Repairs Snapper RE Front Wheels Wobble

[Rickochet]

I have a 2013 Snapper rear engine rider. Yesterday when I had the front end jacked up to adjust the wheel alignment I noticed that you could "wobble" the front wheels with your hands. You can move them in an out on the axle and wobble them left and right. I popped off the black plastic cap to adjust the castle nut and found an "E" spring clip instead of a nut. There are gaps between outer washer and the wheels allowing them to move in and out. There also is some "slop" in the bearing allowing the wheel to wobble.

Anyone else have this issue or know of a fix? The mower is still under warranty but I have to take it about 30 miles to the dealer.

Rick

 

[mechanic mark]

It sounds like a poor design. Post your Snapper model & serial numbers so I can locate illustrated parts breakdown. I had a problem with my mower deck idler arms mounting, my son & I resolved issue.
Lawn Mower Parts, Small Engine Parts & Much More! | PartsTree.com - Briggs, MTD, Toro, Cub Cadet, Husqvarna, Troy-bilt... You never did post your model number. Anyway, If it were me, I would make sure bearings were greased thoroughly, push wheel against stop on axle install outside washer and mark axle 1/8" away from washer, remove wheel & drill hole through axles with 5/32 drill bit, reinstall wheel & cotter key.

 

[Rickochet]

It sounds like a poor design. Post your Snapper model & serial numbers so I can locate illustrated parts breakdown. I had a problem with my mower deck idler arms mounting, my son & I resolved issue.

Thanks for your reply. I have a SNA RE 130, SN 2016411751. I have pics of the front wheel parts which are very simple. The wheels have built in bearings that slide onto the axle to a welded stop. Then a washer slides on to the outside and is secured by an E spring clip. There is spacing that allows lateral movement of the wheel on the axle and the their is either too much spacing on the ID of the bearing or it has too much slop but he wheels can move in and out and wobble.

This model was a total redesign of the 50 year old Snapper RE rider. The front axles aren't rocket science so I would imagine it might be more of a quality control issue. Or perhaps after Briggs bought the Snapper name the quality might be slipping a bit.

 

[bobthewoodbutcher]

the guy at my local repair service said that Briggs and Stratton owns the names for a number of mowers. he said a few years ago they took a mower , I think he said MTD, painted it red and slapped the Snapper logo on it. it did not go over too well.

I posted a similar question about lateral movement a few weeks ago and got the response that about 1/4" was normal.

Thanks for your reply. I have a SNA RE 130, SN 2016411751. I have pics of the front wheel parts which are very simple. The wheels have built in bearings that slide onto the axle to a welded stop. Then a washer slides on to the outside and is secured by an E spring clip. There is spacing that allows lateral movement of the wheel on the axle and the their is either too much spacing on the ID of the bearing or it has too much slop but he wheels can move in and out and wobble.

This model was a total redesign of the 50 year old Snapper RE rider. The front axles aren't rocket science so I would imagine it might be more of a quality control issue. Or perhaps after Briggs bought the Snapper name the quality might be slipping a bit.

 

[Rickochet]

the guy at my local repair service said that Briggs and Stratton owns the names for a number of mowers. he said a few years ago they took a mower , I think he said MTD, painted it red and slapped the Snapper logo on it. it did not go over too well.

I posted a similar question about lateral movement a few weeks ago and got the response that about 1/4" was normal.

I remember reading in a thread about this happening for mowers made for big box stores and not only Snapper but JD and Troybuilt and a few others.

I can't believe a 1/4" is acceptable movement. I should have been an easy task from the get go to position the stop at the proper distance or in the least add spacers to minimize the movement. This still doesn't explain why the wheels wobble. Perhaps the space inside the bearing tube is there to allow grease to enter when you hit it with a grease gun.