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so when was the last time you balanced them?

Vibration could be anything from unbalanced blades, to bad bearing in a spindle or idler pulley, to a bad spot on the deck belt.

ILENGINE said:

Vibration could be anything from unbalanced blades, to bad bearing in a spindle or idler pulley, to a bad spot on the deck belt.

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I installed new blades and checked them for balance before installation. I am guessing that the spindles are worn and need to be replaced. Is that an easy job? I appreciate your advice.

Find the problem before you replace things or you will end up replacing things that were not broken and may even make things worse .
Remove the belt and spin all of the blades & pulleys .
They should be smooth & quiet
Check the belt for burned spots, hard patches, cracks and missing bits

87corvette said:

I installed new blades and checked them for balance before installation. I am guessing that the spindles are worn and need to be replaced. Is that an easy job? I appreciate your advice.

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Hi, yes it ends up that I have a bad spindle. Can you tell me if it is easy or hard to change? And are there any tricks that you can give to the to assist in this repair? and where would you suggest I purchase the necessary parts?

bertsmobile1 said:

Find the problem before you replace things or you will end up replacing things that were not broken and may even make things worse .
Remove the belt and spin all of the blades & pulleys .
They should be smooth & quiet
Check the belt for burned spots, hard patches, cracks and missing bits

Click to expand...

Hi, yes it ends up that I have a bad spindle. Can you tell me if it is easy or hard to change? And are there any tricks that you can give to the to assist in this repair? and where would you suggest I purchase the needed parts. Again thanks for the help.
Paul

You buy a replacement spindle
Hold the blade & undo the pulley nut
Leave the housing in the deck because they usually break hen you try to remove them
The spindle & blade will pull out ( Might need a hammer ) to the bottom
Lower bearing should stay on the spindle , upper will need to be knocked out
A replacement spindle should come with new bearing fitted to the bottom but no upper bearing,, replace the bearing
IF you get an after market one be careful as some are metric threads so should come with a top nut
Also there may e a spacing bush under the pulley, do not loose it .

87corvette said:

Hi, yes it ends up that I have a bad spindle. Can you tell me if it is easy or hard to change?

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For the average Joe without a shop full of pullers and presses, the easier way might be to replaces the entire spindle assembly. Of course, that will be more expensive, but that will get you new bearings, new seals, and a new (straight) spindle shaft.

Born2Mow said:

For the average Joe without a shop full of pullers and presses, the easier way might be to replaces the entire spindle assembly. Of course, that will be more expensive, but that will get you new bearings, new seals, and a new (straight) spindle shaft.

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I think that your suggestion is the best one. A complete spindle assembly is probably the easiest way to go. Any suggestion as to the store to reach for the replacement spindle?
Thanks in advance,
Paul

87corvette said:

Any suggestion as to the store to reach for the replacement spindle?

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Paul -
There's too many knock-off Chinese copies available... and these are generally junk. Definitely not Amazon or eBay.

Check with your local dealer. If he's too high, then check on-line dealers.

Ok, here is what I found this past Saturday after I removed the deck from under my mower. I checked rotation of both blades and I found that I had NOT installed one blade correctly on the star mount. So--I cleaned the bottom of the deck, rescued the blade correctly, lubricated the spindles, idler pulleys, and any other metal on metal parts, using a Wurth lubricant named HKK, usually used for door hinges, starts as a lubricant and becomes a waterproof grease. Tested the "fix" and all is running as designed.
I want to thank all who participated with suggestions on how to fix what I thought was a problem. And again, it always works to check everything out before spending hard earned cash.

Thanks for coming back
Your blade misfit is a lot more common than you would believe
Glad it was a simple easy & cheap fix