2166 deck problems

[Wayne]

Originally Posted by EternalArianne

Depends on how much you want to work on it. But that middle pulley being hot isn’t good, almost like it’s locking or need grease. On mine there are grease fittings on the blade pulleys but not on the middle PTO pulley not sure if yours is any different but it’s worth a shot before that new belt gets worn out

My manual says the double pulley should be greased twice yearly or every 50 hours, although I haven't spotted the fitting (I haven't looked since reading that). Replacing the pulley and bearing would be about $125, which I'd like to avoid but could stomach if i was absolutely sure it would fix the problem. Most of that cost is pulley, so maybe mine is salvageable.

The fitting I greased was the idler arm assembly. Is that supposed to ooze grease out the top when its full? I have now looked and can find no grease fitting on the double pulley

[EternalArianne]

Mine doesn’t have a grease fitting on the double pulley either, only on the blade pulleys. Unless they mean just to remove the pulley and grease the shaft?

[Wayne]

Originally Posted by EternalArianne

Mine doesn’t have a grease fitting on the double pulley either, only on the blade pulleys. Unless they mean just to remove the pulley and grease the shaft?

Maybe. That hadn't occurred to me. But I may have found the source of the noise in a bad spindle bearing. Or at least I hope its just the bearing. One spindle makes a definite metallic sound. The other one is quiet, but spins slowly. And the deck has the wrong idler spring. yay.

So my choice is to fix this one, fix my 108, or let the lawn overtake the house. I don't think I want to fix the 108 so that leaves 2 choices which I'm still mulling over.

[EternalArianne]

If you’re gonna replace the spindle bearings do both sides together. I tried only replacing one (since the other seemed fine) and still had bad vibration/noise. Replaced the other and now it’s fine.

[Sam Mac]

Some of the double pulleys have grease fittings and some don't. I use a needle adapter to grease the sealed bearings in those that don't have a fitting. I've also found that the bearings are a very loose fit in the double pulley.

[Wayne]

How would I know if the bearings are all that's bad? Would I just be looking for wear in the raceway or? I've been lucky and never had a bad bearing or spindle on my 108 in almost 20 years.

[Wayne]

Originally Posted by EternalArianne

If you’ve got ANY movement in the blades and the spindles are bolted down tight, then the bearings need replacing. You won’t notice it until you release the tension on the deck belt so the blades move freely. Release the belt tension and try wiggling the blades up and down.

I meant the spindles

[EternalArianne]

Originally Posted by Wayne

I meant the spindles

That’s what I mean. The bearings inside the spindles can be replaced without replacing the entire spindle.

But I’d shop around. Mine shipped with two 42” deck models - one you could gets entire spindles (with bearings already installed) for $30-40 each on eBay, but I just happened to have the one where spindles are $130 EACH so it was cheaper to just replace the bearings.

[Wayne]

Originally Posted by EternalArianne

That’s what I mean. The bearings inside the spindles can be replaced without replacing the entire spindle.

But I’d shop around. Mine shipped with two 42” deck models - one you could gets entire spindles (with bearings already installed) for $30-40 each on eBay, but I just happened to have the one where spindles are $130 EACH so it was cheaper to just replace the bearings.

At $70 for a 2 pack of new spindles it almost doesn't make sense to mess with bearings. https://www.amazon.com/8TEN-Spindle-...dp/B07D9Y8P4S/

If only I could find the double pulley for that price, or less.

[EternalArianne]

Looks like the 2166 only had one deck model so that’s good the spindles are cheap. As I said mine had two different decks and I just happened to get the one with expensive spindles