Yes the small guns pump the same amount as the big ones.However its best to give a little more then to little.Giving it 3 pumps when in dought will not hurt a thing.

More important than the amount is the frequency you apply it

I use the same little one hand operated gun and I give my deck 3 or 4 pumps every 15 to 20 hours

Don

As long as the bearings are not sealed, and are true greaseable bearings, you don't really know how much it will take until you actually fill the cavity and have it bleed out the TOP bearing. In a spindle setup, if you just give a small shot without filling the cavity and forcing the grease up, gravity will assure that only the lower bearing will get any grease.

On our 48C deck, it can take upwards of 17 or 18 pumps to get the cavity full and grease coming out of the upper bearing. I have never seen any spindle that would push anything out of the upper bearing with 2 or 3 pumps.

When I first put my mmm back together I filled the spindle up with grease and now give them two or three pumps when ever I sharpen the blades(about 20 hrs). No problems in three years with this mower.

My dad bought a WheelHorse a few years ago, and the dealer didn't grease it before delivery. Anyway, he burned up all three spindle bearings in the first year, even though he gave them "a few shots of grease".

The cavity has to be filled the first time, and it may take a half of tube of grease before you start seeing it come out the weep holes. However, if the cavity isn't filled, your "few shots of grease" are not doing a thing.

Seriously, the front wheels often need a half tube of grease to fill the cavities. The spindles usually don't need that much, but you do need to fill 'em first if the factory and the dealer didn't do it.

Appreciate all the advice. No way of verifying for sure what the dealer did so probably should try to slowly fill them till I see the grease weep out and after this do the "two or three shots" on a regular basis. Thanks again to all for the help !

I had to replace all of the bearings on a customer's
1 1/2 year old Dixie Chopper last month, I asked him if
he greased his mower him self, He said "Hel l yeah!"

I showed him the new bearings I was putting in, and the
seals on both sides, and he wondered why the spindles has grease fittings at all. I told him they were put there to
make the customers feel better.

Fish

Fish,

I agree 100%.

Pumping grease into a spindle cavity with sealed bearings is a waste of time and grease. You could also cause damage if you pump until you see grease coming out one side because you've blown out the seal.

I recently pulled down a JD 100-Series spindle that a customer bent by hitting a tree root. They are filled with grease from the factory. The upper bearing is sealed, the lower is open (no "inner" seal). Putting a couple pumps of grease in there keeps condensation from forming in the cavivity and ensures that some grease flows into the lower bearing according to JD. The upper bearing is sealed so grease does not migrate out of it per JD, and will last better than if it was open they say. I have not seen bearing problems on the newer spindles you can grease, so I guess it's true.

Engine tech: I would imagine that the sealed bearing in the top is to try and take care of the issue I brought up in my earlier post. It takes a lot of grease and you have to put it in pretty quickly to get it to come out the top bearing when both are greaseable. My bet would be most folks would not be willing to take off the belt gaurds to see the grease come out, or put up with the mess when it does. Putting a sealed one on top would surely help, and greaseable on the bottom where any moisture would collect still gets purged. The only downside would be for those who wash the deck with water, as any little bit of water that sneaks past the seal will stay and ruin the bearing, and can't be purged.

How about the steering?

I grease mine every ten hours. Puzzled by grease only ever comes out of the top......wierd that

"Posted by akachrisinmass (My Page) on Mon, Sep 25, 06 at 18:55

How about the steering?
I grease mine every ten hours. Puzzled by grease only ever comes out of the top......wierd that"

Do you jack up the front to relieve the weight from the spindles?

"Pumping grease into a spindle cavity with sealed bearings is a waste of time and grease..."

Thank you. But I will continue to pump my spindles full of grease and add some as times goes by. It has worked for 20 years on my Gravely 16G Pro which I have yet to replace a deck spindle.

Besides. I would rather wear out grease than parts.

Where most people make the mistake is when they buy cheap EP or Lithium based grease that breaks down at the first sign of getting warm.

Go to NAPA and buy a good grease such as their Red High temp, or Bearing And Chassie grease. It will stay in the parts and you wont need to grease the spindles as often.

"How about the steering?
I grease mine every ten hours. Puzzled by grease only ever comes out of the top......wierd that"

Thank of how the pivot pin and housing is designed. Much like the old king pin front end set-ups on cars and trucks.

You must have something to keep the pin from sliding toward the top. The bottom of most tractors have some type of disc, Be it a washer or the way the pin is machined. The downward pressure from the weight of the tractor keeps a tighter seal on the mating parts than it does at the top. Which in turn like all things. The grease will flow in the direction of least resistance. Which happens to be the top.

It pays to pull the king pins every couple of years or so and clean the old grease from the parts. It keeps the grease from drying out and causeing problems should you need to do repairs after a few years of service.

Am I doing something wrong? I find that I have to be a contortionist to get the grease gun onto the spindles connectors of a JD X300. It takes a good deal of pressure to just get the gun adapter engaged too. Do I have to take the deck off to properly lube the spindles?

An interesting instruction, quoted from the official John Deer STX38 Technical Manual, page 8-18:

"IMPORTANT: DO NOT add grease to spindle grease fitting. They are for manufacturers use only. Adding grease may damage spindle seals."

I point out that this applies to the STX30, STX38, and STX46, and might not apply to other Deeres.

So I conclude from this thread that, since I have a JD LT190 with 48C deck that I do not have sealed bearings and should pump grease until it flows out the top of the spindle. I have been following the operator manual which tells you to put 2 pumps of grease in the spindles. Am I correct? Has anyone's 48C spindles burned up by just using 2 pumps of grease per operator manual? Why wouldn't this "filling the cavity with grease" be in the operator's manual?

Years ago I remember going tractor shopping with my dad. When he finally decided on a used IH Cub Cadet, the salesman told him to grease the deck spindles prior to every mowing. 40+ years later, those words still stick in my mind. Although I donÂt grease my 42C prior to every mowing, I do every third or fourth  roughly 10 pumps of the grease gun for each spindle. A few years ago I bent a spindle. Took it apart and inspected  guess what  I found little grease in the cavity. I suspect with the buildup of heat, the grease eventually trickles out the bottom of the spindle  a lot faster than youÂd think. My mantra; "canÂt have enough grease." Better to be safe than sorry. Why take the chance?

I did an experiment to test my thought on greasing. I bought a new 1988 GMC s-15, and changed the oil and air filter regularly, but never greased a fitting. In the
late 90's, when the truck hit 200,000, I did give the
fittings 2 pumps each, out of guilt, and a feeling I proved my point. I got rid of it at 245,000 miles, and never replaced any component that had a grease fitting.
In fact, I am sorry now I got rid of the truck.
The guy's mentality in the lube joints is, pump grease in until you hear popping and see the grease oozing out of the boot or bearing.

Fish

I would say the grease points on a vehicle get far less motion than a spindle that spins at ~3600 RPM for extended periods.

But if the bearing has seals on both sides, what is your
opinion?
Most l&g equip has cheap sealed bearings. Just curious.

Many older decks have some nonsealed bearings and need to be greased about every 25 hours. Newer decks have sealed bearings. The primary reason for greasing sealed bearings is to create a grease barrier that will keep water from leaking past the seals and washing out the sealed grease. If you have a newer deck, you can blow out the seals by over-greasing. As always, follow your manufacturer recommendations.

-Deerslayer

I've been noticing a lot of newer decks on Husqvarna don't have greasable spindles. I'm sure they're using sealed bearings, but I wonder how long they'll last if you can't give them a squirt or two of grease now and then. Just another way to keep the parts business going?