Review on Belleone 2 Pack Spindle Assembly: Compatible With Craftsman, Husqvarna, Ariens And Poulan Pro 42-54" Mowers by Viswanath Badasz

I purchased this Belleone 187292 Spindle Assembly for my Craftsman 42" Lawn Tractor 3000, model 917.203900. One of the spindles on the 42" deck failed completely and needed replacement. This new spindle replaced the Craftsman part #187281 for this lawn tractor exactly! All 4 mounting bolts, blade assembly, and pulley assembly fit perfectly together with the mounting holes, blade, and pulley for this mower! I did not remove the deck as this spindle replaced the spindle closest to the grass discharge chute and was easy to work on. I did use a lawn tractor lift to raise the front end up, which is necessary to make it easier to remove the spindle itself. Remove the pulley first by blocking the grass blade from turning underneath the deck. Once the pulley is removed, you can remove the 4 bolts that mount the spindle to the deck. The spindle (drops down thru the deck) and cutting blade then are removed from underneath the cutting deck IF it is elevated as I had done! If you cannot elevate the mower, you may have to remove the entire deck from underneath the mower itself to get the spindle and blade removed. I had one of the 4 original bolts break upon trying to remove it due to rust, but it did not hinder the removal of the spindle. (Penetrating fluid on the bolts the night before may be a good idea!) Once the spindle/blade is removed from under the deck, you can remove the cutting blade by using a vice on the spindle shaft.The spindle seems adequate for the job! There are NO INSTRUCTIONS that come with the spindle. The spindle has a zerk grease fitting at the very top of the pulley assembly shaft. Since there are no instructions, you don't know if the spindle has grease already in it or if you need to add some grease with a grease gun before first use. Better safe than sorry, so I added grease thru the zerk fitting prior to installing the spindle since spinning the shaft did not feel like it had any grease in it. All the bolts (4) for mounting to deck and nut/washer for mounting the pulley come with this spindle. You will need to save your blade bolt and washer though for reinstallation. All the parts of the spindle matched perfectly to the blade, deck, and pulley. If you can raise your mower, removal will be much easier to accomplish. You will need a 1/2" socket or wrench to remove the bolts and an adjustable wrench to remove the pulley nut and mower blade. Upon completion, the blade cut grass evenly and matched the height of the other blade's cut. No problem with this spindle as of this time! Gave it 4 stars just b/c it doesn't advise whether to add grease or not to the spindle zerk fitting, on top, before first use.which could cause it to fail prematurely if it has no grease in it! Otherwise, it works as expected!