Craftsman Riding Mower Wheel Bearing Upgrade

In this Part 2 of a small mini series of getting my old Craftsman 917 tractor turned into a dedicated snowblower, we will be addressing the leaky front tires.
Turns out they are dry rotted and need replacing. Cost wise, it made more sense to get a new wheel/tire combo and save myself the headache of mounting and new tires.
Also, since we already had the wheels off I went ahead and did the pretty common wheel bushing to wheel bearing swap.
Wheel/Tire Package:
www.amazon.com/dp/B06XX6BM2R?...
Bearing Upgrade Kit:
www.amazon.com/dp/B073YFRCXD?...
Part 1: Fixing the leaky valve cover:
• DIY Riding Mower Valve...
Part 3: Fixing the sloppy steering:
• How To Fix Sloppy Stee...
Part4: Mounting The Snowblower
• Mounting A Used Snowbl...
Part 5: Upgrading and Adding Lighting
• Adding Lighting To The...
00:00 - Intro
00:35 - Explaination & Prep
01:17 - Removing The Old Wheels
02:12 - The New Wheels/Tires
03:46 - The Bearing Kit
04:29 - Removing the Wheel Bushings
06:25 - Installing the Wheel Bearings
07:51 - Installing the Wheels
11:06 - Outro

[@mike83ny]

This is why I love KZbin. I just had the bearing on my lawnmower fail and this shows exactly what to do to fix it. Don't have to spend a couple of hundred bucks to get it done. Thank you.

[@TwoFourSevenDIY]

Glad you found the video useful!

[@chuckgladfelter]

Thanks for taking the time to make the video. I'm getting ready to do this job and can add that if your bearing races fit loosely you can use green Loctite to keep them from spinning on the spindle. It has high rotational strength but you will still be able to pull the wheel off when you need to change a tire. It looks like yours fit tight enough, though, not to need this.

[@terryscott2434]

Always just liked watching the videos.Well yesterday my wife was mowing and she came in the shop and said...."The Wheel Fell Off"...lol. no bushing left except for a thin piece on the front of the wheel. Even lost the E clip and washer

[@TwoFourSevenDIY]

Oh no! Sounds like that mower has a lot of hours on it. Good thing it's an easy fix as long as the spindle didn't get damaged.

[@juliagetman]

The chapters help. You make it all look easy.

[@TwoFourSevenDIY]

Thanks!

[@sptrader6316]

I made this mod + the "poor man's power steering" mod about 50 hrs ago on my JD E120 and I still love it. Nice explanation and video.

[@TwoFourSevenDIY]

Thanks! I also saw the poor man's power steering mod, the only reason I shied away from it was that it uses non sealed bearing ... seemed like it would get gummed up with debris fairly quickly

[@paulthompson1216]

Nice job. For me, if the grease zerk cleared I would have removed the inner seal so I could grease it without disassembly.

[@dennisoneal8505]

I agree, inserting the bearings without being able to grease them, kind of defeats the purpose of replacing the bushings.

[@TwoFourSevenDIY]

The sealed roller bearing does not require greasing like the original solid bushing 👍

[@SgtMil496]

Thank you for posting this video. I just experienced the left front wheel binding on my '01 LT1000. I am also experiencing loss of air too so I will be replacing the wheels as well. Very informative and straight forward. Keep up the good work!

[@TwoFourSevenDIY]

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@stevelee4213]

The best, succinct and straightforward.

[@magicone9327]

What I have found when doing this is this. The axle is slightly less than 0.75 inches. The bearing ID IS 0.75 inches. The bearing inner race will SPIN And it shouldn’t if you want the assembly to last. What I did was took my wire feed and put three beads at 60° from each other then filed the weld down to where the beating would slide on under tension. Then when installing I used sized thicknesses of washers to stop the wheel from having any movement in and out on the axle. Think what a car would drive like if it’s wheels could slide around in and out on its axle. If you are lucky enough to have no wear down on the axle then this retro system is such an improvement.

[@4Truth4All]

Nice job on the bearing install!

[@TwoFourSevenDIY]

Thanks!

[@ronlee9984]

Thanks for the video and link to a new wheel/tire combo. I just checked the tire on my GT3000 and it is 16x6.5-8 so larger than yours. The pair is double the price but the bearings are already installed. I will check for other options but I will be replacing the current wheel/tire combo with a better setup as you described.

[@user-it4nu7im1v]

For dust caps if you want to avoid prying pour boiling water over it or use a heat gun. I usually pry them off but my teacher always told me not to on a clients or they'll sook and moan.

[@TwoFourSevenDIY]

That's a good tip, ill have to remember that.

[@danielbrown9469]

Nice upgrade! 👍👍

[@lonestarlarf6633]

Thanks dude! Super helpful

[@thurm101]

Inspired me to do this job. Thank you.

[@claudecroft2732]

Those work on a troy built as well

[@clintstevenson1214]

warm the dust cover wheel cap with a heat gun, pulls right off!

[@TwoFourSevenDIY]

I've seen that a couple times since I made the video ... definitely gonna try it next time I have to take em off.

[@clintstevenson1214]

@@TwoFourSevenDIY would love a video about removing the slop from the caster bushings that are the vertical ones that the wheel rotates right and left on. I really enjoyed your video though :-)

[@TwoFourSevenDIY]

The ones I replaced in this video? kzbin.info/www/bejne/iKWqdI2NltGqrMk

[@gordbaker896]

Put the inner washer on first before Greasing axle. You should have left the zerk fitting in place as there is now a large hole for water and dirt to enter. Older tires could have been easily saved by inserting a tube. Old bushings were doing there job and have been well greased. Looks like you have too much air in those tires. 10-15 psi is sufficient.

[@TwoFourSevenDIY]

Sure but inserting tube requires dismounting the tire, inserting the tube, and recounting the tire. For me, a new set was much easier than all that, worth every penny. And yeah, I did realize after about water being able to enter so I may take a couple small threaded plugs and seal them up. Tires were always kept at 12psi.

[@gordbaker896]

@@TwoFourSevenDIY You only need to dismount one side of the tire to get a new tube in. Simply put the Zerk fittings back. Looked like there was clearance. Nice old Craftsman (MTD) model. 2006?

[@TwoFourSevenDIY]

2001

[@vokieman2979]

I don't know there are bushing on older tractors . Might need to replace mine with bearings . Have problems with getting grease into them .

[@Ambress]

At 8:00 in the video is a good image of the spindle on which the wheel is to be mounted, showing what I assume to be a cup or cap that fits over the inside bushing to help keep dirt out. In my case, after 8 years of neglect on my Craftsman mower that I inherited from my dad, and not realizing the wheel zerk fittings needed lube, a question as to why the mower squeaked so much was revealed when I took the wheel off to reinstall a zerk fitting that came loose on me. Not only was it pretty much devoid of grease but that "cap" was floating free on the spindle. I looked for a replacement part only to learn that it is welded to the spindle and thus the entire spindle must be replaced, yet everywhere I looked, the spindle was unavailable or on backorder. My solution in lieu of a new spindle was to order a shaft collar, choosing to go with one that had a clamping, two-piece design which I thought would hold much more strongly than a less expensive, slip-on, set-screw style. After using a grinding stone on a Dremel to remove two "nubs" left on the spindle from the broken off cap, I installed the shaft collar and then added a pair of washers from the bearing conversion kit, then finished installation of the wheel. A test drive around part of my yard revealed no issues and the extreme squeaking was gone, hooray! The shaft collar I used was this one at www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09MMRX61M.

[@TwoFourSevenDIY]

Glad to hear you got it sorted out. I wasn't 100% sure but was pretty positive that that cup and spindle were all one piece. Too bad it isn't readily available as a replacement.

[@Ambress]

@@TwoFourSevenDIY, yes, the spindle is identified as a "weldment spindle", which refers to that welded-on cap as I called it. Hopefully those spindles will continue to be made, given the popularity of the 42" riding mower under multiple names. But in absence of their immediate availability, the shaft collar looks to work well, and I've just completed mowing my 1 acre lawn.

[@richardrandall1852]

The new tractors come with a electric start

[@60Oldfart]

not going to install needle bearing for turning ? goes in the lower end of spindle

[@TwoFourSevenDIY]

Saw those, to me they looked like they would quickly attract dust/debris being in that area

[@user-tz3yl7qo2e]

Do you have any suggestions for the older MTD mowers? Mine is a 1998 Huskee and the axle sizes are smaller. I haven't been able to find upgrade bearings small enough.

[@TwoFourSevenDIY]

No sorry, I'm not familiar with any of the MTD mowers.

[@user-tz3yl7qo2e]

Thank You

[@inabruno]

Hola que número de rodamiento es?

[@lenwoodlloyd292]

What about the rear wheels? Can the bushings be replaced with the same size bearings?

[@TwoFourSevenDIY]

Well the rear wheels stay stationary on the drive axle. They are keyed in place.

[@gordbaker896]

No.

[@dalemihocik4732]

This bearing kit didn't fit the axle on my Craftsman LT 1000 as the bearings are too small. A total waste of time and money. By the way, the bushings were in perfect condition after 20 years of service and never greasing them.

[@TwoFourSevenDIY]

Congratulations

[@dalemihocik4732]

@@TwoFourSevenDIY Thanks, I think?

[@matthewwilson5336]

How long is that gonna last

[@TwoFourSevenDIY]

As long as it lasts I guess

[@gervanmyers3066]

Grease nipple mangled because it should be removed prior removing bushings

[@TwoFourSevenDIY]

Sorry, but no, it was definitely a manufacturing assembly mistake.

[@stereolababy]

@@TwoFourSevenDIY or you hit it while removing the bushing

[@TwoFourSevenDIY]

Sorry, but no, it was definitely a manufacturing assembly mistake.

[@stereolababy]

@@TwoFourSevenDIY nope

[@TwoFourSevenDIY]

OK 👍

[@davidyoung7955]

Please include part number

[@TwoFourSevenDIY]

The links are in the description 👍