I know I mentioned black and gold, but I am getting the ich for doing a Murray red color match. That would be a lot of coin for the paint. Have to contemplate that.
Everything I need to Doc Lock and mount wheel hubs on the 820 is now ordered. By the time of the 2025 build-off, I should be ready to start building. Again, I plan on through bolting the 820 with some stainless bolts.
UH-OH... my 4on4 hubs in their current configuration will not work on this Murray! It has 7/8" front spindles it would appear! That's larger than the normal 3/4 spindles!
Really!? I didn't know they existed.... a quick search tells me you'd have a hard time finding bearings but you could bore out some old wheel bushings if you had to.
Yeah, my murray GT had 7/8 spindles. The axles themselves are the same as a widebody LT though, you can swap the bushings and spindles out for regular 3/4 ones. I did the opposite on my widebody and moved all the heavier GT steering parts to the LT.
Really!? I didn't know they existed.... a quick search tells me you'd have a hard time finding bearings but you could bore out some old wheel bushings if you had to.
I didn't know they existed either! They are standard 1-3/8 bore wheels just with a thin plastic press in that is thinner than your average bearing.
RichieRichOverdrive wrote:
Yeah, my murray GT had 7/8 spindles. The axles themselves are the same as a widebody LT though, you can swap the bushings and spindles out for regular 3/4 ones. I did the opposite on my widebody and moved all the heavier GT steering parts to the LT.
I think I have a solution. Instead of the normal 1-3/8x 3/4 x .5 bearing I have been using with a downgraded spindle.
What say you about a 1-3/8 x 7/8 x (.75-1") needle bearings like the following. That "should" be much more rugged than the roller bearing I have been using. Should take the side load much better.
You might try them but you’ll have to keep them greased to push the dirt out, as well as watch that they don’t eat the spindles. Needle bearings aren’t really meant for use against soft surfaces.
I would be interested in seeing how they hold up though. Might be the sort of thing where they work great until you pull them off one day and all the needles fall out
I just had another idea, I need to measure to be sure, but I wonder if I shorten the bore on the hub the width of the 7/8 bearings. Then, cut some larger pipe that fits "over" or around the hub (like a sleeve) to weld on giving it a "race" to fit into. I feel like I didn't explain that too well. Also, not sure if that would give the right outer diameter for a 7/8id bearing.
I'd be concerned about the dirt getting in there too considering the nature of the tractor BUT try putting "rs" at the end of the part number and see what comes up, some needle roller bearings are available with rubber seals at the lips. Problem with needle roller bearings though is that they're not designed for the kind of side load we put on them but I remember @AllisKidD21 talking about how one of his tractors has factory double wide needle roller bearings in the front wheels... not sure how I would track that info down but I could try.
I still think bushings are the way to go, easy to get, easy to clean/grease and they're cheap
I wouldn’t worry too much tracking that down. More I think about it. I may go the custom trailer hub route and save the spindles for later or like @richierichoverdrive mentioned use my spare 3/4 ones but hate to downgrade.
I mean, these are an off the shelf option that are just a needle bearing in a special housing. I ran them on mutt for a good while before i knocked them out of those hubs and beat them into my sears rims, where they are still doing great. They still get greased before every long or non local ride, along with everything else in the steering. I usually see some amount of water pushed out by the new grease too.
That's an excellent point @RichieRichOverdrive and I have to say that I'm surprised to hear that they can hold up to the abuse, I've seen them disintegrate under normal operating circumstances (not in tractors) so part of me is dubious but I trust your word. I still think they're way overkill for low speed applications and the amount of maintenance required but that's just my opinion, more moving parts means more chance for failure.
I mean, these are an off the shelf option that are just a needle bearing in a special housing. I ran them on mutt for a good while before i knocked them out of those hubs and beat them into my sears rims, where they are still doing great. They still get greased before every long or non local ride, along with everything else in the steering. I usually see some amount of water pushed out by the new grease too.
@Brianator they don’t take any side load at all, you will just need some thrust washers to take care of that for you.
Mighty, you might see if you can get that bearing as a full compliment bearing, so there isnt a plastic or steel cage to get messed up by debris.
Ugh... one of the side effects sometimes of the emoji. I was able to get to the URL. I would really like to use the 7/8 spindle, but the options are few. I did find a set of 7/8ID x 1-5/8OD sealed bearings that If I can find a 1-5/8 ID pipe that I can slip over the current hub and weld on. 1-5/8 is the OD of the current hub so that could work nicely. I could use that or just build a new hub. What's a little more work. It's for the 2025 B/O btw.
With @TNMTHomestead joining the club... we may have to deal with some stiff competition!
Ugh... one of the side effects sometimes of the emoji. I was able to get to the URL. I would really like to use the 7/8 spindle, but the options are few. I did find a set of 7/8ID x 1-5/8OD sealed bearings that If I can find a 1-5/8 ID pipe that I can slip over the current hub and weld on. 1-5/8 is the OD of the current hub so that could work nicely.
Ugh.. that bearing I think is incorrect for ID. When I search the part# it comes back 3/4 not 7/8.
Subject: 
December 2nd 2024, 10:27 pm
mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=6PadauBJTK2&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=f7psncbgseg&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY]Heavy duty mower wheel bearings [/url]
