Need to repair a 48" side discharge spindle assembly off C160

[Davidbrianlove 0]

OK Group – I need some old Wheel Horse mower deck/ spindle help.

I have a tractor that a parts and pieces tractor – an M12 Kohler from a 312-8, and rear gear tranny from a C-160, and seat pan from a grey Workhorse, (you get the picture). Most of these pieces were cast offs from other peoples tractors.

The deck came from an old C-160 – 48†side discharge, 3 front rollers. The right side blade spindle started smoking and boiling its grease last time I cut. It was so hot that the belt started melting when I shut the tractor off.

The spindles were full circle round, threaded on the outside at the top with a screw-in grease fitting. There was a 1/16â€x5/8†key that locked the pulley into the place. After I pulled the pulley off, the top inside area around the shaft was a collection of grease, loose ball bearings, perhaps the shreaded remains of a ball bearing case, and the shattered remains of other round cylinder shaped pieces. Even the long cylindrical spindle spacer was broken into multiple small pieces. The was some scoring of the spindle shaft, but it wasn’t bad.

When I looked at some of the old deck manuals here, I would have guessed that the following parts were destroyed:

106075 – Seal, double lip

106070 – Spacer seal – there was an intact small metal ring – is that what this is?

106085 – Ball bearing, non-sealed

106069 - Spindle Spacer

My bottom ball bearing ring looked good, but the parts drawing says it’s a sealed bearing – the one I’m looking at has exposed ball bearings, but they roll smooth – any chance this was sealed, but the shatter remains of the spindle spacer or the intense heat destroyed the seal parts of this bearing?

Here are my questions – are the modern replacement part numbers for these pieces?

Should I replace the bottom bearing also, even though it rolls smooth. Modern part# please?

With the scored spindle shaft, am I getting close to replacing the whole assembly (the only thing that’s good is the spindle housing at this point!

Anybody have this spindle assembly with a destroyed housing, but good internals that they want to sell?

If I was searching on Ebay, what spindle assembly kit would you suggest?

Thanks,

Dave

[Davidbrianlove 0]

OK, so I looked at RCPW, and most everything is still for sale - The prices of individual components adds up to much less than a full spindle assembly. If anyone can verify that my part numbers are the right ones for a 1970's 48" wide side discharge with the keyed pulley, I'd sleep better between when now and when the package comes from RCPW.

Dave

[Forest Road 595]

I have a full set of used spindles and pulleys available. PM me for more info.

[kpinnc 18,429]

My bottom ball bearing ring looked good, but the parts drawing says it’s a sealed bearing – the one I’m looking at has exposed ball bearings, but they roll smooth – any chance this was sealed, but the shatter remains of the spindle spacer or the intense heat destroyed the seal parts of this bearing?

I use a local supplier for all my bearings, because he's very reasonable on prices and high on quality. That said, sometimes I may have to find a "substitute" bearing for a given application. As for deck spindle/ mandrel bearings, I always buy sealed bearings and then remove the inner (facing one another in the spindle) seals. This keeps the elements out of the bearing, but allows for greasing them externally from the grease fittings. Plastic or even metal seals are easily removed with an o-ring pick. Just be careful not to stab your finger when it pops out.

You can also buy a rubber "oil shaft seal" for just about anything at NAPA. Just take the housing and shaft so you have something to measure. Shouldn't be more than 5-10 bucks. The great thing about these machines is there are plenty of "off-the-shelf" parts used in their construction, so parts are easy to find.

In my opinion though, I'd go ahead and replace all the bearings while you're into the one bad spindle. You'll be glad you did!

[Davidbrianlove 0]

Thanks for the feedback - I'll probably fix the one spindle to get me up and cutting for what I hope is the last cut of the season - then, will rebuild other two spindles during the off-season!

Dave