Deck Bearing Issues Questions for Exmark

[XB 2002]

I know that this has been addressed a few times in the past, but I am appealing to Exmark for some help. I have a 2003 Lazer Z( homeowner use S/N 408000) with a 60" Ultracut deck. My bearings on the deck (2/3) went out with 144 hours on the machine. Three years had passed so I contacted Exmark and Christie wanted me to bring it to my dealer. However, I already had it hoisted up in my shop and didn't want to have to take it down and drag it to the dealer so I bought a full set of bearings from J Thomas Distributers and installed them. I know that some on this site said that the grease pack is not the same and that they would not hold up. Well, I am already hearing noise so I will likely take it down this winter to repair again.
Here is my question and I know that it is shared by many. Can Exmark either sell the bearings individually and not the whole housing or Can exmark sell a grease- able housing for our decks ? The current housing that I can buy new has new bearing in then so I know that we should be able to buy them ! Come on ! Help us out. I know alot of people that have had trouble with the non grease-able spindles so the least we should be able to do is buy the bearings ! I'm not asking for anything free, just sell the bearings. This shouldn't require a constitutional act.

Thanks,
XB 2002

[eXmark]

XB 2002,

Here's what I know about this issue. We don't sell individual bearings b/c with this type of housing it is very easy to mess up the installation. We felt that if we did sell bearings, we would hear a lot more grumbles about bearing life, which could/would be due to incorrect installation. Therefore, we only sell complete housings (or you can go to your dealer), in an effort to keep quality assurance in house. The thought of greasable housings always sounds like a good idea (and it may be for some), but after talking to several of our customers, the less regular maintenance, the better.

This is similar to how our front casters used to be. In the past we had grease points on the front casters, and customers would forget to grease them, and some would even break them clean off. Needless to say we had some complaints about longevity. Therefore, we went to a sealed, non grease point set-up. So long as users grease them when they are supposed to and seal them properly, they seem to have great life.

Hope this helps,
Casey

[kevin0311]

drill, tap, add grease fitting, take inner bearing seals out of each bearing, re-assemble and pump it right full of grease.

m 2c