Review on Craftsman 187292 And 192870 Spindle Assembly With Grease Zerk For Husqvarna Poulan (Set Of Two) by Josue Wallsmith

Craftsman Model # 917.28856 Craftsman YT 4000 42” deck.I snapped 2 of the 4 supports on the spindle attachment to the mower deck.Ordered a pair of these Spindles with grease fittings having some doubts as their price was very low compared to the OEM ones.What I got were 2 identical looking spindles. The only thing different was they had grease fittings.That means they did not have sealed upper and lower bearings as in the OEM that came with the tractor. That is a positive for me as its potential for a longer bearing life.Removal of the old spindle was the hardest part. The other 2 supports broke off while removing the spindle.I only replaced the broken spindle with one of the two I received. Want to see how it works out before replacing the other good one.Install comments:(1) The deck does not have to be removed. Also you only have to slip the belt off the pulley over the spindle you are replacing. I figured this out after the fact.(2) DO NOT LOSE THE ORIGINAL SPACER WASHER that is between the bearing on top part of the spindle and the bottom of the pulley that goes over it. The washer MUST be no larger than the rotating part of the bearing. If it is it will cause friction (with part of it locked on the non-rotating part of the bearing. That will cause a lot of heat buildup and the bearing will fail in short order. The washer that came with each spindle is too large for the bearing and will cause failure if used.(3) It takes a lot of grease initially, at least 50 pumps. I needed to fill till the grease started to come out of the lower bearing cover. Just watch through the spindle vent slots. You could also fill before you install the spindle. That’s what I will do on the other spindle. It’s actually no different than greasing the tractor’s grease fittings till you see a bit of oozing out. Also similar to greasing buddy bearings on a trailer. I used Marine wheel bearing grease. The reason for this is you want to be absolutely sure you have grease forced into the bearings, top and bottom. If not failure will result from not lubricated/poorly lubricated bearings.(4) The spindle was predrilled/threaded for the bolts which was great! I tightened but was careful not to over tighten. I did the same for the nut that holds the pulley. You can always go back after the first cutting and check that they did not loosen. You absolutely do not want to over tighten the pulley nut as that might stress the bearings.Check the spindle after a short mowing and see if it’s HOT. Hot is not good. Mine was warm to the touch the first mowing, most likely from the packed grease friction and its working into the bearings. The second mowing the spindle was cool to touch. That was good.The spindles are excellent, especially with the grease fittings. The cost was great also! Time will tell how they hold up compared to the OEM ones. Points #2 and 3 are critical for a long life.Also another point I did read reviews about in so far as the spindle breaking easily on the bolt down wings. From what I hit to break 2 of them, had they not broken, I very likely could have bent the deck opening area for the spindles. A $25 spindle is a lot cheaper than a replacement deck if you know what that costs.