Hustler idler pulley .bearing replacement

[1bbford]

The riveted versions were never meant to be repaired. And Hustler does have a better pulley to replace these which is a commercial grade one piece pulley. It is only about $3 more.
View attachment 59159

As for tightwad comment it was meant to put things in prospective as when you charge $80 per for labor you can't charge the customer for 2-3 hrs work and reinstalled an used pulley. All that time would have to be written off costing the shop a profit and the possibility of still having to install a new pulley and belt. For a DIYer it is fine to waste time that otherwise could be used for more profitable endeavors.

StarTech, Thank you I appreciate the clarification, I totally understand the cost of doing business, I appreciate customer service, and am a loyal customer even for things I can do myself. Unfortunately for two many businesses customer service takes a back seat. I also realize there are many customers that can be cheap, difficult, and never satisfied no matter how good a job was done. Would you mind providing me the part number for the 1 piece pulley, my original part number is 781385. Thanks again and Happy Holidays.

'781385​

 

[StarTech]

I thought we were referring to the PN 602821 pulley but it very well could replace 781385 pulley. Here is a couple links.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/193335943948

https://www.foards.com/products/602...MIwJni3q769AIVDYiGCh1lVAFQEAQYAiABEgKI5PD_BwE

As for shops I do understand the frustration with some of them. Several of my customers are former customers of local shops including a couple that will not even let JD touch their new equipment. The problem is the hiring of unqualified techs. I recently had a personal experience with JD Stihl service where that tech couldn't even find a bad spark plug. The hedger was under warranty and I was just the go between. I ended up repair the hedger myself. The tech didn't even know how to do a pressure/vac test on the engine either.

 

[bertsmobile1]

Two of the shops I get parts from want me to work for them.
Even when I lie about how much I turn over they make an attractive offer.
However I am not into working for any one else , for regular hours and rushing through jobs in minimum times so they end up being 1/2 done.
I also like to have a chat .
Yesterday was a mucky day so I goofed off & slept most of the day then went down into the workshop from 8pm ( when the cool breeze came up ) till 3 am
When I ask about flexiable hours the shake their heads & go white.
All of them complain that they can not get tradespeople .
None want to take on an apprentice just in case when they qualify they go to an opposition dealer , or even worse, set up themselves .

So right now we "import" tradespeople ( in all trades ) from overseas , most of which have the best qualifications money can buy and none of which know which end of a screwdriver to hold .
When I was setting up I talked around a bit to other techs I came across and to a one, they all had a diploma they bought off the web so they could get a trade account .

 

[1bbford]

I thought we were referring to the PN 602821 pulley but it very well could replace 781385 pulley. Here is a couple links.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/193335943948

https://www.foards.com/products/602...MIwJni3q769AIVDYiGCh1lVAFQEAQYAiABEgKI5PD_BwE

As for shops I do understand the frustration with some of them. Several of my customers are former customers of local shops including a couple that will not even let JD touch their new equipment. The problem is the hiring of unqualified techs. I recently had a personal experience with JD Stihl service where that tech couldn't even find a bad spark plug. The hedger was under warranty and I was just the go between. I ended up repair the hedger myself. The tech didn't even know how to do a pressure/vac test on the engine either.

StarTech, any idea why this is considered an upgrade, is it a better bearing or because it allows water and grass to fall thru. Mine is solid with 2 holes for water drain down, I've never had a problem with grass build-up and anytime it has been washed I engage the blades and spin the mower in circles to remove as much water as possible from the deck. Looks like it would work but cannot find the ID in any descriptions, thank you.

 

[Hammermechanicman]

Two of the shops I get parts from want me to work for them.
Even when I lie about how much I turn over they make an attractive offer.
However I am not into working for any one else , for regular hours and rushing through jobs in minimum times so they end up being 1/2 done.
I also like to have a chat .
Yesterday was a mucky day so I goofed off & slept most of the day then went down into the workshop from 8pm ( when the cool breeze came up ) till 3 am
When I ask about flexiable hours the shake their heads & go white.
All of them complain that they can not get tradespeople .
None want to take on an apprentice just in case when they qualify they go to an opposition dealer , or even worse, set up themselves .

So right now we "import" tradespeople ( in all trades ) from overseas , most of which have the best qualifications money can buy and none of which know which end of a screwdriver to hold .
When I was setting up I talked around a bit to other techs I came across and to a one, they all had a diploma they bought off the web so they could get a trade account .

I find it funny that i too have a couple shops near me want to hire me as a tech. One guy acts like he is paying top dollar at $15/hr and a 40 hour week. I retired from a meat grinder service job of 40-60 hours a week a $30/hr and i do just fine working for myself now. Both shops complain they can't find reliable and qualified help. To quote one shop owner "all the old guys are leaving and the new kids can't fix stuff when they do show up". Oh well, the industry is changing quickly and little one man shops like me will go the way of drive in movies and pay phones. When all the equipment is fuel injected with ECMs and only dealers will be able to service the equipment.

 

[StarTech]

StarTech, any idea why this is considered an upgrade, is it a better bearing or because it allows water and grass to fall thru. Mine is solid with 2 holes for water drain down, I've never had a problem with grass build-up and anytime it has been washed I engage the blades and spin the mower in circles to remove as much water as possible from the deck. Looks like it would work but cannot find the ID in any descriptions, thank you.

Being commercially used I would think they do have better bearings with high temperature grease with a larger amount of grease. Most of the cheaper split idlers uses cheaper bearing with minimal cheap grease. If you open one those cheap Chinese bearings you lousy grease. I install a set 6204-2RS bearing I got off Amazon in my personal mower as a test. The grease became harden in just a few months.

And the large holes does allow clips and water just pass through the pulleys. I get quite a few home owner mower where the pulleys are rusted though in places where they dont clean off their deck after mowing. They usually just the mower set out in the weather too.

All I know at the current time is that JD is switching over to them on their larger ZTRs. I installed a couple similar pulleys back in the Summer on a Z950M but I was fairly busy and didn't take time to fully inspect them.

 

[StarTech]

I find it funny that i too have a couple shops near me want to hire me as a tech. One guy acts like he is paying top dollar at $15/hr and a 40 hour week. I retired from a meat grinder service job of 40-60 hours a week a $30/hr and i do just fine working for myself now. Both shops complain they can't find reliable and qualified help. To quote one shop owner "all the old guys are leaving and the new kids can't fix stuff when they do show up". Oh well, the industry is changing quickly and little one man shops like me will go the way of drive in movies and pay phones. When all the equipment is fuel injected with ECMs and only dealers will be able to service the equipment.

Unless you upgrade yourself too. I got the Briggs software and interface already. I wait until next year before I order the expensive Kawasaki interface. Right now I applying my knowledge automobile EFI to my troubleshooting of these engines. Huge learning curve just like when automobiles first came out with EFI but at least I have that to build on.

My problem working the other man is they tend to lie amount about what was done and the techs catches it in the end for not covering their bosses backsides.

Back when I got laid off due to corporate downsizing, all I heard was "you are over qualified" for the jobs that I was applying for. So I finally gave up and went into business for myself. I just didn't want the headaches involved of running a business. Well there are headaches but at least when a customer is told what was done it actually gets done now.

BTW I just got in a headaches of a Hustler Super Z here. I got a left hand hydro pump leaking and an engine with oil leak too. Sure the pump pulley is easy to get off. I do know the engine PTO and drive pulley should come off fairly easy as I did them a couple years ago and used plenty of anti-seize. Well that work is after Christmas as I taking the weekend off. The three chainsaws were at least done yesterday.

It will my first tear down of the Hydro Gear BDP-21L pump so it will be a slow go as I pay more attention to the disassembly. I do know there is a tiny spring and steel ball under one of the covers. I found that last year when I replace an o-ring on the right hand pump.

 

[Hammermechanicman]

I never got laid off but in 2000 i was told they had reassessed the pay scales and i was over the max. So much for being a top performer for 20 years. Didn't get a raise for almost 10 years after that and went from super tech to you don't do enough and what you do isn't good enough overnight. It was also nice to know all the classes i did on my own time to make me "value added" to the company made me over qualified all of a sudden. I will take the headaches of running my own business vs. Getting called out at 2:00AM in the winter for a service call over 100 miles away.

 

[StarTech]

Basically the companies are wanting very knowledgeable techs but them at the starting pay for a PMT instead SCE level. Heavens forbid if you know more than ACEM for the one above me got pissed everytime I went around his butt to get things done. He thought I had to have his permission everytime I needed something done. I reckon knowing the RCEM and the company president was too much for him to coup with. Or he was just pissed that I would not give him my personal cell phone back in the 80's.

But yes I now perfer running my own business over the problems of working for some else too. Although the last year has nearly drove me crazy trying to get things done.

 

[bertsmobile1]

It comes down to "management professionals"
If you do an MBA you get taught
1) Non managerial staff are nothing more than a production variable cost which has to be minimised in order to maximumize profits .
2) all profits originate in the board room .
3) every sales oppertunity must be optimized .

And this of course filters down right through the entire economy

So you employ the cheapest staff you can find and find ways to pay them less
Because you are the reason for all profits you are entitled to all of it for yourself
Every time some one comes trough the door you take them for every cent you possible can regardless weather it was wanted or not , "you want fries with that order "

It is a sickness that perverts the entire community
So now a good deal is one where you have totally screwed the other side .
The mutually beneficial deals are to be avoided at all costs .

I blew one of my suppliers away when I returned goods I had not been invoiced for.
Apparently none of their customers had ever notified them when there had been a mistake in favour of the customer.

And if you want to feel depressed ask some friends what they would do if a cashier gave them too much change or the one I like is gave you your change then handed back the note you gave them.
You would be lucky if 1 in 100 said they would return the excess money regardless of weather they knew the cashier would have to make up the short fall in their till drawer.