Spindle Housing Question

I have an Exmark Lazer Z CT with 48" deck. I noticed that not all of my spindles turn by hand to the same sound/speed so I decided that I would repair or replace them. Apparently at some point the factory spindle housings were replaced with Oregon ones (82-022) that are "sealed" units. Upon inspection of the spindles, I realized that I can replace just the bearings with Oregon part 45-263. Here comes my question: I noticed that inside the housing between the two bearings is a tube that the spindle shaft also slides through and the entire assembly appears to be greased up. Is this tube/spacer necessary and do I need to grease the insides of the spindle housings as there are no zerks and the spindle is intended to be "maintenance free?". Supposing I need to grease them, can I use No. 2 grease or should I opt for tacky red high temp grease? Thank you in advance.

Mike

Yes the tube is essential.
When you tighten the spindle, the nuts bear down on the inner races of the bearing.
The outer races sit on shoulders so can not move.
Without the sleeve the inner races get pushed off set to the outer races and the bearing will lock up then promptly self destruct.

using no. 2 grease inside spindle housings between bearings is adviseable, also if bearings are not sealed they also should be hand packed with no. 2 grease.

Thanks for the replies. I just wanted to make sure as the dropping point temperature of my grease is around 530 degrees f and I wasn't sure if the spindles would get that hot, thus requiring a different grease. I also have Mobil 1 synthetic wheel bearing grease (red) with a 550 degree f dropping point temperature. Since both are NLGI 2 greases, either one should work in theory.