deck bearings failed

[yrrej]

I have a minnie z with 84 hours on it and the spindle bearings failed on all but center blade and the idlers are also rough.spindle bearings are still under warr.,but idlers are not. I am going to try to get another season out of the idlers before replacing since they will come out of my pocket. Dealer has deck bearings on order. Seems like an awfully short bearing life.Have talked to some other hustler owners and some get good life and some not.Anyone else had problems in such a short time?machine's ser# is 02122132 bought in 2003.Does an excellent job of mowing,this is first problem have had.

[mowerconsultant]

The deck idler bearing have changed, get the new style idler and you will be fine.
Are you pressure washing your deck and spindle area?
Pj

[yrrej]

No not pressure washing. I learned long ago the dangers of washing too many times.Had to replace a mainshaft and all bearings in my tiller. water had gotten in to the transmission.Since I mow a small area I only mow when grass is dry and just blow the grass and dust off the machine,and scrape the deck clean at end of season before storage.Thanks for the info on the idlers,what change did they make? I have fixed idlers like the ones on the machine before by drilling out the spot welds and replacing bearings and bolting shells back together,but this was a last ditch effort when I ran into some supply problems.
Thanks for the info.....

[lampeslawnservice]

First off I love Hustler, but yes I have had bearing issues also and am on my second clutch. And no I don't pressure wash under the deck only to get the crud off the outside. The middle spindle got so bad it seized itself to the shaft and hense wore a spot in the housing. I just replaced all of this last week to the tune of $170 clutch was warranted but not spindles or housing. The other bearings did not really need it but went ahead and replaced them anyway. I gained about 2-3 hp back from the clutch replacement and no when I shut it off the blades keep spinning:clapping: DONT get me wrong I LOVE my Hustler an would not trade it for any other mower on the market but wonder if these spindle are not indestructable as they say. Oh By the way my super Z has 630 hours on it and it is starting it's 3rd full year of mowing

[Gautreaux's LNG]

You said you never wash under the deck. If you pressure wash the top of the deck you can be causing the spindle problem. If it hot it will suck in moisture as it cools if moisture is there, if you pressure wash between the belt pulley and the spindle housing you could be forcing water into the bearing. blow them out with a good blower and leave it at that, take the pulley caps off to blow out the belt area. I got alot of cutters who never clean their mowers and never have bearing failures. it is a great mower.

[lampeslawnservice]

I don't pressure wash the top only the front of the deck.