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Hi. Was just finishing the lawn for the year and heard a whining sound that is only present with the blades engaged. Reminds me of bearing noise. Touching the pulleys, none are warm to the touch. Looking at the exploded parts diagram I see no Zerk fittings for lubrication on top of the pulleys. I'm not sure how to better localize the noise source or to lube the bearings assuming is is coming from the blade spindle. Any suggestions? Thanks!

There are two possible source of bearing noise. One is the spindle 6205 bearings (considered sealed bearings) and the other ether one of the two idler pulleys bearings (non replaceable so complete idler pulley is necessary if it one of them).

KA1J said:

Hi. Was just finishing the lawn for the year and heard a whining sound that is only present with the blades engaged. Reminds me of bearing noise. Touching the pulleys, none are warm to the touch. Looking at the exploded parts diagram I see no Zerk fittings for lubrication on top of the pulleys. I'm not sure how to better localize the noise source or to lube the bearings assuming is is coming from the blade spindle. Any suggestions? Thanks!

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You can take a larger rubber hose and carefully hold it up to your ear and put it by each spindle and pulley while deck is running to try to isolate noise. You can also remove deck blade belt (release tension only) and turn and check for play in each spindle and pulley.

Tiger Small Engine said:

You can take a larger rubber hose and carefully hold it up to your ear and put it by each spindle and pulley while deck is running to try to isolate noise. You can also remove deck blade belt (release tension only) and turn and check for play in each spindle and pulley.

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That can be very dangerous if you not extremely careful if try the hose method. It is best to just remove the deck belt tension and hand turn the spindles and idler pulleys listen for noises. Note if belt is not remove you will heard belt rub noise.

Thank you all for that information. I plan on keeping this mower, I love it. I bought it used two years ago and don't know it's history other than it appears to be treated well. If problems are starting I'll replace the pulleys, belt, and bearings. Spindles if needed. All these years of using push & tractor type mowers, I never understood how fun and effective these zero turn mowers are. I need to keep this in top shape.

The bad news is all the bearings go bad. The good news is that spindles and idler pulleys are inexpensive and easy to replace.

When I did mine, the bolts which hold the spindles all came free. Thus, I just replaced the bearings. Don't go with cheapest Chicom; spend a bit more for Timken, SKF, MRC. It is common for the bolts to be corroded in place and twist off in the spindle mounting flange. When this happens, it's easier to replace the complete spindle assembly.

Just being stubborn, I drilled out the spot welds in the idler pulleys, replaced the bearings and bolted them back together. Not worth the effort, but I did it just to prove I could and so I knew what bearings were in there.

jack vines

Anti-sieze is your friend.

Same machine I bought new back in 2014, Good machine. Last year for Kawaski engine.. those spindles are fully sealed. Fellow I sold mine to in 2021, is still mowing with it. No parts changed. We've become friends from that mower..

How many hours on yours ?