1872 Front wheel bearing grease zerk modification
 

Most would say why bother I suppose but I'm going to ask anyway. Has anyone modified the front spindles on their 1872 with zerk and felts for future lubing the front wheel bearings without removing the wheels? It seems an easy mod.

Today my front wheels go back on after a long delay for blast, epoxy primer, IH white and new tires. I will skip the wheel bearing grease mod this time. Limited time and freezing cold (outside) are contributing factors. Besides, now that they have been cleaned/checked, repacked and reinstalled they will probably last my lifetime with no further service - I'm 73 for another 4 months.

If I find the felt, I think 4 washers 1/16" thick x 1-1/8" ID and 1.5" OD will sure help keep dust and dirt away from the bearings.

I modified my post to compensate for the extended inner race of the bearing; 1" to 1-1/8". I got out to my shop before I realized my mistake and am happy I could still edit to make the correction.

I'm guessing an 1872 has the same front end as a 2072? I'm pretty certain the ones in my 2072 and my 982 are original. That said, you can jack up the front end, spin the wheels and hear them make a bunch of racket. Been meaning to replace them but they aren't cheap, need to source them from a bearing supplier I suppose. Having said all that, I kind of get the feeling 2 sets of bearings should last the life of the machine. What's the plan for the felt? Couldn't you just drill an angled hole, tap it 1/4-28 or use a drive in style fitting, remove the inner grease seals on each bearing and grease until it blows out each side? Would certainly be a mess if you ever had to pull the rim off though.

Steve

The later machines have a zerk fitting on the back side of the wheel. It's drilled and tapped into the tube next to the weld for the tube. I did a mod on a 1210 where I drilled the spindle just about at the bottom of the hole that the bolt goes into that holds the wheel on so that when I grease it the grease goes into the bolt hole for the wheel then it comes out behind the bearing. You need to measure how deep the bolt hole is and drill the spindle so that you enter the bolt hole near the bottom. I used the smallest drill that I had then I drilled the bolt through the center also using a very small drill then I drilled and tapped the head of the bolt for a grease fitting.

I like that idea, I have put the zerks in several of my cubs front rims, but never thought of doing it that way. :beerchug:

Yes, that is the way I planned to do it. My bolt holes are deep enough but it would be easy to extend the bolt hole with a smaller diameter hole if necessary.

John Hall, the felt washers go on the spindle between bearing face and backing metal washer, 4 places. My bearings are LUTCO open flanged type;
http://www.lutco.com/ 1" ID x 2" OD ~ $10. each. There are some sealed flanged bearings by other venders - more money.

Wow. That couldn't have been easy to drill a hole through a grade 5 bolt like that. Had to be a slow process. I wonder how long sealed bearings would last.

I'm not sure if you would consider this an option or not. I just put sealed bearings on my 2182 so I wouldn't have to grease them anymore. They were about $14 a piece. Same dimensions as above with a 1/16" flange on one side. The picture shows an open bearing, but they are sealed on both sides so they don't need repacking or greased.

https://www.motionindustries.com/pro...p?sku=00118945

I have done several like Sam Mac did. Drilled the bolts in the lathe. Worked out great.

True. I didn't think about using a lathe. I'm more into woodworking so I was thinking about a drill press and how many bits you would go through.

Grade 5 bolts aren't hard. Unless your using a wood or junk bit, a good drill bit would bore right through that no issues. Using oil helps extend a bit's life.... and they can be sharpened.