48" Deck Spindle Rebuild

[John Csukor 11]

Greetings all, I have a pampered 2005 416XT with a 48" Deck.  While I have kept the spindles greased well, 
they are rattling and in need of new bearings, one can quickly tell.  When visiting the TORO WH site, they
position these parts as a one by one purchase - meaning each washer, nut bearing etc. are all individualized.  

 

48" deck is 78290

Might anyone here know of a REBUILD KIT for these deck spindles?  I expect it would apply to all XT models. 
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. 

I submitted a quote request to New Haven Power Equipment for a Brand New 48" Deck with no response. 
I am sure they are out with the COVID Virus issue we are all facing.

Thank you in advance for any info you might be able to share and I wish you all safety during this unusual time.
Finest regards,
JC 

[Ed Kennell 35,620]

  John.      I am not familiar with the XT series, but to my knowledge, there are no  rebuild kits available for any  deck spindles.

 

My advice would be to try to cross reference the TORO bearing and seal numbers with manufacturers numbers and buy from a bearing supplier.

[pacer 3,159]

I'm not familiar with that particular deck either but as mentioned would think you could just buy them individually. I get the # of the bearing/seal of the existing ones and I first go to the bay and can often get like a 10 pack for about the same price of a single. Either way as said just get your # and go to google or the bay or a local dealer.

[John Csukor 11]

Thank you all so much for the comments! 
It is exactly as I would have thought, (as I said) piece by piece, but I keep seeing things like this LINK. <<<Click here to view. 
It must be a later model offering and though 2005 doesn't seem that long ago, Toro has now moved to disposable machinery.  

Please help me keep this going as there might be something out there! 
Thanks again!
JC

[Lee1977 6,211]

That deck would have metric spindles the bearing are 6203rs you can pop the seal out of one side of the bearing if you want to grease the spindles. the spindle shafts should still be in good shape.

The last set of bearings I put in the center spindle I left the seals in as it's almost imposiblr to grease the spindle with out removing the deck. 

 

 

[John Csukor 11]

Lee1977, interesting enough, the spindles all have grease fittings at the top of each shaft. 
As I mentioned earlier, that enabled me to keep them really well greased each year.  I guess after 600 hours, they 

are simply in need of a redo.  
Thanks so much fro your note! 
JC

[WHX?? 46,704]

John

Your tractor is a straight Toro branded one but interesting enough there was a 416XT produced in 2004 that was labeled as a . Your deck model matches what was offered in '04. They might have gotten away from the Kohler in 05 so yours may have a Kawasaki. You will find files in the manual section for your tractor and deck should you need. 

[John Csukor 11]

Oddly enough, it is literally dual branded TORO WHEEL HORSE. 
The chassis is '05, but the deck seems to be an '03 based on the serial numbers beginning with 230000-

Still has the Kohler. Kind of wish it had the V-twin. 

 

Regardless, the deck is an '03.  Like many of you here, I am a bit of a freak with manuals.  I have all the original 

manuals both for the tractor, tiller and 48" mower deck.  

Again all, I have been all over the TORO parts website and I can see how to order bit by bit and piece by piece. 
I was inquiring about a "rebuild kit" only as a time saver. 

Thank you again, very much!
JC

 

[WHX?? 46,704]

2 minutes ago, John Csukor said:

"rebuild kit" only as a time saver.

Ah yes plug & play always works for me!  Sometimes those spindle housings can get quite corroded so I wish they offered the whole assembly. There was a dealer who was selling at the Big Show once  who was offering the complete assembly less the blade and pully for late mmodel decks. 

You must have a early one then as that model is not even on the master list for 05. 

Just a word of caution here Toro OEM can sometimes be quite proud of their parts. Myself like @pacer I buy the bearings in bulk off ebay and just get into the habit of changing them out. I wash my decks after nearly every mowing so I go through bearings. That said I don't remove the seals and don't grease. 

[John Csukor 11]

Understood.  I think I'll be taking it down and apart this afternoon and getting part by part. 
Just rebuilt the front wheels last week with parts from TORO WH.  I hear you.  Their bearings

were a good 25% higher than similar online.  Now that we are in Mowing season and what with CORONA etc. 
I didn't want to take a chance on someone not getting me what I need fast.  We are in a strict HOA and heaven

forbid my lawn get a little too long....   I'll be in neighborhood prison!  LOL.

Thanks again so much for the camaraderie!  I know my machine is a little bastard and not the all steel ones you all have, 

but she's a keeper and has been stored inside for 15 years with ZERO rust anywhere, including the deck. 

Cheers!
JC 

[WHX?? 46,704]

13 minutes ago, John Csukor said:

my machine is a little bastard and not the all steel ones you all have,

I don't know about that John... my go to mowers are late model Toro/ verticals like yours. I also have a newer JD z turn  but I bet I will still hop on the red ones to mow! 

[pacer 3,159]

On the subject of greasing the bearings with a fitting on top of the spindle .... Before I got into the WH's I had a couple other brands that the deck bearings were just left sealed and I went for years with out problems. When I did need a bearing it was a simple matter to just take the old one out and replace it, none of the horrible glob of grease built up in the cavity - which I never could figure how a guy would KNOW when the grease had got to the bearing anyway! --- AND what a mess to fool with working on one!

 

What this is leading up to is that when I replace the bearings in a WH deck I go back with the sealed ones and dont have to fool with using a whole tube of grease to get to it, I'm running a deck now that I think is in its 7th or 8th season with sealed and they are still good. I've heard a couple of the other guys are doing this also.

[JoeM 7,608]

I just did a 48" xi deck, got a 10 pack on evil bay, 6203-2RS C3 SKF Double Sealed Bearing 17x40x12 $4.70 each shipped. 

There is a guy (Chris Todd) on FB sent me a message that he has rebuilt complete spindles. I don't know anything about price quality availability etc. Never bought any. Just know his message. 

So far used Timken and SKF bearings with no complaints.

One other piece of hardware you want to consider in the job is new top nut lock washers (5/8" grade 8). Those top nuts keep the stack tight and avoid the pulley from spinning on the shaft. Those lock washers may loose their tension over time and flatten out.....reduces the retention. 

[WHX?? 46,704]

That's what I'm talkin about  @pacer .. then I usually man handle the grease gun and pop the other seal out. Wanna talk about a mess! 

 'Sides when the bearing starts to growl good reason to pull the deck, clean & inspect, sharpen blades, check belts ...all that good stuff.

[John Csukor 11]

Tractor Junkie,
Thanks for the notes.  I am certainly not afraid to work on this, but all of the notes here provide a stronger sense of 

confidence when addressing this issue. 

This group has been very helpful and I truly appreciate the assistance in all. 
May we all get through this unique time stronger and together. 
Best regards,

JC

[WVHillbilly520H 10,369]

On 3/30/2020 at 1:35 PM, John Csukor said:

 Toro has now moved to disposable machinery.  
 

Your 416XT was just a carry over of the 26X series of the late 1990s very tight turning radius and still was capable of running a snow thrower or plow... As for disposable machinery I wouldn't necessarily say that... they still have a huge commercial offerings and just recently bought Ventrac .

[tom2p 2,393]

On 3/30/2020 at 2:45 PM, pacer said:

On the subject of greasing the bearings with a fitting on top of the spindle .... Before I got into the WH's I had a couple other brands that the deck bearings were just left sealed and I went for years with out problems. When I did need a bearing it was a simple matter to just take the old one out and replace it, none of the horrible glob of grease built up in the cavity - which I never could figure how a guy would KNOW when the grease had got to the bearing anyway! --- AND what a mess to fool with working on one!

 

What this is leading up to is that when I replace the bearings in a WH deck I go back with the sealed ones and dont have to fool with using a whole tube of grease to get to it, I'm running a deck now that I think is in its 7th or 8th season with sealed and they are still good. I've heard a couple of the other guys are doing this also.

 

one of the first things I did when I got a new (or used) dirt bike was to replace all the low quality bearings with high quality sealed bearings 

 

wheel bearings ... swing arm bearings ... suspension linkage bearings ... pain in the rear but worth it 

 

then could power wash after rides - with greatly reduced maintenance ...  less hassled and issues 

 

( sealed bearings - and O-ring chain )