the NSK brand, which I thought was good. 

So I thought I would try a company out of Canada called Maple Ace. Hopefully I made a good choice cause I hate taring a deck down to replace bearings. Lol 

[ri702bill 11,600]

I have had decent succes - and not so decent from various suppliers.

 

Look at the packaging - is the bearing in a sealed bag or pouch in the package - it should be...

If you are buying double sealed bearings (most likely), take one out of the wrapper without destroying the wrapper (more to follow).

Hold the outer race and gently spin the inner - it should move freely for several revolutions without any hangups or unusual friction.

Now side load the inner race and repeat. There should be a bit more resistance, but still consistantly smooth. Any detected issues, bag it back up & return it!! Otherwise, so far so good...

 

The next part is where you own them and cannot return them. As @peter lena has mentioned, pop off both seals, flush out the OE non descript greasy substance with BrakeKleen and allow it to air dry  - do not use compressed air. Apply a generous amount of Lucas green X-tra Heavy Duty grease to fill the voids between the individual balls. Pop the seals back on, redo the spin test. All good - now you can install them with confidence.

 

Several years ago, I went to my local TSC store to purchase a pair of mounted front tires on rims. I did the spin test - ALL the wheel bearings felt like they had gone thru a sand storm - I put them back on the shelf & left....

Edited 6 hours ago by ri702bill

[JoeM 9,695]

I've used Maple Ace Bearings and have no issues. Quality is real good.

No need to re lubricate they come with pretty good grease installed. I have some running sealed on mowers decks for a couple years.