MF 253 Thrust Bearing.

The front right wheel spindle on my MF 253 froze up for lack of adequate lubrication. When we took
it apart, we did not find a thrust bearing like a 150 has or any evidence that one had ever been
there. All we found were 3 thick flat washers, 1 slightly thinner flat washer, and 1 more that was
paper thin. Several tractor parts suppliers told us that the 253 did not come with spindle thrust
bearings per se, that in fact the flat washers we found at the bottom of the spindle are actually
spacers in lieu of a traditional roller-type thrust bearing, and that we just need to be sure to
squirt some grease into the spindle housing before each use. We can't believe that MF would design
it like this. I was hoping that one of you might be able to shed some light on this subject,
including the possibility of putting a typical thrust bearing at the bottom of the spindle if we
can find one that fits, even if MF never intended for one to be there. Thanks heaps.

a lot of your smaller tractor have no bearing.make sure when you grease it you lift the front wheel of the ground so grease will come out the bottom and gets between the thrust washers they are very hard and out last bearings because they don't get greased just like yours

Thanks Marlo for the info.

I would add, that is a lot of hoooey. Now here is why I say so. Lots of old trucks that had King pins also had bearings on the bottom. My dads 1941 chevy pickup. I have posted on "lawn tractors" how I totally rebuilt the front end of my Husqvarna beast of a mower and the PDF files from Husqvarna show thrust bearings, yet like you say there were only washers on my machine! I bought sets on Ebay with those two thin washers that must be there so the thrust washer has a polished surface to ride on. Critical!!! My big 2254 machine steers like it has power steering! You can almost throw the wheel from one way to the other by just flicking it. Fantastic difference. You really want to modify your machine and it is not expensive but what a difference! The two thin polished washers will come with the bearing and then adjust with spacers to what ever you need. I would put the spacing washers on top under the lock nut and leave just the two thin washers and thrust bearing at the bottom. Just make sure the polished thin washers go with the thrust bearing. Grease a couple of times a year. You will be very happy. Get back to us. PS you might want to modify your lawn tractor. Mine were 5/8 spindles and many machines can be modified. Makes the steering like butter.

Great advice, but a Massey Ferguson 253 is not a lawn tractor. It's a 53 Hp diesel farm tractor. Since printing my question, I have discovered that this tractor was never intended to have a regular roller-type thrust bearing. I disagree with the MF engineers on designing it that way, but that's the way it is.