Mower deck i1046 Mower Deck maintenance questions

[SanAntonioJoe]

OK, just lost the ider pulley on my Cub Cadet LT i1046 mower deck, purchased in 2007. The bearing seal is gone from one side, the bearings are exposed and the bolt holding it on bent and came loose. Deck is off, part number is identified, and about to order it. Have a few questions before I replace the pulley and put the deck back on.

1.The OEM part number is 756-04129B, (replaces 756-04129) and the Oregon part number is 34-204. There is only a few dollars difference in the price between the MTD OEM part and the Oregon part. Has anyone had better luck with the OEM vs. Oregon part? Is there any other brand of replacement parts that lasts longer than MTD or Oregon?

2. The deck spindles have a little noise in them, suggesting they have some wear too. How long do they normally last, in years since manufacture or hours of use, and, especially, would you go ahead and replace them now that the deck is off or is that unecessary to do so? All three spindles are available on Amazon for about $112

3. Any other suggested items to check or replace while I have the deck off the tractor? The belt is less than a year old and looks OK.

This is a home-use mower that I use to mow two acres. Thanks in advance for your advice.

Joe

 

[LakeRat1]

if the spindle bearings make nose when you spin the shaft by hand, I would go ahead a change them out, you may get a little more life out of them, but they will only get worse, by the way, do you wash your deck after each mowing, I fine this shortens the life of all the bearing, I blow my deck off but never wash it off, can you grease your spindle Bearings? I can grease the spindle bearings on 1 of my mowers but not the other, the one that I can grease last a lot longer than the other,

 

[Carscw]

OK, just lost the ider pulley on my Cub Cadet LT i1046 mower deck, purchased in 2007. The bearing seal is gone from one side, the bearings are exposed and the bolt holding it on bent and came loose. Deck is off, part number is identified, and about to order it. Have a few questions before I replace the pulley and put the deck back on.

1.The OEM part number is 756-04129B, (replaces 756-04129) and the Oregon part number is 34-204. There is only a few dollars difference in the price between the MTD OEM part and the Oregon part. Has anyone had better luck with the OEM vs. Oregon part? Is there any other brand of replacement parts that lasts longer than MTD or Oregon?

2. The deck spindles have a little noise in them, suggesting they have some wear too. How long do they normally last, in years since manufacture or hours of use, and, especially, would you go ahead and replace them now that the deck is off or is that unecessary to do so? All three spindles are available on Amazon for about $112

3. Any other suggested items to check or replace while I have the deck off the tractor? The belt is less than a year old and looks OK.

This is a home-use mower that I use to mow two acres. Thanks in advance for your advice.

Joe

Go with the Oregon bearings. Well worth the extra few bucks.
I use national bearings they run about $10 more then the MTD but will out last the rest of the mower
And I agree do not hose off your mower use a blower.

I hate when people wash there mower then put the wet mower in the shed.

(( racing is the only sport that you need two balls ))

 

[Carscw]

With the spindles just replace the bearing.

(( racing is the only sport that you need two balls ))

 

[SanAntonioJoe]

Carscw,

How do you replace the bearings in the spindles? Do they just press out and press in? I've not seen any breakout of spindle bearings in the parts manual; just the spindle assembly. The center spindle is noisy when I turn it by hand; the outside spindles seem to be holding up much better.

As for washing the mower and mower deck, no, I rarely ever wash mine. When we are in a drought (more often than not) I may pressure wash (or use a garden hose) the mower and top of the deck after use, then let it dry in the sun. When we are in drought conditions, the grass gets thin, mowing kicks up a lot of sand and dust and the mower is often covered with so much dirt you can't even tell what color it is! In those conditions, I am more concerned about keeping the air filter cleaned out of sand and dust.

As for putting an adapter on a hose and attaching it to the deck connector, I have never done that. I have a lot of sand in my soil, and rarely do I ever get grass clippings built up under the deck; the sand acts like a sand blaster when using the mower. Usually the metal is so blasted by sand, it is shiny when I take the deck off of the mower.

I can grease the spindes with a grease gun, but they fittings are only accessible from the bottom of the deck. If I take the deck off for something else, I will grease the spindles while I have the deck off. But, I do not grease the spindles every 10 hours as suggested by the maintenance schedule in the Cub Cadet manual. Probably like every 20-45 hours, depending how often I need to take the deck off of the tractor. Laying on the ground, trying to reach around blades to find a dirty grease fitting and operate a grease gun isn't as much fun as it was when I was younger.....


Thanks to all for the advice!

 

[LakeRat1]

SamAutonio sounds like you & I are about the Same age, there are a lot of things that were easy at one time, but not now, talking about cleaning under the deck, first of all I never mow when the grass is wet, I only clean under my deck when I raise it up to remove the blades to sharpen them, as for greasing my spindles, I do it about every third time I sharpen the blades, and it only give them about 2 or 3 shots of grease, I can see as you say that where you are the sand will keep the under side clean, where I live we have a heavy due every morning, I never mow until it all gone, some times it not dry until around noon, I realize that the lawn crews cant do this, I am only taking care of my 4 ac.

as for how to change the bearings in your spindles, I would have to see it to know, they most likely are pressed in and may have a lock/snap ring holding them in place, we know the spindle housing was not made with the bearings in place, so they have to come out, I would go to a bearing House and Buy a good brand bearing to replace the old ones

 

[SanAntonioJoe]

I think I will take one of the spindles off and see how hard it is to get the bearings out. As long as it doesn't take a hydraulic press to press them out then put the new ones in, I can do it here at the house. The idea of replacing six bearings for about $25-30 instead of $110-120 for replacement spindles sounds like a good idea, too.

Has anyone had any luck finding a generic bearing at Tractor Supply or Northern Tool to fit these decks? Something tells me if it has an MTD or Cub Cadet part number on the plastic bag, the price doubles or triples.

As for the age thing, I'm not qualified for the 'over 60' price at the movie theater, but it isn't too many birthdays away, either. But, while the deck is off and leaning up against the fence, it should be pretty easy to take apart with an impact wrench and a set of sockets.

Will let you know how it goes.

Joe

 

[LakeRat1]

Joe, I think I have a Few more Sun Rises than You, They want even let me into the Movie any More LOL, as for changing out the bearing, you may be able to do it with out a press, but I am betting You will need to Press the Spindle shafts out of the bearing, if you have a good vice you may be able to put a piece of hard wood over the end of the shaft and knock it out, You will need to remove the spindle housing from the deck, clean up the area where the bearing go in, there may be a shoulder inside the housing behind each bearing, if so there will be some type snap ring on each end, you will need a way to support the spindle housing, take a big drift punch and try going through the top bearing and knock out the bottom bearing, if you have any trouble, take your spindles to a good Machine shop, let them remove the bearing, then go get the proper bearing & let them install them, you will come out much cheaper than buying all new set ups

Rat

Good Luck Joe

 

[SanAntonioJoe]

OK, the local dealer only had one pulley in stock, so I will have to wait for another one to come in before I replace the second pulley. But, in trying to grease the spindles, the zerks (grease fittings) on the spindles seeme to be rusted closed. I tried tapping on the center to open it, with no luck. I also can't find a machined edge to remove the zerks with a wrench or ratchet.

Does anyone know if these things are pressed in at the factory, or if there is a secret to getting the old ones out? If they are pressed in, I guess I will have to replace them, especially the center one since it is the loudest.

Any suggestions would be welcome and appreciated.

Joe

 

[SanAntonioJoe]

Got them out; they are pressed in. Found exact replacements at Tractor Supply.