How to GREASE, Un-Seize and Clean SEALED Bearings
Proper grease amounts, cleaning, disassembly and reviving seized
Stuff I used in the video:
WHERE I buy my new sealed bearings CHEAP: amzn.to/3WXnxUy
After Thoughts about the Video: Ratios of fill by manufactures range from approx 15%-35% on technical sheets. 25% is right in the middle and good enough in my experience. Now to complicate things they do generally come with a lower viscosity grease in new bearings. Stuff you aren't readily going to find on the shelf of your auto parts store. So If I feel the grease is going to hinder the performance I will on occasion add a few drops of oil. I generally use chainsaw bar oil which is 30 weight with tacking/sticking agents. It stays put and doesn't run everywhere like regular oil. This is only in scenarios where the bearing is being driven by a low torque device. If it's on your engine or mower a minuscule amount of rolling resistance isn't going to matter.
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I was a Maintenance and Engineering Manager for 30yrs +. 50% of bearings fail due to lack of lubrication and 50% fail due to too much. If you overpack a bearing, it will overheat and as grease is 90% oil, it will simply leak out causing premature failure. All the bearing manufacturers issue tables of the amount of grease per bearing and the frequency of lubrication (which is dependent on load, size, speed and environment). You are quite right, sealed bearings do need to be relubed (which can be a pain if they are located at the non drive end of a motor).. Again, the bearing makers offer superb maintenance advice for free. Hope this helps
Straight to the point. No useless back story to fill time.Well done
I worked for a bearing manufacturer and this is the best advice I've seen about how much grease to use. No one ever goes back to the people who make the bearings to ask. And if you did you might just get a lot of equations from an engineer. One company has a chart. But your advice of about 25% of full pack is good. Cleaning it out with acetone works but it is not good for the plastic cages on some bearing and it is bad for the rubber seals, so be careful. WD-40 is pretty benign and only takes a little longer.
Why your company uses cheap grease and not high temperature one? Cost cutting I guess?
@@briethlayson3270where did he say what grease he uses?
His company uses a high temperature grease, but it is made in China, because it is a bit cheaper. China has a very poor quality control, and that is why failures and malfunctions happen so often.
Ignore the color, but never the base or the nlgi rating. Put 3 when it calls for 2 for example, and there will be trouble.
I feel like this channel could be called “how to fix literally anything”. I don’t think I’ve watch a single video here that I haven’t learned something from!
I worked for many years at a specialty bearing manufacturer. Grease fill rate should be 30% standard use, 50% max for high temperature C4 bearings. Bearings are so cheap it’s not worth the labor to remove seals (most people will distort them which will lead to premature failure) unless you’re dealing with electric motor quality bearings (again, most will warp the seal during disassembly and will press the seal too deep during reassembly).
Thanks m8. good info
Fixing things is just a hobby. It would be a shame to throw something away that was still working.
@@dunbustin Agreed. If you're not ham-fisted, it's pretty easy to get the dust shield off and clean/regrease properly. In 60yrs, I've never had a regreased bearing fail. If you live in an area without bearing 'houses it's OK to clean and regrease....after you test the bearing for roughness/play.
Most lawn mower equipment have berring where you cant change them without buying new pullies that cost 35 to 50 bucks. Also if the berring heats up the extra going to move out of the space your trying to protect the balls and race from rust. People wash mower decks with a hose or presuer washer.
Doesn't using them without the outer shell or casing decrease friction? People take them off on bicycles to make them faster. Do I need the casing or cage if I'm using it in a simulator wheel base?
I've been repacking the sealed throw out bearings on old VW's for years. The old German TO bearings are so well made compared to the newer replacements. Good tips on overpacking. Really important on a TO bearing since it could throw excess grease all over the clutch.
Absolutely!
In 2010 I bought a 1992 Geo Metro. Not long after, the wheel bearings started going out. The new bearings only had a small speck of grease--less than an 1/8 inch diameter. These are sealed ball bearings like in the video. I greased them properly and now have over 180,000 miles on the bearings with no problems. By the way, if you are the same sixtyfiveford who detailed how to change axles on my car (this was on the geo metro forum), thank you. Your method was much simpler and easier than my first attempt.
You only need 1 seal in the drum brake in the back to stop grease from going into the drum. Then you can pop the dust cover off and inspect or add grease. In the front idk I havent had one fail yet.
I used a hypodermic syringe full of grease with a small needle to carefully slip inside the bearing seal to re grease failing bearings on agricultural machines to stave off breakdowns during harvest season. Always remove the cutting tip of the needle first to avoid cutting the seal.
Every mechanic or DIYer should have an assortment of syringes and blunt industrial tips. Super handy sometimes.
I do the same😅
Never actually thought of that - until I was browsing a tool section that had grease needles designed for the job. They have a zerk fitting at the blunt end of the needle, just stick it to your grease gun, poke it into the bearing, and give it a couple pumps.
Touch your lawnmower spindle housing right after you’ve mowed. The housing will be hot. The grease thins out when it gets hot. The oil part of the grease can seep out under the pressure, heat and gravity. Any squeaking or growling coming from the mower deck is a dead giveaway that the spindles need servicing. Do all the spindles at the same time because if one is making noise? It won’t be long before the other ones will too.
This is cool. Alot of people assume because bearings are sealed, you can't grease em. But that's probably me over greasing, so this is good to know too.
Me too...always just done it like tapered roller bearings (wheel bearings)..."full". Had some grease come out on some...never worried about it though.
I like to soak mine in a bath of gasoline, clean as a whistle! Then spray with brake clean or carb clean. And repack! Great video! Thanks!
Was just going to write this. A small jar with gasoline in can be used many times as a pre wash, and then clean off the residue with something else like you said.
@@dennisolsson3119 Same, even with high prices it's super cheap.
Actually cut the part about gasoline out of the video because it freaks so many people out. Gasoline is still one of the best and cheapest cleaners you can buy. I think from the lead in the gasoline days 40+ years ago, people are still all nervous about it.
@@sixtyfiveford In the past, I've also recycled stale gasoline for dipping parts that had an undesirable goo on them in order to clean it off. In my experience... gasoline, paint thinner, lacquer thinner and acetone all work well to soften up, dissolve or otherwise remove petroleum based oils, greases, etc. Diesel can work as well but it isn't as quick or effective IMHO. Other things can work too such as mineral spirits but gasoline usually cannot be beat based on price per gallon. The key to using these things is to protect your health when using them (keep them off your skin and avoid breathing in the vapors!) as well as to account for safe storage. Remember how flammable some of the mentioned liquids are - they are highly flammable/explosive so be careful with the usage and the storage. It's also good to keep them from evaporating off. Interestingly, decades ago it was popular to use glass jars that came with metal lids (such as a mayonnaise jar) for a soaking container when cleaning small parts like bearings or even dunking a small carb off a lawn mower or other SGE. Unfortunately, the jars AND the lids are now made from plastic which makes them unsuitable for the same purpose due to the plastic going soft or dissolving when in contact with many of the common chemicals we use. At least they were back in the day. Many folks discovered that the hard way once upon a time. I switched to all metal containers just to be safe and have never had an incident. Of course some plastics are impervious to some things - there are plastic gas cans as well as jugs for paint thinners - but I wouldn't trust a plastic container unless it came with or specifically calls out usage with a specific product. I've yet to see plastics being used to store lacquer thinner or acetone for example and I suspect there's a reason for that. Anyway, I think some folks react to the usage of gasoline just because it's volatile. It's common for people to get burned badly due to an accidental ignition because they're using it as a parts washer. I personally cannot count the number of times I've seen someone elbow deep in gasoline while scrubbing up various metal parts. Imagine what would happen if the gas ignited. Yikes! It's bad enough that they're not using PPE - then I look around and realize they've got no way in sight to put out a fire if one were to break out. I wouldn't want my arms from the mid-elbow down to light up even for a second let alone for however long it actually took to snuff out the fire. We've invented non-flammable parts washer fluids for a reason... they're far safer. Moving on. I do still use products like acetone on occasion but in a totally controlled environment with minimal amounts to accomplish my task. I also take the precautions needed to not get burned nor allow a serious fire to break out. The translation on that is fire fighting gear is at the ready... though there's nothing to catch fire in the middle of the shop on bare concrete, on a large metal table or at the metal parts washer station. All I have to do is step back and the fire will quickly burn out if I let it though zipping it with the shop CO2 extinguisher is what I'd most likely do. Allow me to say... CO2 ROCKS FOR AN EXTINGUISHER! They're quick and they leave no mess. I've been blessed with annual training in the past where I got to actually use them in a variety of sizes. I recommend them for everyone at home and for the car. Best wishes to all! 👍🏻 - Max Giganteum
Wash with gas and an ol cig hanging out mechanics mouth and then blows thems dry by runnin them at high rpm’s wit da air hose lmao😂😂 zzzzzzipppp
The big move in grease today in the industrial sector is towards synthetic base calcium sulphonate grease. Higher moisture repellent qualities, and much longer service life. There are more of this type available retail now than a few years ago. I have a feathering propeller on my sailboat that requires a grease with lower viscosity and high washout resistance, so Chevron Black Pearl NLG-1 is on duty 10:10
I laughed out loud at the dog playing in the hose.
I had an arguement with a fella years ago about this. I told him that you can service and relube a sealed bearing. He said the name itself tells you that you can not. he was fresh out of trade school too. I then asked him this. " Tell me how the oil escaped from a sealed bearing then " he actually got mad and started yelling as he had no answer. lol
Some sealed ball bearings ironically come with a zerk fitting above their location, as on tractor decks. You have to wonder about the engineers who designed them!
It figures. Trade school doesn't teach you much.
@@campbellpaul What's wrong with that?
@@campbellpaulLOL, yes. A lawnmower spinde with a zerk fitting allows you to pack the spindle full of grease, but none of that grease gets to the little roller balls. UNLESS you take the spindle apart, and remove that inner seal. Just throw the inner seal away, leave the outer seal in place, put it all back together, and grease to your heart's content.
@@paulbrown8216 Exactly
Thank you! I have experienced the negative results of over greasing first hand. When we renovated the engine room on a large commercial fishing boat the electric motors and pumps for circulating seawater, hydraulics and fuel transfer had to be realigned. I was running out of time in the shipyard so I had their shipwright perform that task. The old boy spent what seemed like hours lecturing me on the evils of too much grease. I ran the boat for another two months following the shipwright guideline of 'one shot a day per bearing'. Everything ran fine. When the owner came back to run the boat for a crab season he also started pumping these bearings full of grease every night. About three weeks later a bearing seized. When I replaced the bearing I found pounds of grease encasing the bearing. Asked the owner about it and he blew up saying there was no such thing as too much grease. After the fourth bearing went out he finally agreed to leave the grease gun alone. For the next two years that I stayed with the boat we never had another bearing failure. Grease kills.
Thank you. It makes sence. You cant buy EXPERIENCE .
Great information. I've done this even with bearings that are slightly damaged, they still will run a long time.
Run where?
Definitely will be the most informative 10 minutes of my day. Thanks for that lesson.
If you are in a wet environment , fill it closer to 40% full. It helps keep the water out while still allowing for expansion as the grease warms up.
I really appreciate all the cool, practical stuff you have in your head and put on your channel for us, thanks for sharing
Think I've saved a half dozen idler pulleys on cars this way. Thanks for sharing your knowledge! 😊
Right on!
I've saved the same idler pulley going on 4 years now. It usually starts squealing in the late fall as winter sets in and is spinning freely. Even the new ones (INA) last only 15k to 20k before they start squealing, which is about how long I get from repacking with grease.
I wish I had known this a couple months ago. My girlfriend's 2012 Ford Fusion 2.5L has 3 idler pulleys at $25 apiece. I was pissed they cost so much.
Good stuff one of the things I do in my real life job is I do ultrasonics and I use it to inspect bearings and monitor lubrication
Good stuff! back in the 1980's of skate boarding we did this every winter. Now days its the alternator, generator end caps, idlers, dirt bike hubs, you can put high temp wheel bearing grease in a 100cc cattle syringe too, works very well. HF just gave away free picks too lol
I've spent many hours precision lubing my skateboard wheels.
I'm 60 and I still regularly clean and lubricate my roller skate bearings. 🤓🍻⛸️
Good information and I use the same type of grease you showed at the end. I have a riding mower that gets grease after the season and mid-way into the season. It is still using the same bearings in the front wheels that were factory installed and this year it is still running after 12 years. Some of the belts and pulleys have been replaced in the past two years, but overall it has been reliable. I was surprised the drive belt lasted as long as it did, but I bought an OEM to replace it and replaced the one pully that caused it to lock up and break the belt. I still hear some noise, so it looks like I have to go back again and check the bearings on the ones I didn't replace. This information may be helpful once I get those idler pulleys out.
Traditionally Grease is farther down on the fractional distillation tower and contained the paraffin and waxes. Below wax you start getting into plastics like polyethylene. Modern days, who knows what they put in it, but I certainly hope that they don't use clay because that will be abrasive even at a very minuscule level. It is what is used in very fine polishing compounds
Bentonite(clay) grease is used in bearings all the time. It has excellent high heat and water wash out characteristics.
@@sixtyfiveford I thought metallic soaps were the thickening agent?
@@bcubed72 There are soap greases and non-soap greases. Bentonite clay grease is a non soap grease.
Caltex high temp bearing grease, is clay based
Clay grease is superior to cheap lithium grease. Not sure why you recommended it
Great video and excellent information, thanks. It's good to see Ginger hasn't run out of energy, she is a sweety pie. ❤️
Great video, i figured this out years ago as I've been a mechanic for over 40 years. I used a grease injector needle and they work great.
Ever try this with front wheel bearings?
Before taking the seals out of the idler pulley bearing, I'd clean all the debris off the pulley. Use a pressure washer if necessary. You want to prevent ANY dirt from getting in the bearing!! Good tutorial for those who aren't aware of the inner workings of a sealed bearing.
I have pressurized hubs on my boat trailer but they are spring pressure, pretty common stuff. The spring loaded cap gives space for grease expansion when the bearings warm up. Always fully packed to keep water out when submerged at the launch ramp. 30 years now never lost a bearing, knock on wood.
I was about to ask Moe about boat trailer bearings. I was taught (or maybe just developed my own logic) that if they are packed full of grease, that helps to displace any water that tries to seep in.
Actually, the bearings cool off fast when the bearings get in the water. Without the spring pressure, they tend to suck in water. With the spring pressure, it just pushes more grease into the bearing as it cools.
Been in boat buisness many years the problem is the seals or most are meant to keep grese in not water out. Did work with a old timer back years ago and he would but the hub seal in backwards sure let grease out and all over wheels but no water got in. If you look at the propshaft seals there are two back to back one hold water out one hold lube in
Great informative psa👍🏻 been re-lubing sealed bearings for years!
Grease in the old school definition is oil with a metallic soap. Regular bar soap is sodium stearate, but lithium can be substituted for example. New styles of grease have everything from teflon to Molybdenum disulfide, fibers, graphite and other thickening or waterproofing agents and synthetic oils.
Absolutely. It's a huge rabbit hole that I have unfortunately went down more than once.
@@sixtyfiveford I've cheated on occasion and made a Zerk fitting adaptor that had a hypodermic needle on the end. It's been real useful to slip a little grease under the seal of a bearing that was hard to get to. Great useful information video thanks.
1. Outer journal 2. Inner journal 3. Ball race 4. Ball cage 5. Outer rubber seals
Good advice, thanks for sharing. The only bearings I've fully packed are those in a low speed or non continuous rotation application, and subject to water. ie, Mountain bike suspension bearings.
I use graphite grease it's the best.i learned this trick years ago from a city employee that mows for the city ..they were burning bearings weekly on the blade spindles. The trick was to remove one the seals on the upper and lower bearings..now they last 5 times longer.i did this to mine it's been years since I've replaced a spindle bearing.i see ginger is enjoying warmer temperatures..lol..looks like you are too..see you on the next one Cheers friend 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Perfect timing seeing this as I am working on my hubs on an older Jeep! Thanks so much!
I do this every year on my snowmobile skid..Saves me money and I know there is good quality grease in my bearings,Great video!!!
Awesome
I use 00 grease for lubing stuff up a lot. Used to be called Snapper00 grease but Tractor Supply has it called 'Cotton Picker Shaft Lube'. I got 2 quarts a month ago and that's about all I could find online and get local. It's a cross between stiff and liquid. Snapper used to use it in their trannys on riders and walk behinds and is good for loosening up the grease already inside something. And I drip oil right inside the seal of a bearing while the shaft is turning but you have to watch and not get wound up. Ex-mark sent me an update for a belt drive mower about installing a zerk fitting because the OEM tranny used bentonite clay as lube that dries out and the tranny dies. The gun grease kept everything moving and the bentonite honest. I did it and the rig is still running. Poor dried out doggie! BLESSINGS to yall!
When I was working as a mechanic well over 20 yrs ago I used to wash the old grease out in the parts wash bath. Then I would use compressed air without spinning the bearing fast until it was clean. I used to repack ball bearings with Shell Alvania I think it was called. It’s what we used to grease all the bearings on our vibrating screens in the quarry. It seemed to be far superior to other greases for longevity of bearings and I used it in rebuilds of engine water pumps. On truck trailer hubs the black molybdenum disulfide grease seemed to take a lot of heat and bearings lasted well. 🚚
you never stop learning. i didnt know you could do that. thankyou so much for shareing this. im going to do my mower bearings. thanks again
Thanks a lot for the info, Moe! Glad to learn about the 25% factor, as I've been packing bearings the way I saw them done on automotive channels - filling them up completely. Who knew?! I'd always choose to free up a frozen or janky-sounding bearing and flush them out first before tossing (in case they're still serviceable), so this video is right up my alley. I recently commented on another channel about the creator throwing out a frozen lawn tractor pulley which might very well have been saved in a few minutes instead of waiting for an ordered one to arrive. Saving time and $ - that's me! ;-)
How do I tell you thank you enough on this information. This is my second comment on this video and today March 30th 2024 I took the two idler pulleys apart on my zero turn and your information was exactly correct as I dug out all of the hardened grease and dirt. I used carb cleaner along with PB Blaster to flush out all the remaining junk. I also used greased lightning with hot water to clean them more then blew them out with compressed air. I saw exactly what you were talking about with putting to much grease into them. After greasing them I put them back on the deck and spun them and they spun freely and there was no noise. I’m 100% certain if I had caught the one that is destroyed now that I could have saved it. The new idler pulley that I’m going to purchase will be taken apart and cleaned and repacked with the exact type of grease that you used as my three tubs of grease are the exact type but all three are different colors as you stated. Now to take the spindles off of it and take them apart and clean and regrease the bearings in them also. Again thank you is an understatement on the information of the 25% amount of the grease. I’m sure glad I have been subscribed to you.
Great advice. Definitely worth doing, epecially if you get hold of new old stock bearings.
Marine grease can be a good choise for bearings, it keeps the moisture out and prevents rust.
Absolutely
Never thought I would find a video like this! Thank you!
Nicely done. Overpacked bearings wind up working the grease, the extra load causes it to run hot, and... bearing life gets shortened. Some heavy duty/low speed assemblies do well with a little more [near 30%], but thats about as far as it goes.
Believe it or not...that red and tacky grease works AWESOME...and if the bearings get hot, the grease melts, gets liquidy, then flows to the parts that need the grease...self lubricating :) Keep em coming!!!! I used to 3D print fidget spinners when they were "the new hotness" I would literally buy rollerskate bearings 608ZZ, then soak em in a jar with acetone and shake em a bit to get the grease out...no grease bearings spin MUCH more free (great for low rpm fidget spinners) but lousy for high speed/high heat uses :)
Glad I'm not the only one that does this.
In the old days, we packed tapered bearings all the way full and half way full in the hub. We could adjust the tension and it worked well. Never had any issues and they ran the life of the car or truck. Grease flows outward due to centrifugal force and cycles itself in the hub. Usually regrease on brake changes. However, the new roller bearings don't work that way and usually burnout in a short time. They too spin the grease to the outside of the race. That's why you don't pick the cover from the outside edge, it will cause a leak point. The problem is, they wear down the race area compared to taper bearings and regreasing is often a waste of time and they will start humming in a short time and need replacing anyway. I've done it a few times and they just don't last.
Thank you, Moe, for sharing this with us.
Quake state had 5 drums of clear grease several years ago in the 90 I used a lot of it for big trucks Was very good stuff
Interesting. Must be just for commercial applications because I've never been able to buy just clear grease.
Great video! Really helped with my bike project.
I always fill the bearing to about 60% and so far I haven't had a problem. I bought a set of belt pulleys on the car some time ago, and on the new ones I sprayed the old vaseline and used a new, better quality one. The pulleys have been working for 30k km without a problem, I recently had a belt down and they spin perfectly with a gentle resistance. Regarding the type of grease - never use EP (extreme pressure) grease on bearings that have a bronze or brass cage - EP additives are corrosive to copper alloys.
Copper compatibility is tricky, and usually not stated. Apart from the additives corroding the metal, you have the issue of copper ions degrading the oil, both as in cracking it into more volatile compounds that will evaporate, and causing it to polymerize into a gum. For the corrosion there is a standardized test that may, if you're lucky, be listed in the data sheet. For the other issues you're on your own.
I've been cleaning and regreasing sealed bearings for the last few years. I actually just did the front wheel bearings on my 4 wheeler last week
Yes I know this well with my old lawnmowers and trailer always grease the bearing great video
I learnt about this in the first year of my apprenticeship as a fitter/machinist.When I tried to tell an old farmer about over greasing bearings he looked at me like I didn’t know what I was talking about.
Thank you! No one ever talks about this. Bearings have a specification for the amount and frequency of regreasing. People use way too much on high-speed wheel bearings, like on motorcycles.
Thanks for the instructional video!! Great Job !!!Perfection!!
love the end credits
very interesting I have some bearings on a hand trolley that are fubar (been in the rain, one is crunchy like square balls) now i know how they work a bit better i might be able to break the cage and set the balls to allow the wheel to come off (inner race stuck on axle) good video i'll be looking at the next sealed bearing with a bit more maintenance oriented checking
Super helpful video. Thank you.
Great info like always 👍🏼
Very informative video. I didnt know you could do this. I thought you had to buy new bearings and spindles.. Thanks.
Thanks. Informative and straight forward
I carefully pop out the seals, soak the bearing in Benzene which quickly dissolves and loosens all the muck. I then vertically submerse half the bearing in clean Benzine and spin the bearing till it runs freely. This helps to flush out all micro bits and pieces, then I repeat that in clean Benzene again. Once done it evaporates quickly and can be repacked with suitable grease. I've done my one vacuum cleaner twice in many years, still fine. Also did my Golf 4 Variant alternator belt tensioner when it became noisy, 40 thousand kilometers on and still fine. FYI - The Benzene I'm using is not the Cancer causing Benzene, BENZINE is, but I still wear gloves and work in a relatively well ventilated area.
If you have bearings that you intend to reuse and they are full of old grease and thickener put them in an old counter top oven, I put them in at 200deg for about 20 min. The old thickener and grease melts out leaving mostly oil film behind. It saves on degreaser, and expensive aerosol degreaser. Afterward clean the bearings out thoroughly, re apply grease put the seals back on and use them. Don't let the oven get too hot, don't let the oven cook out the old stuff and dry out, just melt the old grease out.
I used to take those seals off and do exactly what you have done, and I also used to take the pick and use it to put a little hole in the seal then I would get my needle bearing grease fitting and attach it to my grease gun and pump a small amount of grease through the hole I made in the seal and then re-seal the hole I never ever had a problem I am a 71 year old retired heavy duty mechanic and I to also got into arguments about greasing sealed bearings and about over greasing a bearing over greasing is not good and it is just a waste of grease got into a lot of arguments over that one, but at the end of the day I was right.
What a wealth of information!
Great video, subject, and how-to, Thanks, Moe! I see Ginger is on the job attacking that water, Lol!
Never know you could take the seal off and put it back on. Great video and everything was described very well. I'm thinking a small parts brush would work to regrease the bearing instead of using the pic. That or maybe even an artist brush, something high-quality so the bristles don't come out.
I needed this, thx man.
Thank you, very useful video , i just bought the lithium based Grease.
Thanks for the vid. I plan to be repacking my bearing pack on my power wash surface cleaner if and when it eventually stops spinning.
Awsome information. I’m in the process of replacing idler pulleys and I found a spindle making noise on my 07 model 40 inch Gravley zero turn and the prices of spindles and idler pulleys are getting stupid. KZhead saves me a bunch of money.
This like All your Videos is Super Great information! Thanks! Subscribed long ago.
If you pack bearings full of grease it will churn like a stalled hydraulic pump and generate a lot of heat. It also (excess grease) applies drag to the whole surface of the ball/roller and will actually stop it from rolling, instead it will slide on the races and destroy the bearing. I learned this the hard way, lol.
Thanks again for the info 👍
wow I never knew you could restore a bearing. Most people seem to just throw them out when they aren't performing well
Thank you for making this
I love Ginger!!!!! shes so friggin cute...and another helpful video. man Ive been throwing bearings away too! not anymore.
Mineral spirits works great on Old Grease also an old coffee can with some mineral spirits and a toothbrush
I'm definately guilty of over packing mine in the past. Thank you for this vid.
You can overpack them if they are running slowly. In the old days even the ball bearings had a grease zerk on them. Any access will squeeze out.
@@Drottninggatan2017 I think I can remember seeing them with grease zerks when I was still young.
More good not so well known info. Thanks again.
Thanks ! A lot of good infor in here
Another Great Video... Thx so much....
Might have to try this on my mower deck bearings
Excellent video 👏 👏 👏
You are Best youtuber ❤
good job very informative thanks
In all my 61 years the best grease Ive ever used I think is Belray thats sold in motorcycle shops Ive use for years for my wheel bearings on cars n trucks n pwc/boat trailers as far as resealing I just get new and try for timken or koyo. I have poped seals and done this though.
The clear grease could be some tipe of food safe grease. At the FD I work at we use super lube (which is clear and food safe) for the ladder truck because the regular Grease makes a mess as it gets along all four drips off.
Thanks for the info. I have been slam packing my bearings full of grease for years then wonder why they got so hot.
If you have a slow rotating bearing such as on an electric gate or even a mountain bike then almost filling the bearing is the way to go, it will never overheat, it turns too slowly, and will last almost forever. Even when fitting new bearings they come with the amount of grease for high revs and should be repacked if used for slow rotation. If they are full of grease, water ingress or condensation just does not happen and they do not 'dry' out which is why they will then last almost forever.
Love it when bearings have a plastic cage. Then its super easy to take it fully apart and clean all the parts separately.
i used to work with diamond grinding machines used the mill down concrete wet. at the end of the day you absolutely had to grease the pillow blocks on the main shaft until it came squirting out everywhere pushing the water out of the bearing. if you didn't do that every day of use the bearings would seize in 1` night. these were expensive tapered roller pillow blocks. cost $500 a pair 30 years ago . and the time to change them was also crazy as one of them was sandwiched between a nut and the entire pack of 150 diamond blades. so in that application you pack the bearing 125% with a grease gun.
Considering many of the comments, it seems your video has done some good regarding the nature and repackability of sealed bearings. That said, how much grease to use, and the potential for either longevity or premature failure is still a matter of opinion. I have never had a repacked bearing fail in service in some 60 years, and I routinely overpack bearings because, 1, that's how I do it, and 2, sealed bearings aren't actually sealed, as demonstrated with your dirty bearing that had dirt in it, not to mention that if the oil in the grease has dried out, it has to have gone somewhere. Every failed bearing I have seen has been factory greased, and not one of them had enough grease to start with. So I would say if you wish to maintain that over packing bearings is bad for bearings, please prove it.
I mean anybody can have their own opinion, but when it comes to sealed bearings, there are countless technical articles on the subject. So it's not really a matter of opinion. You can do a quick Google search and find manufacturers have charts that show heat, bearing life, bearing wear due to over greasing. SKF, Timken and others all have charts and technical specs showing you shouldn't fill bearings more than 15 to 35% depending on the size. The same reason you don't fill your car engine completely to the top with oil. The moving parts will aerate the oil, they'll be added rolling resistance, it'll cause excessive heat build up, and blow out seals. No, the seal on a sealed bearing isn't airtight and if you fill it completely full, you'll notice grease exiting through the inside seal that is generally white and foamy because you have aerated all of the grease and destroyed its lubricating properties. Now you have other issues like cavitation of the grease that can destroy the ball bearings. You're dumping excessive heat into the rolling parts. You have extreme added rolling resistance. And not just a little bit more rolling resistance. You have a bearing that is 10 x, 20x harder to roll versus a properly lubricated one. The mindset of fully packing a sealed bearing come from needing to pack a non-sealed; say roller wheel bearing. Yes you pack those 100% and it will immediately, once you start running push out 75% of the grease and use just what it needs. It never has a problem with aerating the grease because it can just push it right out the sides.
This was a great informative video thank you
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great tip!
Awesome! Thank you!
In fact I soak my bearings in 50-W10 engine oil 🛢. In a clear plastic jar it works good for decades. 50% of bearings are on service the others are in demand waiting in the oil jar. Every now and then I switch them around the same group of bearings since 2006.
I use also use acetone brake cleaner, carb cleaner but my go to is the stale gas I get out of the mower/tractors. Soak them for a few minutes then brush them off. Dry, grease & reinstall. Stay well, Joe Z
Everytime I mentioned cleaning something with gasoline in one of my videos, People freak out. We're 40 years past lead in gasoline and it's still considered one of the most toxic things by society. It is the cheapest per gallon and one of the best cleaners out there though.
@@sixtyfiveford I can understand commenting on safety, ventilation & so on but to freak out, about lead issue ? Unfortunately we have to just let some comments go. Stay well, Joe Z
Love that dog.