Well I could not install the new drive belt. It takes a special tool to get the drive pulley off the engine. There were three pieces of metal that kept the belt in place on the engine pulley. So one has to remove the engine pulley. If I had a air ratchet it would have been a piece of cake to remove the pulley but alas I did not have the tool so I kept the old belt on the machine. May have to visit Harbor Freight and get a cheapo air ratchet aka pneumatic driven wrench. I have the air compressor so I can power the wrench but I do not have the wrench.
I did make a run with the new spindle and the mower is almost silent. Well it was quiet and did not make a lot of noise. The most noise came from the engine as it should. So things are back to normal.
One thing I did was really pack the grease into the new spindle as well as the other old one. I must have put 8 or 9 pumps off the old grease gun. Now I know the bearings have lots of grease in them and the potential for failure goes down. The lower bearing, the one that failed, has one open face that faces upward. So the extra grease will be there to keep it lubed up. The old spindle seemed to have grease but apparently not enough of it to keep the bearing from failing. My opinion is that the design is such that the lower bearing is doomed for failure because there is not enough grease getting to the bearing.
And the mower is ready to go again. Just needs to gassed up and I am off and cutting.
Another comment. I bought the new spindle for $23 and change. I was shipped in two days and the shipping was free. That is Amazon Prime for you. But I noted I could have gotten the replacement bearings and installed them in the old spindle. But the difference in price was negligible and I did not have do the bearing installation job. So it made sense to get the new spindle. Another one of those marketing issues. So less work and same money.
Another successful job done.
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