Durability of plastic wheels and associated hardware?

[RobertP]

Just got a Lawn Boy 10730 at Home Depot. I picked this model specifically because I wanted a bagger but don't want self-propelled. Mowed the lawn with it once so far, have no performance complaints. I've seen some reviews where the front wheels came off which motivated me to check the wheels and focus on their construction. I see that all mowers in this class have a plastic axle housing like this Lawn Boy where they're held in place with angled plastic fingers that they snap into, along with gravity pushing the mower onto the axle. The wheels are basically like Hot Wheels cars - no bearings, just a shaft going through a plastic wheel.

My other mower is a 70's Snapper pusher with a cast deck - steel wheels with ball bearings, steel height adjusting hardware. Home Depot didn't have a single pusher like that, I don't think even their most expensive self-propelled unit had wheels with ball bearings. After 40 years that old Snapper is tired and needs some TLC which is why I need another mower until I rebuild the Snapper.

With a very short experience with this mower I haven't had a problem - starts easy, runs super smooth and did a great job of cutting the lawn (bag's too small though) but what I wonder is how durable these plastic components are likely to be. I'm actually contemplating fabricating metal pieces to reinforce the plastic axle housing. What about lubrication of the wheels - any suggestions?

Thanks.

 

[BlazNT]

While it is under warranty follow the users manual.
That being said I use spray White Lithium Grease for all the "oil here" in manual. It is a dry grease that to me does not attract dirt. I use around 3 to 4 cans of it a year. When I grease my mowers once a week I also spray them with it. It is cheap Insurance. To keep plastic from not rubbing against itself spray it before every mow.

 

[possum]

Should be metal inserts in the wheels. Not plastic to metal. Should be a tight fit. Should not need lube. Supposed to be lubed with graphite from the factory. Supposed to be. May not be. But supposed to be. Toro has changed a lot the last few years. Some for the good. Some not. If that unit has the Kohler engine on it then find your service center. You might need it. They were hard to get parts for not to long ago.

 

[RobertP]

Should be metal inserts in the wheels. Not plastic to metal.

As far as I can tell it's plastic to metal. I think metal to metal would be even worse than plastic on metal since it would wear on the axle shaft.

If that unit has the Kohler engine on it then find your service center. You might need it. They were hard to get parts for not to long ago.

Okay. So far so good - runs like a clock but of course I just got it. Looking at Youtube videos, it seems like the carb is fairly simple to service. I get the sense that many problems people report are from allowing it to gum up.