Lawnboy tires vs wheels

[jeffsedlak]

My 22260 commercial push is still going strong. The wheels with bearnings and grease fitting are fine, but the tires are shot. One wheel at Jacks on line is over $90 with shipping. Best price is Amazon but still $225 for a set of four LAWN MOWER WHEELS. The hub is fine. I would like to replace just the tire. Is that possible? Where can I get just tires?

 

[FuzzyDriver]

Sorry, but I have never heard of a place where you can get new rubber tires put on used lawnmower wheels.

But as a builder who has messed with both, I say switch to non-bearing wheels. Regular LawnBoy wheels have grooves that you fill with felt washers that keep dirt, etc. from getting to the inside where it wears away the plastic and make the wheels rotate smoothly. These wheels are cheaper and lighter and last a very, very long time. I have had issues with NOS "original" bearing-wheels not being constructed properly (the axle not welded exactly even with the hub so it wobbles as it rotates), which was really irritating given their high cost. I have also machined grooves in aftermarket wheels to accept LawnBoy felt washers for the same reason LawnBoy wheels have them [https://www.lawnmowerforum.com/threads/new-wheel-depth-and-felt-washer-well.60931/#post-370968].

If you are set on having bearing wheels, there after aftermarket ones that fit. Years ago I put an aftermarket set on my "daily driver", an S21ZPN. They are OK, not any better than non-bearing ones in IMO, but they cost more, they're heavier, and don't give any advantage at all (over regular LawnBoy wheels) as far as I can tell. When they go, I'll switch back to the original plastic ones.

 

[jeffsedlak]

Sorry, but I have never heard of a place where you can get new rubber tires put on used lawnmower wheels.

But as a builder who has messed with both, I say switch to non-bearing wheels. Regular LawnBoy wheels have grooves that you fill with felt washers that keep dirt, etc. from getting to the inside where it wears away the plastic and make the wheels rotate smoothly. These wheels are cheaper and lighter and last a very, very long time. I have had issues with NOS "original" bearing-wheels not being constructed properly (the axle not welded exactly even with the hub so it wobbles as it rotates), which was really irritating given their high cost. I have also machined grooves in aftermarket wheels to accept LawnBoy felt washers for the same reason LawnBoy wheels have them [https://www.lawnmowerforum.com/threads/new-wheel-depth-and-felt-washer-well.60931/#post-370968].

If you are set on having bearing wheels, there after aftermarket ones that fit. Years ago I put an aftermarket set on my "daily driver", an S21ZPN. They are OK, not any better than non-bearing ones in IMO, but they cost more, they're heavier, and don't give any advantage at all (over regular LawnBoy wheels) as far as I can tell. When they go, I'll switch back to the original plastic ones.

That sounds like a good idea. My mower is the comercial model. The wheel axel bolts are larger diameter than the regular mower and longer too, I am sure. I can only tell from the photos on line. If I substituted both plastic wheels and the coresponding axel bolts, wonder if they would still thread into my height adjusters.

 

[FuzzyDriver]

Are you certain about the diameter? I just checked a new commercial (bearing) wheel against an NOS 603441 wheel bolt (i.e., made for plastic wheels) and it was the correct diameter, 1/2". The shoulder does need to be longer for the commercial wheel, approx. 1/2", maybe a little more. The 603441 bolt itself has 3/8" threads.

 

[sgkent]

with that kind of price I would be calling around to some mower bone yards to see if anyone had a good set of used tires/wheels.

 

[jeffsedlak]

with that kind of price I would be calling around to some mower bone yards to see if anyone had a good set of used tires/wheels.

Great idea. I didn't know there was such a thing. How would I find them?

 

[jeffsedlak]

Are you certain about the diameter? I just checked a new commercial (bearing) wheel against an NOS 603441 wheel bolt (i.e., made for plastic wheels) and it was the correct diameter, 1/2". The shoulder does need to be longer for the commercial wheel, approx. 1/2", maybe a little more. The 603441 bolt itself has 3/8" threads.

Does the 603441 plastic wheel bolt also have 3/8" threads? What about the diameter of the wheels? Are they the same, metal vs plastic? Sounds like switching bolts and wheels to plastic is the way to go.

 

[dougmacm]

The shoulder bolts for both the Plastic and Commercial wheels have the same 3/8-16 threads so the wheels are interchangeable as long as you use the correct shoulder bolts / hardware for the wheels you are using.

I've added Commercial wheels onto a few of my Lawn-Boys over the years and even put the 22260 Commercial wheels on my 2003 10424 and 22261 Commercial wheels on my 1999 10525.

Duraforce Plastic Wheels & Hardware for your 22260:
Rear:
2) 684777, 8" Plastic Wheel
2) 614650, Shoulder Bolt
2) 27-6250, Bushing
2) 40-1940, Washer
Front:
2) 684776, 6" Plastic Wheel
2) 92-1099, Shoulder Bolt
2) 40-1940, Washer

For mounting the Commercial wheels, I've always bought the Stens 235-086 (10-pk), 2" Shoulder Bolts. The 3/8-16 threads are longer than on the O.E. L-B 603567 bolts, so I grind them down to match/fit. The genuine L-B/Toro commercial shoulder bolts are currently $10.35 each on Jacks, the Stens 10-pk is $19.08 on Amazon (18.4% of the O.E. cost).

I also always add a heavy 3/8" I.D. washer between the shoulder bolt & height adjuster (something L-B never did), when installing commercial wheels.

Doug

 

[jeffsedlak]

The shoulder bolts for both the Plastic and Commercial wheels have the same 3/8-16 threads so the wheels are interchangeable as long as you use the correct shoulder bolts / hardware for the wheels you are using.

I've added Commercial wheels onto a few of my Lawn-Boys over the years and even put the 22260 Commercial wheels on my 2003 10424 and 22261 Commercial wheels on my 1999 10525.

Duraforce Plastic Wheels & Hardware for your 22260:
Rear:
2) 684777, 8" Plastic Wheel
2) 614650, Shoulder Bolt
2) 27-6250, Bushing
2) 40-1940, Washer
Front:
2) 684776, 6" Plastic Wheel
2) 92-1099, Shoulder Bolt
2) 40-1940, Washer

For mounting the Commercial wheels, I've always bought the Stens 235-086 (10-pk), 2" Shoulder Bolts. The 3/8-16 threads are longer than on the O.E. L-B 603567 bolts, so I grind them down to match/fit. The genuine L-B/Toro commercial shoulder bolts are currently $10.35 each on Jacks, the Stens 10-pk is $19.08 on Amazon (18.4% of the O.E. cost).

I also always add a heavy 3/8" I.D. washer between the shoulder bolt & height adjuster (something L-B never did), when installing commercial wheels.

Doug

Doug, You are awesome!
Thanks!
jeff

 

[FuzzyDriver]

I also always add a heavy 3/8" I.D. washer between the shoulder bolt & height adjuster (something L-B never did), when installing commercial wheels.

Doug

Have you seen an improvement doing that? This moves the wheels outboard the thickness of the washer. That, along with the extra ~1/2" shoulder length will come close to making the wheels contact trim before the deck does, which would limit how close you can trim. Do you get that issue?

Anecdote: I added 1/2" washers between the head of the bolt and the wheel once, thinking it would be "better" and started hitting the bolt head against stuff while doing the trim. Heh heh. I know, this isn't what you suggested, but it "shows-to-go-you" not all mods help.