i mowed my lawn with my 721D with the 9361 deck.. everything went well and I did not see or hear any problems. However, when i removed the deck cover to blow out and clean the inside area after mowing, I discovered one of the idler wheels had essentially been destroyed from the inside out.. by that I mean the outside of the wheel was intact but the inside was gone... as I said before I had not detected any issues when mowing. I have ordered a new one but wondered if anyone has experience with this kind of repair. Does the fact the wheel was destroyed from the inside out, give anyone insight as to what might have caused this and what I should do to insure that it doesn't destroy a newly installed one? I don't want to put the new one in and have it wrecked seconds later.. so if anyone has had experience with the causes of this part failing, I would love to hear your thoughts... including if its just that eventually they just DO fail and that happens when they outlive their useful lives.. I am enclosing a graphic of the part ( part #9) and, if anyone wants, I can send a picture later of the part as it looks now .. thanks for your time....
Geoff
Attachments
#2
173abn
Can't answer from experience but you deck was made in 93 and if it's the original pulley then I'd be inclined to say it had a long life.So how much was the new one?..russ
#3
BKBrown
If it was indeed made in 93 and has the usual # of hours on it, I'd say you should replace all the idlers (if there is more than one). The idlers are usually a sealed bearing and it probably just went dry and wore out. Be glad it didn't tear up something else when it went. :thumbsup:
Most likely an original and 15+ years is okay service life for a sealed bearing... you can look around for a Better built idler... but just how many more than 15 years do you want?
Once the bearings go there is not a lot of material left in that idler...
I would have most likely looked for a better one, not necessarily for the better design but Many times you can find generic high quality pieces for a lot less than brand replacement parts...
Just measure OD and ID plus the thickness... you have a whole world of choices... but I'm sure that you can expect a lot of years from this part... :smile:KennyV
Actually it was made in 1995, not 1993, and there are 1600 hrs on it... the cost of the new idler is a mere $12. I wasn't concerned about the cost of the idler as much as whether or not, its failure was a sign of something else that needed to be repaired. The cost is nothing but the inconvenience of having to order it online and wait for shipping, is an issue more significant than the cost of the idler... I did order enough to replace all three, but if there was something else that I should fix that might have caused the old idler wheel to tear itself apart from the inside, other than just wear, and I put a new one in, only to have IT fail as well.. then I am out the the week or so it takes to get a replacement.. just trying to be proactive....instead of reactive... will post a picture tomorrow of the damaged idler wheel in its present condition. I am also surprised that when it failed, there wasn't some kind of consequence that I would have noticed.. like one blade missing the grass, a different sound ( although I do wear hearing protection) etc... it was only when I lifted up the deck cover to clean it after I mowed the 2 acres that I saw there was something wrong.. thanks for your input..
15 to 20 years from now you, you will likely have to change it again...and by then you may actually be looking forward to the opportunity to change it again... :smile:KennyV
We posted at the same time... not sure how long the bearing lasted as I am not the original owner ( just the most recent ). For all I know it may have been replaced just prior to my buying it... I know that I did grease the Zerk fittings on all of them as soon as I did buy it but it may have been too late by then.. but glad to hear that so far the consensus is that it was just its time...
geoff
KennyV- btw, the fuel solenoid is working fine!!! now all I need is to figure out how to fix the one on the Kubota!!!
:smile:If you think its something I can tackle, i would definitely be up for it!!! Just tell me what to get and what to do or where to look!! I think I could change the one on the GH in about 3 mins with my eyes closed now...:smile:
geoff
#11
173abn
geoff,a bit confused here.You said it was a 9361 deck,the first two #are the yr. deck was built.sometimes like my machine the decks have been changed,I have a 9661deck and a 95 tractor.also you said you greased it ,so does yours have zerks for the idlers or was it the 3 spindels you were talking about?...russ
Sorry for the delay in responding...I was temporarily distracted by a little thing called Hurricane Irene...LOL... now that dust, and grass and branches etc have settled I can get back to the important stuff..the GH!!! Russ I was using the model number on a receipt from the previous owner's work order but will confirm the deck year after I check out the serial number...but to answer your question about the idler wheels.. when i first lifted up the deck and saw the idler wheel chewed up from the inside I didn't investigate further but of course you are right, the idler wheels do not get grease but I do suspect that maybe they are supposed to be periodically lubricated with maybe oil? Is that right? I did grease the zerk grease fittings on the spindles but briefly thought that maybe one of the spindles had failed causing the idler wheel to self destruct but I don't think that is probably right.. as was offered before, it probably just wore out.... I replaced it with a new one and ordered a second one to replace the other one figuring they must both be about the same age and if so, the other one probably is on its last legs, or wheels. Its running fine now. Thanks for your help... I was told you are the guru on manuals for GH. Are you aware of any manuals on the order of a shop manual or something a bit more in depth than the owners manuals that come with the units? I would like to find either a shop manual or something a step down from that but haven't been able to find anything like by anyone... Any suggestions? Thanks
Geoff
#13
173abn
geoff,unfortunally I can't find any other type manuel other than the owners manuel.I too looked and have had no luck.The next time I go to the dealer I'm going to ask him because like you I'd like a more detailed manuel.Hope Ireane was kind to you...russ
