149 front wheel bearings
 

Bought 4 new wheel bearings off ebay a while back. Just got around to installing them. Had to tap the old bearing out, but the new ones are a loose fit. Any one else ever have this problem?
Bob

not a surprise to me. anything you buy new nowadays is a little smaller than the original. tires are the worst.you may try one of the vendors from the site for a better fitting bearing.

I've had the same thing happen, if they aren't too loose they will be fine.

Glued mine in with JB Weld.

Wow......
some of you guys are really crude. :bigeyes: I'd be pretty frustrated buying a tractor and finding JB weld glueing the now bad wheel bearing in. So will you when they need changed again. :angry:

Since you bought them off e-bay, I'm going to assume that they are the cheap china bearings. And it surprises you that they don't fit right?...... :bigthink:

Probably. over the years, the hub diameter of the wheel where the flanged bearing goes into, has grown bigger to either wear and/or rust.

This is what I do. I take a hammer and chisel and pound on the "lip of the hub" a Tri-star pattern, slightly creating a "dimple". Then the bearing fits tight.

Another alternative, is buying a new wheel.

:High5:

These are sealed roller bearings, probably outlast the machine and me, plus JB weld can be easily removed with some heat from a torch.
Mine were made in Israel, but did not come from Ebay. They are from my local auto parts store.

I've used aluminum (hvac) tape on occasion as a temporary fix to shim new bearings into the wheel hubs. It lasts most of a season mowing. In most cases, however, I've just replaced the wheel. I've bought "cub cadet" bearings from lots of different places--local dealer, on line dealers, and ebay dealers. Never had one that didn't fit properly in a new wheel.

How loose are they? I've used paper or paper tape before with good results if they are just a slip fit and not wallowing around in the wheel. When I purchased my 1650 the PO had junk wheels on it that he had wrapped the bearings several times with duct tape. I found out really quick and it cost me new wheels and spindles. But like was said earlier if they are the good bearings they should fit tight. If not I'd buy new wheels.

Thanks for all the responses. These bearings were machined in the USA and used by people with tractors used for pulling. I felt they would be heavy duty and hold up better. The outer lip is supposed to be 1 3/8 inch. I have a cheap Harbor Freight digital caliper. I am going to measure the bearing and the hub to see which is out of spec. Should have done that to start with. Some times my brain just doesn't kick in. Think I will try to shim them with aluminum from a coke can. Don't want to buy new wheels unless I have to. Already spent a lot of money for things it needed and some implements. Have a great day.

Bob