OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions On Ride On Mowers Questions On Ride On Mowers Frames Pulley bearings

Haven't got a manual for the Viking yet but looking at the blades I think there is a problem.

With the belt loose (not even touching the pulley) should the blades spin freely? - Cause mine don't - one is stiffer than the other - but both only move when pressure is applied.

Are bearings usually easy to replace in mower decks? What is the usual procedure?

I am not sure on your particular mower but a lot of the ones I have seen have a brake that holds the blades still when the belt is disengaged.

Hmm.... I'll look into it

G�day,
As to bearing replacement I have perfected a method over the years that has never failed me. It may not be the most precise but it has worked 100% of the time for me. I use it on mower decks, spindles, wheel hubs ect. I have never seen the sense in buying a big expensive press to do a few jobs a year with so I always make do with what primitive tools I have.
I have always found the best 1st step to be saturating the whole area in rp7, wd40 or similar and leaving to penetrate overnight. I then remove the shaft from the pulley (usually easy if you have sprayed plenty of rp7 on it and it�s not to rusted in. Sometimes you will need to enlist the help of harry the hammer.
You will then need to asses weather or not the housing has a ridge that the bearing sits against or whether you can belt them strait through. If you can belt it through just get a socket that sits snug on top of the bearing and tap it out with the hammer. If there is a ridge that it sits against then generally the hub is separable i.e. a mower deck. Unbolt the hub and split into the 2 halves. Then get 2 wooden blocks and sit it up on them so the outside of the bearing to be replaced is pointing down. Then get a socket and small extension that sits on top of the bearing but inside the ridge. You can then hit it out with the hammer. If the bearing won�t move then a combination of gentle heating and lubricating with more rp7 ect may help.
When inserting the new bearings all you need to do is tap it into the housing with a hammer. The best method for this is choosing 3 points spaced evenly across the bearing and marking these with a small dot. You then go around is circles hitting it in evenly until it is in the desired position.
This method has never failed me, but I have only ever done it with bearings that are not to rusted in. it is also a good idea to use some emery paper or similar to clean the housing before inserting a new bearing.
It is also very important to assess the condition of the whole housing to make sure that you wont harm it when belting it with the hammer. If you think there is a chance of this then you are better off finding a press to do it with.
Good luck!
Regards jay

Thanks Jay - especially the heads up on the seating ridge other than that I should be right as I have a couple of various sized bearing pullers - comes from being a Mini restorer

Remember, you have to pull the bearing by applying the force to the same ring (inner or outer) that is resisting the motion. So, you pull bearings off a shaft by pulling on the inner ring, and you pull them out of a housing by pulling on the outer ring. If you pull on the wrong ring, you will Brinnel both of the bearing rings and it may have a very short life afterwards. Of course this doesn't apply if you know you are going to throw the bearing away after removal (but you only know that if you have a new one already to hand - we've all had to put second-hand bearings back in when it turned out the type had been discontinued and was no longer available). You usually need a split-ring of suitable diameter to pull bearings off a shaft without damage. Pulling them out of a housing is even more difficult: fortunately they are seldom a tight fit in housings.

Same rule applies when installing the new bearings: drive on the outer ring to install in a housing, and drive on the inner ring to install on a shaft. It is good practice to use a suitably-sized piece of mild steel tube between the hammer and the bearing ring. Hard-against-hard equals chipped part.