Toro Sidewinder Spindle rebuild

 I noticed a little more play than usual on the rear spindle . There is a little play when you move the blades on the ends but this time I noticed a lot of up and down movement . I may have gotten away with it for a lot more mows but would rather repair while there was a little down time . Also if you can rebuild it early your spindle housing may not get ruined .

 Removal is pretty easy a couple of allen head bolts takes the hydro motor off .

 There was some wear on the races and bearings where pretty floppy .

 I ordered the parts for repair . The bearing and spacers come as set so the clearances are right .

 I laid everything out on the bench while waiting for the parts to come in .

 The big snap ring can stay in . It is almost impossible to remove with out the proper tool . The instructions will say to leave it in unless it's broken .

 While the machine is laid up I remove the key , put the engine compartment in the open position and leave a note on the steering wheel and on my service board . Over kill ....YES ...but when it's a much used machine I don't think twice about someone coming in your shop and taking it out to mow . I've heard of equipment being pulled out with out asking the mechanic first while it's in the middle of an oil change . Always pull the key just in case you get pulled away for some emergency out on the course .

 This is the top side . On the bottom side you can install the race . We do not have a press but have the basic tools to install races without a problem . 

 Make sure the race is up against the snap ring .

 Load the bearing up with grease .

 Put a little grease on the seal lip and install.

 I made sure there were no burrs on the seal surfaces just up from my thumb . and greased the spindle and installed it. Now I just move it over to the vice and hold it in there by the blade mount for the rest .

 The big spacer slides in on the top side against the retaning ring  , In the instructions it says to press it in ? mine seemed to go right in with zero effort . This gives you the spacing and a landing point for the top side RACE . Slide the other snap ring over the spindle shaft then the spacer for the ( inside part ) bearing to ride on .

 Installed the race till it bottoms out on spacer and I had to use the 2" socket to install the seal .

 The large nut goes on next , also check the seal surface on the nut for burrs .

 Torque nut to 145 ft.lbs.

After it's all done reinstall on machine in reverse order . I have an old hydraulic cap to protect the splines . Only took less than 10 minutes form here on in to get it out the door .