Better Idler pulleys

C5Pilot

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Anyone locate an idler pulley that has the plastic caps that you can pop off and grease bearing? Seems BB 4.75” is odd size and the caps are metal and not removable. These don’t seem to last long and $21+ adds up long term.
 

bertsmobile1

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I have not seen a greasable idler in any mower catalogue
You can get a syringe end for grease guns and lift the edge of the dust seal to pump some grease in.
Way back mowers used better quality double row bearings and bespoke pulleys
However in the race to make them cheaper than their competitors so cheapskate purchasers would buy them these were abandoned before I started repairing mowers .
The bearing in an idler is captive on most mowers except the some of ones made in the EU where they are replaceable .
On steel pulleys you have to drill out all of the rivets to replace the bearings.
I have done this in the past because some deck idlers are over $ 100 (Aus ) and the bearings are $ 10 but it is a lot of work .

Also be aware that steel flat idlers come in light duty & heavy duty varities in exactly the same sizes so those "cheap" idlers on ebay & amazon are just that, cheap light duty pulleys .
If you go down the drill out the rivet path replace the rivets with nuts & bolts with a split washer under both the nut & bolt .
Also fit some head up & others head down to keep the top & bottom in balance.

If you are eating idlers then there is something wrong with the belt run or the way you look after your mower.
The big killer is washing with a hose as water sits on top of the gust seal then as the bearing cools gets sucked into the bearing then emulsifies the grease the next time it is used .
 

C5Pilot

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All good points. I was referring to pulleys with dust seals so that I could grease in the future vs replace. The metal dust seals are not removable without destruction that I know of. I plan to drill small hole and “needle- grease” and see how that works before I replace. I have drilled rivets before but these pulleys have about 20 and that’s too many to be worth it. Any I am looking at are the heavy duty as the rpm of z-turns are high.
 

bertsmobile1

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Yes there are a lot of them which is why I only do it on expensive or unavailable pulleys
all of the aftermarket companies do generic pulleys and most have a table of them by size.
Generally pulleys should last a long time I schedule replacements to around the 4th belt
Check your is not running skewed that rips the bearing apart in a very short time.
 

C5Pilot

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I guess I should not say it eats pulleys as I just got this 2010 BB from a neighbor to replace my 2003 cub Z-force in which I only replaced two bearings on that unit. In going over everything I see the idlers all need replacing which I’m 10 yrs would be expected at least once. I also based my statement on what I had heard others say so take it with a grain of salt. I really just wanted to replace with something I could easily rebuild but seems BB pulley is it unless I play with sizes other than 4-3/4”. If you have found some I would appreciate the lead as I have come up empty in searches.
 

bertsmobile1

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When it comes to modern idlers there are only 3 dimensions to worry about
1) diameter at the rim
2) diameter at the drum
3) width between the rim

All of the others are done with the bush that is pressed into the center
So you press the old one out, then supporting the inner race so you don't dent the race, press the old bush into the new pulley
This is why in the page below, the main page only shows 3 dimensions , OD, ID & height

So if you want some one here to dig out replacements we need these sizes
4 3/4" idlers
In the catalogue pages above, the photo is the actual pulley so if the seal is Black, Red or blue then they are plastic dust seals
If it is silver then it is a metal ( Z ) debris shield .
If you click on the "more tab" you will get the full dimensions & a line drawing
The line drawing is a lie, all of them have a std 6000 series deep groove ball bearing, not a bespoke double row bearing .
 

C5Pilot

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When it comes to modern idlers there are only 3 dimensions to worry about
1) diameter at the rim
2) diameter at the drum
3) width between the rim

All of the others are done with the bush that is pressed into the center
So you press the old one out, then supporting the inner race so you don't dent the race, press the old bush into the new pulley
This is why in the page below, the main page only shows 3 dimensions , OD, ID & height

So if you want some one here to dig out replacements we need these sizes
4 3/4" idlers
In the catalogue pages above, the photo is the actual pulley so if the seal is Black, Red or blue then they are plastic dust seals
If it is silver then it is a metal ( Z ) debris shield .
If you click on the "more tab" you will get the full dimensions & a line drawing
The line drawing is a lie, all of them have a std 6000 series deep groove ball bearing, not a bespoke double row bearing .
 

C5Pilot

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Thanks Bertsmobile1. I thought I had checked Stens but must have missed it as my dimensions match the Stens 280-850. I realize I can replace the bush but seems the metal dust shields would get destroyed removing unlike the plastic versions no? I have never rebuilt one with metal shields so unfamiliar.
 

bertsmobile1

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You won't hurt the dust shield replacing the bush
you will destroy them if you try to remove them
 
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