Ride on mower transaxle - no bearings !

[CompoSimmonite]

Further to my previous thread about power to wheels for an off road mobility scooter today I've been thinking about using a ride on mower transaxle.
Plenty about them on the web, with Peerless being the main manufacturer, but one thing that amazes me is there are no bearings for the axle shafts - they simply run on the alloy casing. As a life long motorcyclist experiencing camshafts wearing out cylinder heads due to the same steel on alloy design is an all too common problem so it seem a recipe for rapid wear especially seeing that is where all the weight of the mower & driver are carried.
So does anyone know if wear is a problem with such mower transaxles ?

 

[Robotstar5]

Maybe it's due to the speed they run at?

 

[MrFluffy]

Thats because they only have to last as long as a modern chinese copy of a b&s or honda!
The originals are bronze sleeved into the castings as a wear bush, or they were on the one I looked at.

 

[CompoSimmonite]

I'm forgetting about mower transaxles then
Now I've decided to go with a pair of mobility scooter transaxles for the "walking beam" type drive. Looking on eBay for Class 3 items has shown they are quite dear (around £150 each) so in the end bought a complete scooter as a donor. Paid £250 which is more than I wanted to pay but the canopy is perfect for winter use on my own scooter so not moaning too much.
Might be fugly but I assure you needed where we live most of the year -

 

[dannyp]

mower axel units are utter crap. a friend bought a grillo climber, it a sort of light wieght rough terrane ride on mower but aimed at contractors, it ate transaxels for fun when it had the 3rd one fitted under warranty they stoped useing it and it went on ebay

 

[CompoSimmonite]

At least mobility scooter transaxles have proper bearings and are designed for regular use !

 

[slim_boy_fat]

Bits from one of these? Although I'd imagine they'd be like hen's teeth and pricey if you managed to track one down. It defines'all terrain' 'though.....

 

[MrFluffy]

How are you planning on steering two disability scooter transaxles to get awd?
I've got the remains of a old broken mobility scooter here (burnt out motor), and the front suspension is some weird forward facing swinging arm arrangement and the rear transaxle has no uprights to allow steering. The geometry only works because it has rounded tyres on the front which change camber. They might not all be this weird though but imagine your going to have to fabricate uprights and incorporate a very small cv or similar to allow driven but steerable wheels.
Bear in mind theyre designed for working ok, on flat ground. Might be a little less robust on rough terrain.

Easist but most expensive way, hydraulic drive from a commercial awd triple lawnmower. Might end up a bit industrial sized for the bobble hat brigade though.

 

[colnerov]

Two transaxles can be made to work by having a pivot steer arrangement. Another option to keep size down is to have one transaxle at the front and casters at the rear and steer by braking one side or the other but you need a diff for that.

 

[CompoSimmonite]

Mobility scooter transaxles have diffs.

 

[MrFluffy]

I've got the outiler mower transaxle in my shed, solid rear axle no diff out of a small massey ferguson branded ride on mower if memory serves me correct, as big fat tyres, used on grass doesn't matter too much if it scrubs a bit on cornering... I've got a few of the more normal peerless veebelt driven ones and some of them do indeed have proper differentials inside.
I'll see if I can dig out the transaxle from the meego disability scooter and see if that has a diff.