Wheel weights affect rear bearings?

[daved5150]

I have a 1250 that I am going to use for snow removal duties this year with a qa42 snow thrower. I have the 23x10.50-12 rear tires filled with Rim Guard and each rim has a stock IH 25 lb. wheel weight on it. I just had the new tires filled this year as last year when I tried to snow throw with just the weights, the tires spun badly. I also have tire chains that I ordered from tirechains.com that I still have to put on. I have a few questions here:

Will I be set with just the one set of wheel weights and tire chains for work on my driveway that goes up hill?

If I did decide to buy another set of wheel weights and stack them on the ones there now, does it cause more wear on the rear axle bearings at all?

I saw these weight adapters on xtrememotorworks.com and wonder what you guys think of them:



Click on picture for more details.




CC-04-001

$95.00



Garden Tractor Wheel Weight Adaptors


The plate bolts to your rim and puts the weight to the ground, not on your axle bearings. Holds your weights off of the rim so that you do not scratch them.

Plate comes with a 1" or 2" shaft so weight lifting weights work great and are readily available. Must specify shaft size and shaft length on checkout.

Just wondering everyone's thoughts on this as I located another set of wheel weights on Craigslist. I don't want the rear bearings to possibly wear out prematurely due to the extra weight.

Another question, are the 10.50's stock tires on the wide frames or were the 8.50's stock? Just wondering about tire chain clearance. I will have to wait until I look at it when I go to put the chains on.

Another thing, what's the tallest tire to fit on the wide frames without fender mods? Thanks guys.

[Matt G.]

The reason wheel weights are ideal is because the weight is on the wheel and not on the axle bearings.

On my 782, I have 200 lb of wheel weights, and the tires are filled with washer fluid. That's usually enough for the slightly sloping areas of the driveway. Depending on how much of a hill you have, what you have for weight may not be enough.

What tire size it came with depends on the tractor; some of them has 8.50 tires stock, and I think the 1450 and 1650 had 10.50 tires stock. The other sizes would have been optional. You've already got the tallest tire you can fit and still be able to use chains. There is no advantage with going to a larger tire.

[CADplans]

There is a general consensus among garden tractor aficionados that adding weight to the tractor frame will have a negative effect on the bearing close to the weight.

This belief is a carry over from the big guy tractors where they can haul a ton or more of weight per wheel at times.

I feel this is a misunderstanding of what is going on with the tractor in relation to gravity.

Look at your tractor axle bearings.
Tiny little ball bearings up front where the snow blower is.
WIDE roller bearings for the rear axle.
The tractor was designed to carry most of the load at the rear!!

Your tractor works just like a playground see-saw. The laws of physics do not change just because the machine is painted yellow and white!!

Hang that heavy snow blower on the front, the tiny front axle bearings are heavily loaded. At the same time the wide rear axle bearings at the rear are unloaded due to the weight of the snow blower.
Just like a playground see-saw. Nothing has changed with gravity. Put the heavy kid on one side, the other side goes up!!

Adding wheel weight and fluid does nothing to counteract the weight of the snow blower. You need to "unload" those front axle bearings, NOT worry about the load on the big rear bearings.

You put the "big kid" on one side of the see-saw (snow blower), you gotta put a big kid on the other side of the see-saw (counter weight behind the rear axle).

Do your tractor a favor, save the front axle bearings (actually the front wheels and spindles),

Put weight behind the rear axle on the frame!!

Yea, the fluid and wheel weights can stay, they enhance traction.


Like the "Grasshopper's" mentor (TV show Kung Fu) once said;

"Proper balance in life is the key to success!!".

[Methos]

I've got about 370# of wheel weights and fuild in my tires on my son 125 with FEL and 340# of the same on my 1650 and no problems at all.

[CADplans]

Originally Posted by Methos

I've got about 370# of wheel weights and fuild in my tires on my son 125 with FEL and 340# of the same on my 1650 and no problems at all.

Do you have any weight behind the rear axle?

[Methos]

Originally Posted by CADplans

Do you have any weight behind the rear axle?

I've got to fill the IH weight box on the 125 still. I've got some steel I need to cut down but don't want to over do it and break the bolts going into the rear end. That would suck big time. I would like to put 200-250 more lbs on the 125. It's front heavy right now. I track how much weight I put on my tractors. A pain for some but a hobby for me!

[Matt G.]

Originally Posted by CADplans

There is a general consensus among garden tractor aficionados that adding weight to the tractor frame will have a negative effect on the bearing close to the weight.

This belief is a carry over from the big guy tractors where they can haul a ton or more of weight per wheel at times.

I feel this is a misunderstanding of what is going on with the tractor in relation to gravity.

Look at your tractor axle bearings.
Tiny little ball bearings up front where the snow blower is.
WIDE roller bearings for the rear axle.
The tractor was designed to carry most of the load at the rear!!

IIRC, the life of a rolling element bearing is inversely proportional to the square of the radial load on it, i.e. doubling the load decreases the life by a factor of 4. Big tractor or small tractor, the lives of the bearings can be shortened with too much weight.

I would much rather wear out and replace front bearings from too much front weight than rear ones, as 1) it is pretty easy to tell when the front wheel bearings are bad, and they are easy to replace, and 2) you will have a lot harder time telling when the rear axle bearings are bad, and if they get bad enough, the axle will be damaged since it is the bearing surface. That will turn into a more expensive and time consuming repair in the long run than replacing the front wheel bearings a bit more frequently. These machines should have been designed from the outset for the weight of a front-mounted attachment. I doubt they were designed for the amount of weight I have seen some people put on the rear of the tractor.

Not to mention that all of the early gear drive tractors, possibly into the 1x4/5 series, have bronze plain bearings instead of roller bearings for the rear axle, so you'd really want to be careful with excess weight there.

[Donovan M.]

Matt. My 100 which is from 63" has rear roller bearings in it? only really heavy thing i had on the front of that is my snowthower.

[Matt G.]

Nope, 70/100 has bronze plain bearings, not roller bearings.

[CADplans]

Has anybody had to replace front wheel bearings (and wheels)?


Has ANYBODY ever replaced a rear wheel bearing?