How to replace a lawn tractors, blade bearings?

Question

I have a Craftsman 27 hp B&S, 54in. cut with three cutting blades. What's the easiest way to take the bearing housing off, without wrecking it and do I need to replace the whole thing or can I reuse the original one? The problem I'm having with it, is that it's not turning freely like the other two.

Answer 1

Remove the mower deck. There are several kotter pins to remove and the deck will slide out one side or another. Now you have good access to the blocks. They will be bolted on with three or four bolts.

The bearing blocks are readily available on ebay and are not too expensive, but you may discover that you have something binding the blade.

If you replace the blocks, be careful when you tighten them. The blocks are cast iron or aluminum and can crack of you overtighten them.

Answer 2

Best way is by experience to learn how to repair your tractor. Its how i learned. Id suggest taking photos of how the deck attaches to the tractor - for easy reassembly - a few of how everything looks when its out from under the tractor as well ( springs and belt configuration ).
The housings should bolt to the deck, id remove the blades first ( mark top side and location - near shute, middle and closed end). Remove the spindle ( they call them quills) assembly ( itd be best to inspect all of them, you dont want to do this a month later) - check for grease fittings and if there are, grease them ( till just a bit comes out one end) - if no fittings, you can disassemble the spindle assy, its sorta pressed together, but with some taps of a hammer itll come apart. The berings can be replaced, usually. The local autoparts store could match them up. It depends, sometimes its cheeper to buy a whole new assembly vs. replacing berings- usually ill buy a new one and replace the old berings for a spare assembly. Just take your time, make sure you get photos or drawing of the way things are before disassembly ( to ease reassembly) and use grease/never seize when reassembling , most importantly clean everything before reassembly ( spray carb cleaner removes old grease, sometimes a light buffing with a fine sandpaper helps on spindles, clean rust and debris from bolts with a wire brush, the next time it needs replacement/maintaining, itll come apart alot easier. This would also be a great time to sharpen the blades and clean the deck /replace any needed belts or other worn parts, while its apart. Maintenence is the key to keeping the faithful lawntractor running. Decks should be removed minimum once a season and cleaned/inspected. They take alot of abuse and are extremely expensive to replace the whole assy ( well over $300 and up).
Also doing this yourself saves you a ton of money , from not taking it to a repair shop.
Hope this helps you out.
Kidd

Answer 3

You can replace the bearings. Once you get the deck off you have to remove the pully from the spindle. The shaft will come out and the bearing can be tapped out. Get new bearings and put it back together. It is not cheaper by a long shot to replace the whole spindle.