what to soak new bearings in?

Quinn Anderson · Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2005 11:06 am Post subject: what to soak new bearings in?

What is the best thing to soak new 40mm bearings in?

Thanks,
Quinn Anderson
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Charles Maranto · Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2005 11:30 am Post subject: Soaking new bearings

Why? Aren't they lubricated from the manufacturer
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Scott Haynes · Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2005 12:47 pm Post subject:

Nothing. Factory lubrications is very good. As long as they stay clean the lube in them will stay and work well. You might want to clean them and then relube them sometime down the road.

Walt Gifford · Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2005 4:26 pm Post subject:

If you soak a bearing in oil it will have so much oil it will make a mess of your kart and get all over the brakes. All I do is add a few drops of gear oil to a new bearing.

Giffy Cool

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Paul Clifton · Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2005 5:05 pm Post subject:

A little gear oil could thin the grease which may not be good.
Too much lube can be as bad as too little. Think of wading in a lake. Pretty easy when its only ankle deep. pretty tough when its chest deep. Same for a bearing ball in too much lubrication. The balls can actually start to skid because of too much lube. Too much lube also creates more friction. Gee the bearing is running hot, I'll add more lube. Gee its running hotter, I'll add more lube. More bearings are killed from too much lube than too little.
Theoretically, the bearing has enough lube from the factory. The steel will breakdown before the lube will.
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Chuck McCue · Joined: 17 Jul 2001 Posts: 2945

We usally flush the "grease" out with WD40 or mineral spirits. Then relube lightly with Superlube or Tri-Flow. The "grease" in most bearings is actually mostly COSMOLINE which is a rust preventative than a lube. The bearings we use for karting axles are actually more widely used in industry and friction reduction is not as important as having long term oxidation/rust free bearings. When using a light lube a short spray in the bearings each time you go out on the track is all you need. I agree with the above that too much lube is not good.
WE like the TRI-FLOW brand lube since it is 100% synthetic and does not attract dirt unlike Tri-Flow.
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Patrick Hubbell · Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2005 9:02 am Post subject:

I once had a long conversation wit ha Timkin bearing engineer who explained to me why a bearing must be packed with grease. As a bearing rotates through it's RPM range it develops harmonics. These harmonics cause friction. The grease help to dampen and minimize the harmonics thereby reducing the friction. Tri-Flow, gear oil or any other low viscosity lubricant will not provide the dampening needed to reduce the harmonic friction. I use RedLine wheel bearing grease and a needle tip on my grease gun to inject it into the bearing.
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Martin Secrest · Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2005 11:23 am Post subject:

Sure, Patrick, but a greased wheel doesn't spin for 20 minutes in one push when the kart's on the stand.

Cody Tracy · Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2005 12:12 pm Post subject: bearing oil

What you guys clean your bearings with? carb cleaner?

Tom McDaniel · Joined: 30 Apr 2002 Posts: 64 Location: Minneapolis,MN

I have to agree with Patrick on this. When I first started karting I used TriFlow because thats what everyone else was using. Soon I realize that there's no way the bearings are getting enough lubercation. Plus its messy. Then I used White Lithium grease, the stuff in the can. This is much better than the tri flow and seemed to do a good job, but why not just use wheel bearing grease. Ive been using wheel bearing grease for a few years now and theres no comparison, minimal maintenance, great lubercation, and its clean.

Cody,
I remove the bearing shields on both sides and clean the bearings in a parts washer using a tooth brush. Be carefull not to damage the shields so they will fit proper when you reinstall them. Once the lube is remove try not to spin the bearing. I use a grease gun with a needle tip to inject the grease, I put a dab of grease between each ball on the outer and inner race.

I suppose it would be eaiser to just buy new bearings!

Tom

Paul Clifton · Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2005 4:10 pm Post subject:

Chuck, I think you're mistaken about bearings having cosmoline in them. It really is grease unless it is an open bearing. An open bearing will have a 'slush lube' to keep it from corroding while sitting on the shelf. A sealed or shielded bearing will be greased, with grease from the factory. An open bearing will get its lube, in normal situations from with in the apparatus it is running in. I.E. in a transmission, it uses the transmission oile for lube. A sealed bearing, is just that, sealed. Sealed to keep contaminents out. A shielded bearing keeps the 'big stuff' out. A kart rear axle bearing usually has a labrynth 'seal.' Something like a E facing a 3. The fingers of the opposite side fit between each other and do not touch. The dirt has to go up and down through the labrynth to get to the bearings. Front bearings are usually sheilded. less drag than a sealed bearing.

Pat, Timken bearings are a taper roller bearing and have their own challenges because they are designed take load in two directions, both vertically (radially) and horizontally (thrust). A ball bearing is designed to take its load radially, through the inner and outer rings. You do pack taper rollers full of grease. Its the nature of that particular animal. It wouldn't surprise me they would have harmonic problems because the have full line contact across the roller where a ball just has point contact where the tip of the ball touches just one point on the inner and outer rings.

Mr. Science has stepped away from the microphone.
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I love deadlines. I love the swooshing noise they make as they go by!

My new policy is to reject ideas involving extra work from people who aren't actually doing the work

Mike Goebel · Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2005 6:01 pm Post subject:

Patrick Hubbell · Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2005 1:14 am Post subject:

Paul, I think Mike is correct. Timkin makes a whole lot - O - bearings including ball bearings. Grease them.

Martin, Ya your right. But by the end of the day I'm headed for the winners circle and you the kart shop for some greaseable Timkin ball bearings.
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Chuck Skowron · Joined: 19 Jul 2001 Posts: 1151

What I'm wondering is, when you mention that Tri-Flow is not an acceptable lubricant for bearings, are you talking about the Tri-Flow High Performance Grease (that comes in a tube), or the Tri-Flow Superior Lubricant (which is an Aerosol can)?

In other words, would the Tri-Flow synthetic grease be O.K. to use for the bearings, and if not, where could I find wheel bearing grease?

Bob Trimper · Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2005 8:04 am Post subject:

At the kart show I talked to one of the guys that had a bearing booth for ceramic bearings. He said that for regular free spinning bearings never lub with WD40 but to use tri-flow or sewing machine oil and only use one drop. He said to clean them, never use brake clean, He suggested to take the bearing out and soak in paint thinner. It's funny because I always cleaned mine with brake clean and lubed with WD40.