TOPIC:

SoI hae a set of new bearings for my Bigwig build and the bearings that came in the Supershot that I am restoring.

The berings are small and look as though they are peened over so the seals cant be removed.

Is there any way to lubricate these bearings?
Do the need lubricating?
Near on any bearing that I get for any thing, gets opened up and a proper amount of lube installed.

I am thinking that these are simple bearings with probably very little grease in them from factory.

Any info?

Thanks

Hay Ewe

I'm not sure what type of bearings you have there, but I usually only squeeze grease into the bearings using my fingers, without removing seals.

Don't be in a huge rush to get more grease in their - more grease = better sealing, but more drag & no greater lubrication.

I take your point about putting lots of grease on bearings - when cars still had proper wheel bearings (rather than sealed hubs) I'd always put on extra (though not enough to melt & get to the brakes) as chances are, that was the only "maintainance" it would get until the bearing failed.

There was (maybe still is) a seller of bearings on eBay who made/makes a point of how he cleans out all the factory grease from his bearings before sale - isopropanol in an ultrasonic bath IIRC - and replaces it with a light machine oil. He has a point - for indoor racing or the insides of a gear box, less drag means slightly faster ... though we really are talking about the width of a gnats chuff over a lap here

My experience with cleaning used bearings is that if they sound rough & gritty before, they'll be the same after ... bearings are so cheap relative to what they used to be, I'd say if you've got any doubts about the old ones, replace them, and use rubber seal bearings for the exposed parts (wheel hubs, gearbox outdrives, etc)


A thought from left field - I remember cleaning motorbike chains in parafin & then dipping them in a big flat tin of grease heated on a Primus stove ... I seriously doubt if you can get anything like that now, chains all have o-rings in them now & the practice wasn't exactly safe

Hi guys
personaly, the only one time I lubricate balls bearings, It was the only time they failed...
I have balls bearings on my lunch box-es and my clod busters, They are more than20 years old and I have never clean theseones. These Two models have a lot and a lot and a lot of hours of run in bad conditions.
I don't clean too much my cars as my guns otherwise they don't run very good. Only the strict necessary.

From my experience, it's been like this: If the bearings were new & clean when you put them in, & you want them to stay that way, don't run the car in dust, grit or dirty water (Yeah, right...). Next step back from that is to clean the bearings immediately after running in the conditions above, before the crap gets a chance to do any real damage. To do this, I usually shake the bearings up in a GLASS or PLASTIC (Not metal) jar of central heating oil or paraffin or diesel (NOT petrol!). Then, I transfer them to another clean jar of diesel etc to rinse them. Then, I hold them in my fingers & give them a good blow through with WD40, to blast out any remaining rubbish & set them on kitchen towel to dry. Finally, I give them a couple of drops of 3-in-1 or very light machine oil to lubricate, & check they spin smoothly & quietly. This applies to metal shielded types only. The rubber seals on rubber sealed bearings can sometimes (Not always) be removed for more thorough cleaning, but try 1 first before dismantling them all & finding you can't get the seals back in...
If the bearings came to you second hand & dirty/gritty, bin them - like Jonny said, they'll be exactly as bad after you waste an hour trying to clean them.
To be honest, bearings are so cheap nowadays it's probably best to fit them & run them till they're dead then just replace rather than clean, unless of course the ones in question are an odd size, expensive, difficult to get etc.
Sheild types: Cheapest & most common are metal shielded. They'll keep twigs, dogs & children out, but offer absolutely NO protection from dust grit or water, & any lubrication will just attract destructive contaminants & make them useless more quickly. Ok for carpet racing...
Slightly more expensive, slightly more protection comes from rubber shielded types. The seals are water-tight from new, but have to be kept "wet" with lubricant to avoid wearing the seals out quickly. Worn seals will let the crap in, & the close tolerance nature of the seals will KEEP the crap in, which is bad for the life of the bearing.
Best option for playing outside in the dirt & wet is Teflon (PTFE) shielded bearings. These are the most expensive, BUT the sheilds are watertight AND the PTFE they're made from is a natural lubricant, so they don't wear & don't need oiling (Which attracts dirt, which causes wear/damage). These don't need cleaning, or rather, shouldn't be cleaned for fear of getting the internals dirty in the cleaning process.
The chain grease Jonny is on about is called LINKLYFE. It is a moly-loaded grease which is set like soft wax at normal temperature - you heat it up to make it liquid, to allow it to flow into the chain joints. Personally I wouldn't use this (Or any other grease) on low-friction, fast moving parts, it will rob power/speed & cause heat build-up. It may also weaken any plastic parts it get spattered on

This is quite on topic for my own considerations of late...
I've been postponing a rebuild of the front suspension of my FRP DF-01 until I had some proper bearings.
I also need four extra 850s now because of the aluminium C hubs.
Didn't wanna reassemble it with the metal shielded type - so teflon it is!
Don't mind that the ones inside the gearboxes are less dirt resistent though.

I'll have a go at cleaning the bearings I still have the eddrick way...
But this particular car is just too high end for recycled ones.

Yeah, gearbox bearings shouldn't ever need cleaning, it's just the ones in contact with the outside world you should keep an eye on.
For 1150 size bearings, I don't bother cleaning them - a complete TL01 set is only about a fiver & I'd rather lay out said 5 quid than mess about for 2 hours trying to clean them!