Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

I've repainted my blower housing, impeller, auger and chute (pictures to come) and replaced the impeller bearing and got the engine purring like a kitten.  I've got the whole thing back together...almost, when I notice that there is some play in the axle where it penetrates the tractor housing.  I was going to address the tractor in the off-season but with no snow in the foreseeable future and backup equipment available just in case, I'm thinking of replacing the bearings and any related h/w.

My problem is twofold.  How to disassemble the drive axle and how to identify what needs replacing.  I can't tell if the wear is in the housing or the washer that fills the opening or the bearing or the bearing retainer or all of the above.  When I put the blower on the housing and remove the bottom plate, I wiggle the axle and see some movement in the space between the housing and the washer and possibly between the axle and the bearing.

Looks like I'm going to have to disassemble it to know for sure.  Anyone who has been down this road, feel free to share your experiences.

The parts I was looking to replace, according to the parts manual:

(2)  05417700 Bearing-Ball 1.45 x 2.19 x 0.63
(2)  06417000 Washer-Flat-Steel 1.140 x 1.718 x 0.134

Here's the starboard side:


Here's the port side but the bearing area is not visible:

manjestic wrote:
The diff. is fairly well sealed on the outside.  And once the axles are in place there really isn't much of a chance of dirt or water getting in through the center hole.  I would assume they are lubed at the factory
and that is that.   It's usually the teeth that get worn that causes problems.  There may be some grease that works it's way in from using the short axle grease fitting.  But that fitting is primarily to keep the inner and outer axle lubed.  After everything is back together.  I usually take a stiff bristle brush and dab stiff grease into the diff teeth all the way around.  Not a whole lot, just enough to put a coating on all the teeth after you've spun it a few
revolutions.
Of the two pairs of bushings.  You really want to make sure that they 34s are good.  They really wear because of the load that is on them.
If they are worn you will know after you clean it up and slide it on the shaft.  Sometimes the flange will wear off the end of the bushing as well.  You didn't appear to have a lot of dirty grease build up in the housing so the flanges are probably ok.  I believe that is what causes them to wear.  Dirty grease is like valve grinding compound.  As long as your in there, if they aren't nice and snug I would replace them.
The 22 bushings don't wear as quickly.  But are worth checking.

Any advice on how to take up any slack in the bearing retainer?  That is, the axle bearing holder does not appear to hold the bearing tightly and keep it from moving within the space it occupies.  I was considering something tacky like an adhesive or perhaps wrapping tape around the perimeter.

Measure outside diameter of your old bearing and measure the new.Say for example the difference is .030" then,you would use shim stock of .015" which will bring it to the same outside diameter.You want it tight in the retainer so that only the center of bearing spins.Good luck,Allan

You really just need something to keep the outside of the bearing snug. Like hirschallan said, shim stock would work, but the around-the-house version might be aluminum flashing or tin foil. Put a strip or two between the outside of the bearing, and the inside of the retainer, and get the bearing in there. You could maybe tap the outside edges of the bearing into the retainer with a small mallet or something. It doesn't need to be in there for all eternity, just nice and snug so it won't spin.

I did put a film of grease on the inside of my (rusted) retainers and on the outside of the bearings, since the originals had rusted up quite a bit. I had to knock one bearing out of the retainer with a hammer and a vise.

Are you sure you have the right bearings?  Almost all of the Ariens axle bearings have a concave shape to the outer bearing surface.  It's not flat like most other bearings.
If your new bearing have the flat surface they will not work with the Ariens bearing cups.  Although you could try and shim them.

jrtrebor, I bought the Ariens axle bearing part number in my IPL from Jack's Small Engines. My bearings had a "flat" outside diameter, if I'm correctly interpreting what you mean. The outside diameter appeared to be a constant size (2.190", I guess, from the description in manjestic's first post). If they were in fact convex/concave (so that the diameter was, say, 2.160" at the outer edges, and 2.190" in the center), then it was subtle and I don't recall noticing it. From manjestic's pictures, his unit is identical to mine (924082), as best I can tell.

Not trying to dispute that many/most may have a shape to their OD. But I don't recall mine seeming like that. I still have the old bearings, but they're so rusted up it might be difficult to check conclusively. If my new ones actually had a profile to the OD, and I simply didn't notice, my apologies.

Thanks for all the replies; there will be a little something extra in your paychecks this month. 

I haven't received my new bearings yet, but that's another story.  So, I can't measure the difference.  I put the originals in and secured the retainer to see if there was any wear in the retainer.  The bearing (outer race, if that is the right term) did move vertically maybe a millimeter within the retainer.

A picture would be best here, but the original bearing is flat enough that it will stand on end.  That is, the there is no concave- or convex-ness to it.  Though the edges are radiused.

Just thought I would throw that out there about the concave bearings. 
My Ariens 924084 1032 has the concave bearings.  But I picked up a JD 1032D for parts a while back.  It tractor unit is identical to my Ariens but it has regular bearings for
the axles (non concave).  So after this season I'm going to swap out the bearing holders and put in new bearings.  Standard bearings are cheaper than the concave ones.

You can buy a roll of self stick aluminum tape at any hardware store and wrap the bearing as was suggested.  I have used it before on an axle worn down by the bearing.  Just put a couple of wraps on the
axle to snug up the bearing.  Not a permanent fix but will work for a while. 

I may have to use the old bearings for a while.  I just found out that my parts are back-ordered.