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Mower spindles do an excellent job of working together with pulleys and revolving blades under the deck to cut grass. Spindles are areas in your mower where two pieces of metal link, and also move in different directions.
You can locate mower spindles on the tires in front and the blades. Every spindle has two bearings in one cavity.
The shaft of the spindle runs through the top and the bottom bearings on the housing of the spindle.
It’s crucial to grease the mower spindles so that they can work better and last longer. Failing to grease your spindles can lead to possible overheating and damage at the end.
Related Article: How to Tell if Mower Deck Spindle is Bad
In this post, we would like to shed more light on how often to grease mower spindles.
Greasing mower spindles
Greasing your mower spindle depends on the usage. The more you use it, the more grease it needs. If you are an average user, you need to grease your mower spindles at least once a month.
This will lubricate the interior moving parts in the mower. Keeping the internal parts well lubricated extends the life of the mower.
The amount of grease needed for your mower spindles also depends on how you use it. For personal mowing, it can be sufficient to grease them two times in a mowing season.
If you are a commercial mower, you should grease the mower spindle daily. This is because you spend many hours using it and it might get destroyed easily if it doesn’t get enough lubrication.
Keep in mind that mower spindles have large cavities that need enough lubrication. It would be best to grease the spindles until grease can be seen coming out of the weep hole at their base.
There are grease fittings on each spindle. They are called zerk fittings. You can grease them easily without removing other parts.
Remember to change the oil when the lawn-mowing season is over. Changing oil is also crucial as it makes the mower last longer.
Failing to change the oil leads to oil deposits settling on the engine. You might also want to add fresh gasoline and maintain the blade as part of the maintenance process.
How can you grease your mower spindles?
Now that you know when you need to grease mower spindles, it would be great to know how to do it.
What do you need?
Before you begin, here is what you will need for this process.
- All-purpose grease
- Gloves
- Rag
- Grease gun
Procedure
– Use the mower for about five minutes so that it can get warm. This will also help soften the remaining grease in the spindle.
– Look for a level surface and park the mower setting the parking brake. Remember to turn or switch off the ignition.
– To make it easy to access the grease fittings during the service, set the mower deck to low settings. You can use the deck adjustment lever to fix this.
– Find the spindle assembly above the mower deck and remove its protective cover with a wrench or screwdriver. This makes it possible to get the grease fitting on the spindle.
– Loosen the cylinder on the gun’s pump end to load a manual grease gun. Pull back the T-handle and lock it in the notch of the gun.
– Remove the old grease cartridge by unscrewing the grease gun’s pump end. Use a shop rag that is free from lint to spray some machine oil on each grease fitting.
This is helpful so that the fresh grease can flow through the fittings well and enter the spindle housings.
– Squeeze the coupling of the grease gun on each fitting then pump the handle of the gun at least three times. However, if the last time you greased your spindle is more than a year ago, double the grease pumps to six times instead of three.
– Use a rag to wipe away excess grease fittings after greasing each mower spindle. This prevents the accumulation of debris and dirt on the spindle.
– Now you are done with greasing the mower spindle. You can start the lawnmower again and run its deck for about six minutes.
Tips
Please check your user manual first before greasing the mower spindle. You might get some useful information about the type of oils and the grease to use in the process and even how to do it.
You will also get more tips on mower spindle maintenance.
Before using the mower again, make sure that you raise the mower deck to your desired height.
After using the riding mower deck, always clean it, and spray its sides with water. Use a garden hose to spray it.
Remember to remove any debris, leaves, and grass in the spindle, to avoid the risks of fire while using it. Doing this will also prevent it from getting rusty.
When servicing the mower, always remove the keys as this can lead to accidental starts.
It would be best if you also wiped out excess grease on the grease gun’s tip to preserve the grease cartridge so that you can use it in the future.
As you plan to start greasing your mower spindle, you need to use the right grease. One of the worst mistakes that most lawn people make is using the wrong grease on the spindles.
It is crucial first to check your user manual to see if there are any recommendations of the best grease to use.
Most manufacturers of lawn mowers recommend the type of oil and grease to use on the spindles.
However, if you are looking for recommendations, you can try using the John Deere Polyurea Multipurpose grease. Aside from being user-friendly, it gives fantastic results.
Being a multi-purpose lubricant, you can use it in other parts of the mower aside from spindles.
It would help if you greased your mower spindles frequently to help them work effectively and last longer. Remember that you need to grease them often to avoid damage.