Cub Cadet 1527 Bearing Faliure

[Phil]

Hello I have a Cub Cadet 1527 Lawn Tractor , have had this machine for about three years and except for the deck rusting it hasn't been too bad a machine , I was getting the mower ready to go and noticed rust around the double pulley assembly on the mower deck , I took it apart and looks like the two sets of ball bearings on the double pulley are dry and worn , they are loose in the housing and have even worn the snap rings , wonder if anybody has had a similar experience , looks like the unit should have tapered roller bearings and grease , Cub has 125 hrs. total time , any thoughts would be appreciated . Thanks Phil L.

[Art]

That's a common failure but not at all unique to Cub. Many mfgs have been back and forth between non-sealed grease-able and sealed un-grease-able spindle bearings. The best is the grease-able except that most people will only do once a year maintenance and that is just not enough. So sadly, most have now opted for sealed bearings that can fail after a few seasons. What usually kills them is a piece of string or tough weed wraps around the spindle and works its way past the seal. Once that happens the bearing is essentially ruined. The most economical fix will probably be to buy a spindle assembly. Make sure the dust caps are in good shape, that is the only real protection for the lower bearing seal.