OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions On Ride On Mowers Questions on Greenfield Ride On Mower Frames Greenfield 17/34 Deck Bearing Problem

Hi new member hear i would like to know how the bearings and cutter are set up on a E2000 17/34 greenfield as someone else has been there before i and stuffed things up soon as i tighten the big nut the blade disk wont spin unless its finger tight is there any spacers or special bearing ect

i need to know ASAP as the mower isn't mine and my mate needs it back on the weekend.

Here is the parts diagram and list for the cutter spindle:



As you can see, it only shows Item 34, P/N GT13815, Spindle Housing Complete. It sounds to me as if the upper shim, 33, is used to adjust the position of the pulley for belt alignment. The lower shim 33 may be to generate clearance between the cutter plate and some other part of the mower. If it works the way I am guessing, the housing machining sets the distance between the outer rings of the bearings, and a pair of shoulders on the spindle set the distance between the inner rings. Because you probably can't get the machining accurate enough, you will need to also have a shim stack to control the end float of that shaft accurately. The way that was done with the tapered roller pinion bearings on some (maybe most) rear drive cars, was that you had a crushable shim on the pinion shaft in between the inner rings of the bearings, and you tightened up the pinion flange nut exactly the right amount to get zero end float. If you tightened the nut just a whisker too much, you had to pull down the differential again, replace the crushable shim, and try again. Believe me, you soon learned to be careful.

If the Greenfield spindle has a crushable shim, someone has overtightened that nut, and ruined it. One solution would be to pull down the whole spindle assembly and replace the crushable shim, or add a conventional shim to the end of it so you can crush it some more. The other solution would be to buy a new P/N GT13815 spindle housing complete. I'm pretty sure I know what a Greenfield dealer would do in this situation.

I think the next thing you need to do is phone Greenfield's service department and clarify whether my guess is right, or if it's not, how it works.

Hi
Sounds like the spacer and shims inside the spindle housing between the two bearings is too short. Take out one of the bearings and add one or two shims either GT00539 (5 thou) or GT00541 (10 thou) to lengthen the spacer so the center of the bearing rests on each end of the spacer when pressed back together. When the nut is tightened, the disc and spindle should spin freely.

Hi Greenhorn, thanks for your help. Are you saying that there is a floating spacer on the shaft, and the extra shim needs to go on the end of the spacer, below the inner ring of the top bearing, so it will limit how far the inner ring of the top bearing can be pushed down the shaft? It has to end up with the pulley nut clamping both inner rings, so that sounds like what you are saying. Then the outer rings would float just a tiny amount in the housing.

That would mean the previous tenant had dismantled the whole assembly then removed a shim from the spacer below the top bearing, and then put it all back together? What a lot of work he did just to make the mower unusable.

How is the bearing to be removed? I'd have guessed it was easiest to take off the nut and pulley, then push the shaft downward right out of the housing, so you could knock out one of the bearings by tapping the housing against a bench or anvil?

thank alot i will tear it down and look for shims i didnt see any so that might be the problem

The ones that count will be underneath the bearings, so I don't think you can see them without dismantling the shaft from the housing. It might take a few tries to get it right: with the nut tight, there is no drag from the bearings when you rotate the shaft, but no noticeable axial movement of the shaft due to sliding the bearing outers up and down in the housing.

Some pictures of the housing and the various parts would help make this thread useful in our archives.

Thay are my findings

Greenhorn ar the spacers 5 thou or 10 thou in mm or inch ? i think that is my problem and how tight dose the nut have to be cause in the diagram there is a lock washer that i dont have is that needed or can i use loctite until i get a part ?

Those shim thicknesses will be inches: 5 or 10 thousandths of a millimetre would only be 2 to 4 ten-thousandths of an inch, which is impossibly thin for a shim that is to be fitted in the field.

Loctite is a good material so long as you don't rely on it. Also, it only works when both male and female threads are surgically clean. Any trace of oiliness keeps loctite from working. Petrol is not an adequate degreaser, you need wash with MEK or something similar to get a reliable result. In other words, my concern would be that the machine would be back in service by the time you got the washer, and as a result it would never be fitted, possibly resulting in an unreliable mower.

HI,
The nut is usually done up to around 70lb psi,The locating tab washer has a slot that fits into the keyway which stops the nut from releasing, but some Loctite on the nut and using the tab washer would not hurt.

i dont have a tab washer ill have to get one somewhere i put some little spacers under the washers and tightened it up and all spins free it did have the shims under the bearings so i need shims for the washers i was thinking maybe a large sump plug crush washer might do the trick.

i was thinking mm thanks

Why not just get the correct parts from Greenfield? They are only small parts, unlikely to be expensive, and you have the part numbers.

yea in my town they don't keep in stock and orders take ten days to come in sometimes if not its a one hour drive down the road to the green field place. i will get parts but its nearing the end of the week and he wants it on the week end

i gave him a ring and yea i can get parts and he can wait another week all is good then

My parts finally came in after 2 weeks it costed 20 bucks for the lock tab and 4 shims now all i have to do is install it in the deck hope all goes well

Can you post some pictures showing the order the parts go in, plus how you assemble it, wiix? That includes attaching the cutter head to the deck, and re-installing the drive belt. Now that we've come this far, it is worthwhile making this a thread on rebuilding Greenfield cutter heads.

sorry but i had already put it back together by the time i got to read this haha it works like a new one no odd sounds and mows great i gave it a 15 minute run not an issue except the engager is sticky and have to work it a few times to get the deck going it might free up after some use.

I don't like the sound of the erratic cutter clutch wiix. I'll leave this thread open for now - just post again if you decide to fix that fault.

it should be right the problem comes and goes apparently it might need a clean in the sliding shaft thing it normally sorts it self out after some use