Your Riding Lawn Mower's Dirty Little Secret

Click here for a grease gun ➜ amzn.to/2HEEm1z Click here for a spindle assembly ➜ amzn.to/2wjOAxL Click here for bearings ➜ amzn.to/2M6pgpG Check out these other informative videos: Clean Under the Mowing Deck on a Riding Lawn Mower ➜ https://youtu.be/RpURLWPNI1o How To Un-Seize, Clean and Grease a Sealed Bearing ➜ https://youtu.be/0J8z-n7dIOg Remove The Mowing Deck From a Riding Lawn Mower ➜ https://youtu.be/eQlGRlIDcC0 How To Install A Belt On A Riding Lawn Mower Tractor ➜ https://youtu.be/UgW4gcPAWIs Make sure to check out the Saloon here too… Click here for my website ➜ www.stevessmallenginesaloon.com/ Click here for my Parts and Tools Store ➜ www.amazon.com/shop/stevessmallenginesaloon Follow me on Facebook ➜ www.facebook.com/stevessmallenginesaloon Follow me on Instagram ➜ www.instagram.com/stevessmallenginesaloon/ Follow me on Twitter ➜ twitter.com/SteveSaloon The reason I did not put the nut back on before I hit the shaft is because that model has a tapered shaft at the top so you can't damage the threads! I do agree that it is good practice to put the nut back on though....

I’ve found most home owners beat the crap out of their mowers and seldom do any service themselves but great tip for those home owners who do and those of us who work on mowers daily.

Good job exposing companies who want to keep selling you parts thank you!

There's a point to note here about taking off one side of the seal on those bearings then pumping it full of grease when it's back on the mower deck. If you over pressure the grease, it will blow off the other side of that seal on the bearing and pick up dirt and debris in your bearings. I think it'd be better to pack it and replace that seal.

I did my spring service today on my riding mower. I didn't see any sort of grease fitting on my spindles, and two are starting to sound rather metallic when they turn. None of the three have play, which is good, but I guess it's time to take the deck back off and do this to directly grease my spindles! Edit: I was just looking up the spindles and bearings for my mower's deck, and I found this bit of info on the manufacturer's site: SPINDLE HOUSING WITH SEALED BEARINGS AND GREASE FITTING. On these style spindles, grease is used primarily as a water barrier to keep water from accumulating in the void area inside the spindle housing and around the bearings and spindle shaft. Any good wheel bearing grease applied with a standard grease gun may be used for this purpose. These style spindles should be checked and greased annually, more often if the deck is subject to unusually wet operating conditions. Models with grease fittings will still have sealed bearings inside. Spindles with grease fittings will also have a weep hole in the spindle housing to allow excess grease to be forced out through.

Very helpful video. Thanks for the tip. I just finished rebuilding the mower deck on my John Deere LA145 lawn tractor. Found four of the six spindle bearings worn out so I decided to go ahead and replace all six bearings since the spindle housings themselves were still in good shape. I also added an additional zirk fitting to each spindle so when I service them with grease, I simply remove one zirk fitting out and grease the spindle with the other zirk fitting using the grease gun until I see grease come out the hole, which prevents from over greasing the spindles and it cleans out some of the dirty grease in the process. When completed, I simply reinstall the zirk fitting I had removed earlier. The bearings should last a good 10 to 12 years before the next replacement. Also noticed the powder coat is coming off that mower deck you are using as an example in your video, which is a very common problem. At the factory, John Deere only dips their mower decks in a vat of acid to etch the metal prior to powder coating them. The problem is their etching process leaves the mower deck surfaces way too smooth for the powder coat to adhere properly and over time it cracks causing moisture to get underneath it and eventually the powder coat flakes off exposing pitting corrosion. Makes one wonder if this was not done by design? My deck was so badly rusted and pitted that I had to take it to a shop and get the remaining powder coat and rust sandblasted off down to bare metal. I used a good self etching epoxy primer and repainted the deck John Deere Yellow and not only does it look like a new deck but also functions like new. The paint I used should last a good 20 years. I applied POR15 undercoat to the bottom side of the deck to keep it from rusting any further and to keep it protected. So far, I am very pleased with the results.

I found you a while back and it pays to watch. I'll check out my mowers in the morning. Thank you Steve.

Sealed bearings are designed to operate a long time in sealed condition. Removing the seal of the lower bearing will help when the cavity is filled. The top bearing however may lose grease. The seal from below will not go up due to gravity. Another problem might be popping the outside seals while pumping grease . My humble opinion would be to leave at least the top bearing with both seals, but it’s probably a good idea to leave both as sealed bearings. If you want you can remove the bearings every few years, pop the seals, refill the bearings with fresh grease and put the seals back in.

this happened 6 months after purchasing my brand new husky and the dealer wanted to charge me for repairs saying I didn't' t use it correctly. Ended up repairing cause it was still under warranty. Steve, great show. Love it from an Aussie down under.

I have been fixing small engines my whole life and even went to college for small engines repair. I learned more from your videos than I ever have anywhere else. Thank you.

I found this very same thing on my JD L130 lawn mower last year when one of the spindles started making noises. Couldn't believe it. I'd been religiously greasing everything - for nothing. All of these lawnmowers come from the same place with component parts, engine, trans, etc, and different paint jobs, maybe a little different bodywork. Also, JD didn't make it easy but I found the generic parts for most everything, oil filter, belts, bearings, transmission parts, etc, and save A LOT on parts. JD is VERY proud of their green and yellow parts!!

I have found amazingly helpful hints by this guy. I have a large yard and use a riding mower. These short videos help my mower stay healthy and running. Thanks.

Great video Steve. I just replace my bearings with new ones, and packed them with grease. Hoping you might do a video on changing trans oil on John Deere D140. The JD says you can't change it, but there is a port on the top to do it. A video on how to disassemble a rear JD, and change the trans oil would help a lot of people. It could double the life of a mowers usage. Thanks again for all you do. This is probably the 10th video or so that has helped me with different problems. I pulled the trigger on a shirt and sticker to support the cause. KEEP EM COMING. THANKS!!

My father-in-law showed me that secret 25 yers ago and we made a drill guide to drill a greasing port for greaseless spindles. He worked for John Deere. We also rebuild the aluminum blocks that they say can be rebuilt. Great video thanks for sharing.

Good job, Steve. It's nice to see an honest YouTuber getting some traffic.

been mechanic for a very long time and was always told that they had sealed bearings that the grease fitting was for show . However I was un aware that there was no grease in the bearing . OMS Thanks for that enlightenment sir.

I always new that was a problem. Thanks for letting it out there on your platform. Maybe it will spark some change. I drill a couple holes in the bearing cover and leave it. It helps keep the small dirt out. If you don't out will fill up the bearings quickly. Good man Steve! Keep up the good work. You have saved me lots of money so I'm donating to your cause.

Hello Steve. So far I have seen two of your videos and I greatly appreciate Your honest and straightforward approach. Thank you for bringing these matters to light.

Thank you Steve for the video & I just want to say that Im really just a tackle it myself kinda lady that isnt afraid of learning to do new things. Your instructions were simple enough to follow & execute, your insight as to getting the job done was appreciated. Keep making these videos please & also consider a few how to diagnose/troubleshoot problems with mowers that non-mechanically inclined folks who can only describe by sounds or dont know what the parts are actually called that we can view.

Steve, you're the best! So glad I found your channel! For the first time in my 65 years I've successfully rebuilt a carb and it worked to perfection! Thank you!