Stens New Spindle Assembly 285-851 Compatible with/Replacement for John Deere D100-D160, LA100-LA165, X110, X120 and X140 GX21694, GY20454, GY20867, GY20962, GY21098, M149625

Well, I am approaching 700 hrs on my LA145, 48" deck. I am very rough on the mower, but JD does build crap. Having said that, I have gone through about 10 spindles now on my own machine, not all this brand. I also do mower repairs for other folks. I rebuild the spindles if the shaft isn't bent. I completely disassemble the spindle unit, diesel wash, soapy water rinse and air dry, then put new bearings and occasionally a new pulley. I fill them with grease before I install them, much easier. I have added the deck reinforcement rings which required the new longer bolts. The new bolts cut right into a new spindle and also fit right into the threads of a rebuilt spindle. I love the reinforcement rings. But, prior to that the only time I've had any original bolts break is on one spindle the last time I removed it. I service my mower spindles twice yearly and put over 100 hrs per year on the mower. I don't even bother to clean the bolts anymore. I just squirt some WD, or rust breaker, or even 3 in 1 oil and put them back in. No problems. As a side note: I have had little or no problems with the Briggs and Stratton engine, Itek 22 HP but the JD mower was designed to break down and cost you lots and lots of money. I do all my own mechanical work.This week, I just finished going through 7 spindles. Only 3 were rebuild-able. The rest either had bent shafts or the bottom bearing cast was wallered out of the cheaper built spindles. When they are wallered out and you rebuild them you will notice you can shift the bottom end of the shaft back and forth. That's not optimal for long life, however it is less of a problem than a bent shaft. Sometimes, I use them even with a small bit of shift present. You won't get maximum bearing life from them but they are good for about 80% bearing life.This particular spindle has the best cast aluminum spindle on the market. It is absolutely the best spindle housing I have seen and measured. The bottom bearing cast is easily twice as thick as most others. That is important for bearing support and long life. AND YES folks, the old bolts and the new bolts are self tapping AND easy to put in with just a hand wrench. (I do use an air powered impact for most all my work). When you are self tapping new spindles be sure to run the bolt in a few turns and then back out to spill out the cuttings. back in back out, back in back out, till your are through the spindle. A drop of oil can't hurt.One final note. If you are replacing bearings, make sure the spindle has not been bent even a little or your bearings will fail quickly. Like, before I knew this, I ruined a new set of bearings in about 30 minutes. Take the spindle you have removed, with no pulley or blade or nuts, and hold it horizontally in one hand. With your other hand, rotate it from the idler end of the shaft and watch the blade end of the shaft. Even a slight wobble will be easily seen. A perfectly straight shaft will not be seen to move up and down even a little. If there is a wobble the spindle is trash. If the bearings are shot, you may have to disassemble, clean, and install new bottom bearings in order to assess the shaft for wobble.OMG: I almost forgot: Balance your blades, Balance Your Blades, BALANCE YOUR BLADES. You will get 2 to 3 times the life of your bearings if you balance your blades. Unfortunately, only a somewhat professional balance will give you optimum life. I use this balancer, Oregon 42-047 Precision Blade Balancer . I am sorry to say, once you experience this type balance, you will throw away the cone, or the nail and come to love the smooooooth power of your cutting head. You will spend less time and money rebuilding or replacing your spindles. Do yourself a favor and go read the reviews, they are not exaggerating.

Excellent replacement spindle. Old one had sheered off the star that holds the blade in position, as well was rocking back and forth. A complete mower deck replacement was around 700 bucks. All the parts (plus some extras) to fix the spindle was under 100.I used  John Deere Deck Spindle Reinforcement ring with bolts  to attach this - the bolts threaded in fine, and hopefully the reinforcement ring provides for extra life on the rest of the mower deck. You do have to self-thread this spindle - and while there's probably a right way and a wrong way, I just put this spindle on over the ring, put the bolts in, and started turning it. Worked well for me - just make sure the bolts are started out straight so you don't have a big angle while threading it all. If you don't want to use the reinforcement ring, you'll need to either use your old bolts, or get some more:  John Deere Original Equipment Screw #GX22456 (Qty 4) I also replaced the  Maxpower 11449 Spindle Pulley for John Deere , which fit as perfectly as the original, and touched it all up with  Rust-Oleum Automotive 249275 12-Ounce John Deere Farm Equipment Spray, Yellow .All in all, the part fit and worked great, just like the original. Would recommend this as an inexpensive fix to what appears to be a common problem.

Good replacement spindles for my John Deere LA 125 (42" mower deck). Like other reviewers noted, you need to grease these up fully. It took about 20 pumps from my grease gun for each to get fully lubricated. Save the original spindle mounting screws and reuse them, they are needed to mount the new spindles as the new spindles are smooth bore holes. The original self tapping screws will work fine as long as you start them straight and clean. They will cut into the aluminum and will work perfectly. My blades have the star pattern in the mounting holes...they fit perfectly on the new spindle. CAUTION -- the shaft for mounting the blade on the end of the spindle was larger in diameter then the original shaft, which was a bit of a surprise. I needed to take my spindles to a bolt shop to measure the thread and diameter, and get new blade mounting nuts and blade retaining washers to fit. A bit of a pain, but I got it to work out. I've used the mower for 4 cuttings now and everything is working just fine. TIPS -- as long as your blades are off, sharpen or replace them! Also, if you have little or no experience in mechanical repairs, I would not recommend you try to replace the spindles on your own...leave the job to an expert in a repair shop.

The spindle appears to be well made. To my surprise, it came threaded with bolts (unlike other reviews). I would be happy with it threaded or not. It matched up perfectly and only took a few minutes to install. Initially, it is preforming well!

Spindle was for a John Deere LA145 48". Shipped fast and arrived in less than 3 business days. The price was good. Spindle is OEM quality and direct fitment. Prior to install greased the spindle via the alimite fitting. Note: If I had to find a negative - the four spindle mounting holes are NOT pre-threaded. But, this spindle is made of an aluminum alloy so making threads can be done with relative ease. For easier mounting, recommend pre-thread the 4 holes prior to mounting the spindle on the deck. I used the OEM bolts to create threads by turning the bolt clockwise then counterclockwise multiple times. A drill/driver impact can make this faster and easier. Happy with the fast delivery, the seller, and quality. I recommend.

Perfect fit and easy install

Excellent service and product. Many thanks

Works well

Received one that the threads were screwed up for blade mounting. Returned for replacement. Amazon were really quick with replacement order. You have to tap the mounting holes with your existing bolts. I did this before installing it on the mower. Much easier. Excellent fit and excellent service from Amazon. I would give it a 5 if not for having to replace the first one.

Fit well. Grease fitting. Well built