Vermeer 620 disk bearing replacement help

[the grinder]

I am getting my 620 ready to sell and need to replace the disk bearings. I am pretty good at working on motors and it looks pretty easy, just wondering if anybody knows a how to sight or advice that would be helpfull.

Also the only place I can find the bearings is at the Vermeer dealer for $87 each (they are the newer style in the housing). Is that a good price? Or does anybody have a good website to pick some up at?

I am looking at tackling this project later this week. I'll let you guys know how it goes.

Thanks

Joe

 

[pdqdl]

Not familiar with that machine, but most bearings are bought at less expense from a bearing dealer. You are generally safer, however, just ponying up the money for what the dealer says is the right bearing.

That being said, I almost never buy dealer parts. There are very few bearings that cannot be matched with a caliper and a good knowledge of bearings. Take your old (but still somewhat legible) bearing in to a bearing house, and they can probably match it.

This plan falls apart when a manufacturer is big enough to special order bearings to fit their machine only. This is called "proprietary", and it means even if you can ID the original maker and part number of the bearing, they won't sell it to anyone but the manufacturer.

Some machine makers are notorious for this kind of thing: Gravely, Toro, and anything owned by Alamo equipment group. Once they sell you a machine, then they break it off on you when you need one of their parts.

Tiger Equip. (now owned by Alamo) got me real bad a few years back. I had some flail mowers that needed Dodge bearings that cost over $300 each. Even though I knew exactly what they were, a Dodge bearing dealer could not get the part. Sometimes we would break 2 of those bearings a day mowing roadsides.

Eventually, I learned to buy the previous "generic" bearing that Tiger used before they figured out how to rape their customers. Then we were putting in $50 bearings that would last all summer long.

I don't know enough about Vermeer to know if they play those games. Most manufacturers do, once they get big enough. Vermeer certainly is big enough.

 

[the grinder]

Thanks for the idea and the info. I think my bearings may be to far gone on the outside. Does anybody know if these bearing are the same on both sides.

 

[pdqdl]

Again, without knowing anything about your chipper, almost all chippers use the same bearing on both sides.

If it was me, I would take it apart, hold the bearings in my hand, and go down to the bearing house. During disassembly, you will likely discover some other things wrong that you will need to get, too. Life is much simpler if you can order all your parts at once, and then be sure that you will be able to finish the repair.

You would hate to buy $200 worth of bearings, only to discover that the shaft they ran on was damaged too much to use.

Diagnose completely, then order parts.