Landice Roller Bearing Replacement

Occasionally a roller bearing can go bad on a treadmill. Even though I feel that Landice treadmills are the best treadmill made, they can go bad on a Landice treadmill as well.

You may hear a grinding sound or a clinking sound coming from one or more bearings. Sometimes it can be difficult to pinpoint the offending bearing because the vibration and sound can travel through the treadmill frame.

There are few tricks to help determine which bearing is bad.  One is to place your head at the center between the front and rear roller, facing the side of the treadmill side.  The noise should be a little louder in the direction of the bad bearing.

Another way is to use a mechanics stethoscope which I often use to find a bad bearing.  In case you don’t have one of these, then you can use a long narrow screwdriver instead.  With the treadmill running you can put the tip of the screwdriver on the end of the roller axle, if accessible. Then put your ear on the end of the screw driver.  There will be more noise or vibration at the end of the axle that has the bad bearing than on the other roller axle. You don’t need to determine which bearing on a roller. You should always replace both bearings since they are relatively inexpensive.

Removing a roller typically involves removing the idle (rear) roller adjustment bolts and the end caps. Then remove the side rail if needed.  On some treadmills like this Landice, I needed to remove at least one side rail in order to remove the idle (rear) roller.

If the bad bearing is on the drive (front) roller you will need to remove that roller as well.  This is different on many treadmills.  Most common it is done by removing the tracking adjustment bolt of the right side that is threaded through the roller axle. Then simply pull out the roller.  

Sometimes there are bolts going down through the axle on both ends.  With the Landice it is by removing both bolts that are threaded into the axle ends from the sides of the treadmill.

You cannot purchase new bearings from any treadmill company that I know of.  They don’t make any money by selling you new bearings, they make money by selling you a new roller. You will need to get the bearing size and order them on your own from a bearing company or supplier. Amazon.com is a good source generally.

One word of caution here; don’t buy bearings made in China.  They are typically poor quality. Bearings that are made in Japan, Germany, or the USA are typically good quality.

If your roller end has a snap ring or a collar with a set screw,then you are all set.  Simply remove these with snap ring pliers or the appropriate size Allen wrench.

If however, the end of your roller had a push nut washer, also known as a Starlock push-on fastener, you may want to secure replacements before you continue. These can be difficult to find. I’ve never been able to remove these without destroying them.

For my Landice 8700 rear roller bearing replacement, here are the tools that I used:

1.) 9/16″ socket wrench

2.) Soft Face Hammer

3.) 4″ Gear Puller

4.) Snap Ring Pliers

5.) #1 and # 3 Phillips Screw Drivers

6.) Set of SAE Allen Wrenches

These rollers had a snap ring on one end and a collar with a set screw on the other end. Some newer Landice rollers have a Starlock fastener on one end.

After removing the snap ring and the collar I tapped on one end of the axle with the soft face hammer, driving the axle out the other end along with the opposite bearing. Never use a metal hammer for this.  You will mushroom the end of the axle and will not be able to remove the bearings.

I then used a gear puller to gently persuade the bearing the rest of the way off.

Then using the soft face hammer I tapped the axle the other way until the remaining bearing came all the way out the of the roller tube. I then use the gear puller to gently pull the bearing off that end as well. I then separated all of the components.

Reading the numbers on the bearings you will be able to order your new bearings.

These were 6304-2Z. The 2Z means that they were metal shielded on both sides of the bearing, which is my preference.  Often these are only shielded on one (the exposed) side.

You may have noticed that this old bearing that I removed is marked “CHINA”.  I doubt that these were original in this 25-year-old Landice 8700 treadmill.  Which would be an indicator that Chinese bearings just don’t hold up.

What is particularly nice about the Landice roller tubes is that there is a shoulder for the bearing to seat against.  I simply tapped in the new bearing in on one side, carefully making sure it was being tapped in straight until it seated.

I then inserted the axle (snap ring end first) from the other side through the center of the new bearing.  I then put the snap ring back into its groove or slot.

Then I slid the other bearing over the other end of the axle, then tapped it in evenly with the soft faced hammer until it seated. 

Then making sure both bearings were fully seated I slid the collar back in place and tightened down the set screw.  Done!

I then reinstalled the rollers replacing the side rail that I removed and then the end caps and finally the roller adjustment bolts, properly tightening and centering the tread belt.