Help with Bearing Cross Reference - Kubota Mower Deck

[Clarkbug]

Hey All.

Recently picked up a Kubota garden tractor type mower for my kids to be helping with this summer. Previous owner passed away, so history is pretty unknown, but came to us with the deck belt cut in half and stuck in the pulleys.... Not great.

Anyway, getting into it today and the idler bearings are not spinning freely, so its time to replace them before they lunch the goofy double sided belt again. I pulled one apart, and its clear something got to one of them, the snap ring isnt in the groove to hold in the bearing and it wore through the seal. Good thing I checked I guess.

The bearing says its an NSK 6004DU. I am seeing there is also a "6004DU6" but have no idea what the difference is. I see there are some "comparable" bearings on Amazon, but those will for sure be made in China and possibly junk.

Any thoughts on what that extra 6 means in the part number? Any recommended crosses?

 

[Mycamaro_68]

6004DU - NSK | Single Row Ball Bearings | BDI USA

6004DU NSK | Single Row Ball Bearings 6004DU. 6004DU DEEP GROOVE BALL BEARING ; 20MM BOREX42MM ODX12MM W 1-ROW Buy online from BDI – Bearing Distributors, Inc. at BDIExpress.com

www.bdiexpress.com

This should give you a few cross references at the bottom of the page.

*Edit* part way down the page is a button for alternatives.

 

[Clarkbug]

Great, thank you!

 

[Mycamaro_68]

Great, thank you!

Check my edit to that last post

 

[Clarkbug]

Check my edit to that last post

No worries.

One thing that is a little odd is that the bearing has a seal on both sides, but when I check the part number it says there is only a seal on one side. I guess I need to get the version with two, looks like a 6004DDU is what Im after, or an equivalent.

Looks like SKF are now Chinese, not sure if Timken is the same or if they are still alright...

 

[Mycamaro_68]

I use a lot of SKF bearings at work on industrial machines and have not had any trouble with them but that is just my 2 cents.

 

[Clarkbug]

I use a lot of SKF bearings at work on industrial machines and have not had any trouble with them but that is just my 2 cents.

That's good to know. I appreciate the first hand experience. I don't even have the two cents to offer, so thanks!

 

[GMB74]

If you have a Kubota dealer near you, check on the price of OEM bearings. I used to work at a Kubota dealership and most of their common bearings were dirt cheap. So cheap we commonly crossed bearings for other makes of equipment into a Kubota bearing.
6004DDU is a 6004 double sealed 20mm ID bearing (seals on both sides).
6004DU is a bearing with a seal on one side only.
Make sure you are getting a 20mm ID bearing, not a 3/4" ID bearing.
The last characters of a bearing number usually state whether the bearing is open (no seals), one seal, two seals, shielded, etc.
Different manufacturers use different numbers and letters to indicate this.
If you need/want a bearing with only one seal, just pop one seal out of a double sealed bearing.

Edit:
SKF bearings are high quality bearings, didn't used to be made in China, but these days who knows.

 

[Clarkbug]

Thanks for the response.

I did see that what Kubota wanted for the bearing was about half of what list for the same thing was from NSK. I'll keep that in mind for future uses for sure.

I need sealed both sides which is why it's odd the one I pulled out said "DU" and not "DDU". Maybe they only print that on the seal and expect you to know if you need two of them. I'm learning! (Hopefully won't forget this the next time I need to find a bearing)

Ended up finding some NOS SKF bearings on the Bay that are made in Italy. They were about $7 each since I ordered the lot of them, so pretty good for idler pulley. Now to get them put back in without destroying them. I don't have a press so will be using sockets and hammers.