# Front Roller



## southpaw748 (Jul 12, 2017)

I took my GM1000 to the shop to get the reel and bed knife cleaned up for the summer growing season but they wouldn't do it. The company stated my front roller had to much play in it and wouldn't grind until I replaced the front roller. I will be going back to talk to the repair guy again because he wasn't there when I picked it up. In my opinion when I checked the roller there might be a 1mm of play in the roller. Side note: The same company sharpened it last year but this year they have a new repair guy.

Questions:

Has anyone encounter this before?
Are the products that R&R carriers aftermarket?
If I do replace the my smooth front roller what is the recommend roller to put on there?


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Sounds like it may have bad bearings? You should be able to get just about any front roller part you need from R&R. Here is a link to the front roller parts for model 04052 GM1000's. It looks like it is a little cheaper to buy the overhaul kit (21) than buying two new bearings (30).

If you don't own an 04052, use the "Equipment Parts Schematics" drop-down at the top of the page to find your mower.


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## MasterMech (Sep 24, 2017)

If you can feel play in the front roller, grinding can be a dicey operation. The grinding machine usually uses the front roller to mount your mower so having the roller fixed and the machine vibrating up and down while grinding is no good.

Many front rollers are rebuildable, although I don't know about the economy of doing so if you are paying someone else to do the work. For your zoysia, I think I'd go with a heavy steel grooved front roller, aluminum grooved would be my second choice.

R&R's offerings are aftermarket, although I know of no quality issues. Plenty of sports fields and golf courses are running their parts in applications far more critical than our lawns.


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## southpaw748 (Jul 12, 2017)

Thanks for all the great feed back. Are the bearing fairly easy to remove? Is there a place to find the special bearing tool from Toro besides the dealer?

If I ordered the steel grooved roller from R&R would I still need to press in the bearings?

What are the benefits of grooved over smooth?


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

I have never had to change any, so I can't speak to the difficulty.

I will say I prefer a grooved front roller for my bermuda. The reduced surface area allows the front roller to sink into the turf more for a more aggressive cut. I think a smooth front roller can be more prone to floating on top of a dense turf canopy.


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

southpaw748 said:


> Thanks for all the great feed back. Are the bearing fairly easy to remove? Is there a place to find the special bearing tool from Toro besides the dealer?
> 
> If I ordered the steel grooved roller from R&R would I still need to press in the bearings?
> 
> What are the benefits of grooved over smooth?


Greetings fellow Charlestonian 

Like everything, removing and replacing bearings are easy with the correct tools. You can probably what you need in that regard from like an Advance Auto Parts, they usually have tools you can rent or borrow, generally for free, for removing and replacing bearings. Get good bearing grease too.

I have Zoysia as well, but a different flavor. What shop did you go to by the way?

Topcat is also in the Charleston area, it sounds like we now have 3 reasons to get together


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## DJLCN (Jul 11, 2017)

I replaced the roller bearings on my GM1600 last fall. I took the roller to a local golf course and the mechanic pulled the bearings using a bearing puller like this one from R&R (not sure if it was this exact one or not).



I used a socket that was the same size as the outer bearing race to drive the new bearings in. It was a really snug fit and took a lot of pounding to get them in.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

It is not easy to remove the bearing. I tried and gave up. There is a YouTube video of a hydraulic puller to remove it. I think they are $20 each ($40). A new roller is $100, so I bought a new one.


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## southpaw748 (Jul 12, 2017)

SCGrassMan said:


> southpaw748 said:
> 
> 
> > Thanks for all the great feed back. Are the bearing fairly easy to remove? Is there a place to find the special bearing tool from Toro besides the dealer?
> ...


That is the problem the correct tool is $73 from R&R then $30 more for the bearings. I called R&R and a new grooved steel rollers with bearings already in it is $128. If I replaced with the same smooth roller it is the same cost.

The only shop in CHS that I found to service Reel Mowers is STI on Daniel Island. I have been trying to talk Sparrow and Kennedy John Deere to get into the business of doing it.


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## southpaw748 (Jul 12, 2017)

g-man said:


> It is not easy to remove the bearing. I tried and gave up. There is a YouTube video of a hydraulic puller to remove it. I think they are $20 each ($40). A new roller is $100, so I bought a new one.


I am leaning towards a new roller for $30 more after buying tools and parts.


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

southpaw748 said:


> I am leaning towards a new roller for $30 more after buying tools and parts.


That is probably what I would do. :thumbup:


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## Ral1121 (Mar 19, 2018)

I would look at how often should you need to replace bearings. How often do they go bad on rollers. What about the reel? How often do they go bad. Does the same tool work on the reel as well. If the tool works on all of the above,. I think I would buy the tool. Can never have too many tools


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## gijoe4500 (Mar 17, 2017)

Is there something special about these bearings that prevents you from using a slide hammer? Can use the loan a tool program from AutoZone for a slide hammer and pilot bearing puller.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Ral1121 said:


> I would look at how often should you need to replace bearings. How often do they go bad on rollers. What about the reel? How often do they go bad. Does the same tool work on the reel as well. If the tool works on all of the above,. I think I would buy the tool. Can never have too many tools


For a homeowner, I would say they will last years.


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

I'd buy the tools and the bearings, mess it up, and then get angry and buy a complete unit. Just keep in mind there are other bearings and things in that lawnmower, let alone other places, and you might be able to borrow/rent cheaply from Autozone etc.


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

I would replace the front roller completely. As others have said, on a denser, firmer lawn type turf, what is wanted is the grooved steel roller. My GM 1000 came with a roller that consisted of steel washers and spacers in between. I replaced it with the heavy grooved roller. Never looked back. Rollers generally last a long time as long as they are greased every 2 months. Mine have grease fittings inset in the rollers.

A non concentric roller not only makes it hard for them to spin grind the reel, it will make the cut of the lawn rather uneven.


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## xraydesigns (Apr 8, 2018)

Does anyone have a used front roller for a Mclane 20"reel mower selling?


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## Reelrollers (Feb 6, 2018)

We have a few uses front rollers we could sell that were demo's. They weren't used a lot, but the pain has worn off.

Email me at [email protected] and i'll Send you pictures of a few we have at the shop.

Thank you


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