All you have done is add further contaminates to an already dirty worn out bearing , also you should remove seals from the inside not the outside of the seal , and try cleaning the bearing before you remove the seals , wash the grease out before you add more grease , you can over pack bearings with grease , and use clean grease .
@@adrian.adrianl6401 Why do you say it’s already dirty, and this is all wrong? It’s been sealed. Depending on the application the video process could be fine, after all if you really want “right” then you replace the bearing.
I'm an old master aircraft/heavy machinery mechanic. Always take both seals off and clean then inspect them, if the bearings are good make sure the old grease is all cleaned out. There is a thing called "balling" which is where two greases are not compatible and cause the grease to react and dry out making little non lubricating balls and the bearings will fail. we had some mishaps with F-16's having this problem when the wrong grease was used.
Yes! Auto mechanic here, never put new grease with old, always wash out old grease and inspect. I've also seen dissimilar greases turn to liquid and run out, losing all lubricity.
@@666dynomax I've seen other people use brake cleaner and or WD-40. One thing I did read was never to use wd-40 to stop bearing squeal (unless as a diagnostic prior to repair/replacement) This is because wd-40 breaks grease down. I saw a guy spraying it on bearings and it literally dissolves. Spin. Rinse with more wd-40. Spin. Rinse. I think he then sprayed brake cleaner on it to remove the wd-40....before repacking with grease. If you already got your project done let me know what worked for you as I'm in a similar boat! Hope I helped some!
I've been doing this since the early '70s. The metal shielded ones get soaked overnight in solvent, blown out with compressed air, heated in a pan of proper lube, then the pan / lube/ bearing are cooled. Works great for hard to get parts, especially for obsolete equipment.
My God, how can supposedly grown men watch a video about greasing small engine equipment bearings and within a few posts start calling each other names and trade insults? It seems impossible to post any how-to video on youtube without hot-headed know-it-all keyboard experts chiming in to tell the poster how they are wrong and demonstrate to everyone how smart they are. Most seem to have never posted an actual video themselves, they just arm-chair critique others' videos. So all you self-proclaimed authorities on bearings- calm down. It is a bearing on a piece of garden equipment, not an F-15. Thanks for the video, Dony. Ignore the self-important twits in the comment section. We adults appreciate your efforts.
I have to say I watched your video 2 -3 years ago and ever since I have checked every sealed bearing I’ve come across. I will tell you about 1/3 of new bearings I’ve purchased have had either no grease or very little. I would strongly suggest everyone watching this video to check your bearing, especially if they are critical !!! Like motorcycle wheel bearings.
Yep, that's why I'm here! I was talking to a guy at work about my new scooter's bearings being a bit squeaky after riding it in the wet. He rides motorbikes and he said that he greases every single bearing he buys before installing it on his bike. He also said that the majority of new bearings don't have enough grease if any at all.
That was an awesome tip. I have never heard of anyone doing this. After talking with several friends who are mechanics, they all assumed that I knew to do this. It is nice that people believe that I am sharper than I actually am.
In an emergency you can temporarily extend the life of a slightly noisy bearing by completely removing all the grease washing it in solvent and gently blowing out with compressed air and repack it with grease but leaving space for expansion inside the seals. You need to choose the correct type of grease for the application it’s working in as not all greases are created equal. Once the balls, rollers or race have become pitted replacement is the best option. Sometimes if you have an oddball sized bearing this is your only option until you can procure a replacement. From many years working as a machinery fleet mechanic I would sometimes have a sleeve machined up so I could fit a common over the counter bearing to replace hard to get oddball bearings that some machinery manufacturers thought would be a good idea to fit. 😀
Don't do this. Half Fill a soup can with grease. Heat it to 150-200 degrees. ( hair dryer oven etc). Push the warm bearing under the grease. Let it slowly cool. Then it will suck in just enough without stretching or scoring the seal. Replace the bearing when possible.
Uh What is the purpose of doing this to a bearing that is sealed? What is Timken’s professional opinion about disturbing the perfectly good seal. I have never had a sealed spindle bearing fail, can’t say the same for unsealed spindle earrings.
Hi Don, love your channel. I re-grease snowmobile bearings used in the rear suspension wheels. They take a lot of abuse. I remove the bearings from the wheels with a press after removing the snap ring retainers. I remove both seals using a precision screwdriver. Bearings are cleaned in a jar with mineral spirits, followed with a blow gun with the bearing in a clean rag. Then, I spin the bearing to see if it has any resistance and check for pitting. If all is good, I use moly lithium grease and reinstall everything. This really extended the life for these extreme use bearings.
This is the best tutorial I have ever watched on youtube. Video is clear, high definition, focused the whole time. Voice is loud, clear, moderate speed with easy to understand accent. Varies types/sizes of bearing is demonstrated. Nice work!
I am impressed I have seen many of this videos and no one 1st removes the old grease and wash the bearing with kerosene or oil or degreasant, nope, straight ahead adding grease to the old one.... Amazing
i never knew you could get those covers off! thanks for the video. tip for packing the bearings, put a rubber glove on your left hand, some grese on the heel of your palm, press the bearing in it repeatedly with the other hand. this forces the grease through and works really fast.
That's the way we were taught in auto shop back in the day. One reason was back then some greases had a different base make up like soap based for example, and if two different greases with a different base were mixed it could liquefy after awhile. I don't think that is the case as much these days but I am still more comfortable not mixing greases especially in something like a wheel bearing. Also, who wants to mix good clean grease with old dirty and potentially hardened grease? Not me, that's not how we were taught by our shop teacher. He believed, and so do I, in cleanliness especially when it comes to machined surfaces and tight tolerance parts, like engines and bearings!
electronicsNmore - ...and followed by a spray of WD40 and a blast of compressed air to remove the last of the crud. People forget that grease (actually, most lubricant) is designed to “absorb” a certain amount of contaminants, so it doesn’t need to be perfectly clean. Dirty lubricant=lubricant that’s done its job.
There's a lot of people who would like to see your excellent video. If you could double the life of the spindle bearings, that would be a game changer.
Thank you Dony Boy. I was planning to replace the sealed bearing in the head of my angle grinder. I repacked it with new grease instead, and it runs nice and smooth now.
You should actually start from the inside edge of the rubber gasket. The rubber on the inside is much softer, and won't get damaged by the pick that you use, since it just folds out of the way. If you try to remove the gasket from the outer bearing race, you can tear the rubber and potentially damage the brass below it, meaning it wont seal as well when it's reassembled.
Like the video. it's amazing all these people have so much negative to say. For cryin out loud it's about greasing a bearing, it's not like he's greasing an aircraft carrier.
Thank you. This video saved me 40euros. I was replacing wheel bearings yesterday and got sand in new bearings and i had to wash all the grease out to get the sand out of there. Now i know how to re-grease them.
I watched this video years ago. Last week I had a chance to use the technique I learned from this channel. My idler and tensioner bearings in my old GMC were making noise. I repaired them with ease and now they will last many more years. Thanks donyboy
That is one of the things I learned while in the Air Force since we had trailers which had to be greased on a regular basis to keep them from breaking down when we needed them most. Thanks for the tip, and I hope you are having a nice week.
Great vid thanks. Just a few points, after prying the seals out there is usually bending, so before reinstalling check you flatten the seal out perfectly. I always use a good quality "water-proof" grease as this type of grease doesn`t get washed-out so easily. Don`t buy cheap bearings where ill fitting seals don`t actually keep dirt & water out, the main cause of bearing failure. Finally as this vid points out don`t over grease the bearing. I always take off both seals squeeze the grease but leave a finger groove in the grease so as not to put pressure on the seal.
On our farm machinery, we drill a tiny hole in the metal sealed bearings and then use an injector needle. A dab of caulking then seals the small hole. The easy to reach bearings just get replaced, but some take hours of disassembly to get off, so this is were the injector needle comes in handy.
Delmar: several great ideas together! I´ll add that not everyone realizes that for the caulk/silicone to adhere, the spot must be W E L L dgreased; Thank you
I've done the same many times with the metal seals, they're usually in a area that is protected anyway. I've also added oil with a syringe thru a very small hole. I know this will set off a wild debate about oil and grease not mixing, but the small amount of original grease is usually dried out anyway. I've had great luck.
Good idea to clean the bearing from old grease with benzine . If you reach the point where you need to do this the old grease is usually hard and makes the bearing rough and new grease wont solve the problem. So clean it out first and blow it out with air and the bearing usually becomes smooth and then you insert the fresh grease.
I've bought quality bearings that literally had a pin head of grease from the factory, so before installing I will always grease a sealed bearing. It's easier being happy ! Thanks Donny, good Vid !
For small high speed bearings like alternator bearings or idler pulley bearings, that see sub freeing temperatures, I use a thinner lightweight grease. Heavy grease will spin the bearing centers sometimes if you don't use light enough grease or too much grease. too much grease causes a bearing to run much hotter.
I even check new bearings when replacing them in blade spindles and always remove a Electric PTO clutch on a lawn mower and add grease if necessary. The PTO bearings have been very low content of grease when new. I have a John Deere L130 mower that I greased the PTO clutch that will be ten years old this summer and is still working very well. A little maintenance on these bearings will save you lots of money and it is simple to do. 👍🏻
Thank you sir you saved the day! The top spindle bearing is the same bearing in my Husqvarna, so I used an old spindle bearing. It only had a seal on one side though, so I pulled the seal off the idler bearing and used it on the spindle bearing.
If your spindle has a zerk fitting, then the bearings should only have one seal so the open sides are facing the inside of the spindle. That way when you grease the spindle the grease can actually get to the bearings.
Yes as one comment about the one is you use the edge of a ten or twelve thousand feeler gauge The seat off without damaging use high quality I used to use teflon on some of my bearings make sure you wash your mouth out with dry air and some cleaning fluid.
A feeler gauge works awesome for removing the seals without damaging the sealing edge. Over packing the bearing could lead to failure depending on usage. Nice vid.
Thank you, I tried this method with my idler pully on my engine. I took off the covers,cleaned it out then regreased it. The only thing was it didn't get rid of the sound (I'm guessing it is already damaged) so I'm going to changing it, but I'm glad to know that I have experience doing this now
That cover is crazy easy to remove. I always thought a sealed bearing meant it is waterproof but the one you showed would leak like a sieve. Thanks for the tips.
Nah mate. You get different types of seals. There is light contact rubber seal which i wouldn't want to hit with a high pressure cleaner ever. You can get seals that are full contact rubber seal that can handle being washed down, just don't go blasting the bearings for long as you will damage the seal.. You can get triple lip seals etc. The trade off is more friction, hence more heat. You can look up how deep groove ball bearings are made and see how much grease to relube them with, or even better a bearing catalogue will tell you. Over lubrication will lead to premature failure. But as you saw one of those bearings had zero grease. Clean out the old grease , relube with injector nozzle and replace seals. This video had some great info. Cheers for posting.
DonnyBoy, I need my mini bike tomorrow and didn't know how to remove the bearing seals. For the information of US residents, Harbor Freight has a set of picks that's often on sale for around a dollar. Mine worked fine. Thank you for the video
Excellent video.... I just learned a few things from this video..... when and where the different types of bearings go, and for what reason.... I learned that I can remove the seal and tool needed for romoval, in order to grease it, I also that I could do this in any situation , no matter the application it is being used for at that particular time, same process carries across the entire field of bearings and races... So 👍👍...
I used to finish grind bearings for a living but didn't work in assembly. The largest bearing I ever worked on was 13 feet in diameter, it took several shifts to grind it to size. Most of what I worked on was 4 to 10 foot diameter. As commentators have suggested (small) bearings can be cheap to replace but I've worked ones that cost the customer over $200,000.
I repacked a couple of idler pulleys on my mower deck. They run smoother now. I had already replaced one, and repacked that one to replace the other one. Now I have a spare that is repacked and ready to go if needed.
The sealed bearings usually found in mower deck spindles usually fail due to lack of proper lubrication. The spindle housings may have zerk fittings and you might THINK the bearings are receiving grease when you pump grease into them, but the truth is, they're sealed, which prevents any new grease from reaching the bearings. The fix for this is to disassemble the spindles and remove the seals from one side of each of the bearings, then reassemble them with the open side of each bearing facing the middle of the spindle shaft. You should also drill a (one) SMALL weep hole in each spindle housing prior to reassembly. Make sure that after drilling, you carefully clean any metal from the spindle housing before reassembly. Doing this will greatly reduce the incidence of spindle bearing failure... 😀
Do you really think that every engineer that has designed a mowing deck spindle was adding a grease zerk just to trick everyone if they add a grease fitting then we can ultimately trick all whole grease the spindles into thinking they are getting an amazing machine they can maintain and it will last forever but little do they know we have really screwed the end user by sneaking a couple of extra inner seals on both bearings so we can destroy there foolish lawnmower war on grass agenda and force them into buying more bearings and spindles??? Since it’s obvious you actually think this way and are very dumb how about you learn about bearings and seals and heat and why they use inner seals on the bearings and actually what the name of that seal is and how it works captain obvious!! Mowing deck spindles are not like a auto frontend spindle captain jackass they have a different seal captain jack nuts so how about you do some research before spreading false info to everyone or are you the one that started that world wide lie and have ppl pulling those seals out while ur skinning it back and scobbing ur mallet headed mushroom tip while ur poppa cleans it squeaky clean doing the reverse cowgirl on it at a medium pace so you don’t blow ur seal to fast!
If you remove the blade and pulley and use Red grease, after 50+ pumps you will see that grease has penetrated the inner seals and comes out the outer seals.
when i pick the seal. i do it from the inside edge so not to damage the outer edge which might be the cause of future leak of the grease due to centrifugal force.
Just serviced a very squeeky tensioner pulley yesterday. My first try at it. And my Idler Pulley bearing, since I had the drive belt off. Made sure I cleaned the heck out of them (both sides) with brake cleaner first. Until the bearings looked pristine. Lots of dry desert dust from SoCal coast. Then packed them good with red bearing grease. Re installed. The tensioner pulley still squeeks (1/10) as bad, maybe because it had a tiny 1/2 mm of side to side play. And because it was a cheap bearing on an AutoZone Duralast pulley from 15 - 20 years ago. Whereas the idler pulley was the original OEM part with an all metal bearing casing (good bearings like you had here) instead the cheaper plastic casing for the balls like in the tensioner pulley. Drove around a good 5 miles already - still some squeek - may have to order a new bearing for that. What's a good metal only bearing for a tensioner pulley? Who can I order it from with free shipping? Do I need to get #'s off casing ring? How do they measure it, outer diameter × hole diameter × width? What do the serial numbers on the side of the rings stand for?
Wow, the needle injector for ball joints... that is GENIUS.... I've only ever regreased a ball joint once or twice because I would take the ball joint off the car, take it into my work shed, clean the grease out, then put the new in and replace the boot.... this doesn't risk contamination and it's so so much faster than that. P.S. I tried adding grease while it was still attached to the car, but since I work in my front yard in Florida there's grass, dirt, and especially SAND that blows up all the time. Just one quick gust of wind and sand is in everything. It's really difficult to keep a clean environment when if you accidentally touch the ground and then what you're working on again particles of sand will be in it :(
It's best to clean the bearing out first to remove any contaminants and to remove the old grease which may not be compatible with the new grease. You also want to push the grease into the bearing, not just wipe it across the top like you did.
Nice I thought I was going to have to dig out my dad's needle that's how he done it but as you say under pressure or speed it spin's out. Thanks Donny boy for your service.
I have worked on mechanical stuff for 35 to 40 years and never knew could remove that seals on a sealed bearing. I had used the needle but it puts a hole in your seal and grease finds it's way out and in no time your back to replacing the bearing. Thanks for showing us this video.
Thank you for this. I have 2 wheels that seized up after I rode through a flood, (didn't realise they got wet :-(. Managed to free them up with heat and light oil, followed by thicker oil, but grease would be far better! I shall give this a go!
Hey, cool stuff! Obviously a tradeoff/decision to make between replacing a bearing and just re-greasing it like this, but for things that aren't critical bearings (failure isn't going to destroy stuff) this could make a lot of stuff more salvageable!
There are further suggestions that should have been made know!( 1 ) There are different grades of grease ( SHOWN ) however the correct process is to use "for instance brake parts cleaner" to flush out all the old grease.( 2 ) NOTE: Remove BOTH sides seals then LIGHTLY blow compressed air thru to remove the residue. DO NOT SPIN THE BEARING WITH COMPRESSED AIR!NOTE: In high temp bearings the grease expands when under heat so don't pack more grease than needed.( 3 ) Once this has been completed pack the grease from both sides to force it into the inner channel groove then spin the bearing by hand to ensure the grease has been packed.( 4 ) REPEAT packing the bearing then remove excessive grease.( 5 ) Reinstall the side seals! Following this method will ensure the grease is fresh & there is no Old Residue of the previous grease. As twosence fromCleveland stated- QUOTE: Petroleum lubes generally mix, but the additive package for speed range, temperature (hot or cold), and various chemical repellent properties can "cake" when mixed. There is also silicone grease which won't mix with anything (rare though). This is why it is necessary to remove the OLD grease.KUDOS for a good video donyboy73
You would be better off to make your own video. Your suggestions sound valid but I could barely follow along. The grammar and punctuation leaves me wondering about certain steps.
Quick tip, I like to use a sandwich bag to pack bearings. That way i can really massage the grease in and dont have to use up 1/2 a bottle of gojo at when im done.
Metal covers -- that's what's installed on my new spindles for Murray 11ic/36. So you've answered my question!! I won't bother to try to open them let alone knock them out of the spindle or "jackshaft housing asdembly" as Murray calls it. So the zerk fitting is I oh going togrease the hollow between the assembly and spacer that the jackshaft passes through to prevent condensation moisture presumably. So, is there a need to drill a tiny seep/weep hole to prevent grease build-up that could force the bearings to burst?? Thanks a lot Dony, I might just be able to get on with installing the 'spindle' and drill a weep hole in the future. Big THANK YOU.
Being born and raised on a farm, we'd get syringes from our vet, we'd fill those and use that to fill a sealed bearing. Made it easier to make certain grease was completely filled into the bearing. Injector needles are nice but, honestly, they can still be a bit too large to get in those bearings, hence why you remove the cover(s). Any more, we use the injector needles with an attachment we made, to only clean bearings. Cheers :)
Great information!. I have done this with literally hundreds of automotive drive belt idler and tensioner pulley bearings. They can be almost dry and still be restored. I like Wolf's Head Red grease. It's a complex lithium grease. Seems to stick to the bearings.
I have gone through a Koyo industrial bearing class. We use a majority of the Koyo bearing on the equipment on the machinery at work. If the right type of sealed bearings are used in the correct applications. They claim they are sealed for the life of the bearing. But, we also pull the seals completely out of some bearings that are installed in a grease block
The average spindle generates enough heat to somewhat 'liquify' the grease. As long as the spindle is full, grease will eventually penetrate the sealed bearings. As someone mentioned, there are decent pressures within the spindle too. Sealed bearings are necessary to keep the grease in, under the higher pressures. Removing a side will only shorten the bearing's life.
I found that white lithium grease will have a tendency to dry out over time. It doesn't work with bearings very well. It seems to me that automotive wheel bearing grease is non-drying and impervious to water and better suited for the job. (This is sometimes called "Red Grease"), although some similar bearing greases will be Blue, Green and sometimes Black. The container should say it's for bearings, though. I'd clean out the old grease before adding any fresh and don't over pack the bearing, as someone else had stated. I've even read that cleaning a bearing with mineral spirits will leave a film that will prevent the grease from lubricating as it should. Clean them with something that won't leave a film, like aerosol break cleaner or lacquer thinner, (MEK or acetone). Don't smoke around MEK or acetone, though. It's very flammable. The pick that was shown can be found at places like Harbor Freight. I bought a set of different style ends that include the one shown for about $2.00 US. If the balls in the bearings show that they are rusty or have a color other than chrome, the bearing is no good and will need replacement soon, even if lubed. The balls have a chrome plating on them which is hard and resists wear. If it's gone, the bearing will fail, guaranteed. The exception would be if the bearing's is subjected to a very low load and RPM application.
Good advice👍
All you have done is add further contaminates to an already dirty worn out bearing , also you should remove seals from the inside not the outside of the seal , and try cleaning the bearing before you remove the seals , wash the grease out before you add more grease , you can over pack bearings with grease , and use clean grease .
@@adrian.adrianl6401 - Agreed! Much care should be taken to not damage the seals. Our Canuck friend should mention this.
@@adrian.adrianl6401 Why do you say it’s already dirty, and this is all wrong? It’s been sealed. Depending on the application the video process could be fine, after all if you really want “right” then you replace the bearing.
make your own video@@adrian.adrianl6401 show us how it's done "right".. according to you
I'm an old master aircraft/heavy machinery mechanic. Always take both seals off and clean then inspect them, if the bearings are good make sure the old grease is all cleaned out. There is a thing called "balling" which is where two greases are not compatible and cause the grease to react and dry out making little non lubricating balls and the bearings will fail. we had some mishaps with F-16's having this problem when the wrong grease was used.
Yikes... F 16s having failures does NOT sound good!
@@dough8321
Built cheap to be lowest bidder to get contract.
Yes! Auto mechanic here, never put new grease with old, always wash out old grease and inspect. I've also seen dissimilar greases turn to liquid and run out, losing all lubricity.
@@woodstover what do you wash them with?
@@666dynomax I've seen other people use brake cleaner and or WD-40. One thing I did read was never to use wd-40 to stop bearing squeal (unless as a diagnostic prior to repair/replacement)
This is because wd-40 breaks grease down. I saw a guy spraying it on bearings and it literally dissolves. Spin. Rinse with more wd-40. Spin. Rinse.
I think he then sprayed brake cleaner on it to remove the wd-40....before repacking with grease.
If you already got your project done let me know what worked for you as I'm in a similar boat! Hope I helped some!
I've been doing this since the early '70s.
The metal shielded ones get soaked overnight in solvent, blown out with compressed air, heated in a pan of proper lube, then the pan / lube/ bearing are cooled. Works great for hard to get parts, especially for obsolete equipment.
thanks for the tip!
Thanks for the tip..
Beer's on me 🍻🍻
would it be better to sit them upright so it gets only half filled not over filled?
My God, how can supposedly grown men watch a video about greasing small engine equipment bearings and within a few posts start calling each other names and trade insults? It seems impossible to post any how-to video on youtube without hot-headed know-it-all keyboard experts chiming in to tell the poster how they are wrong and demonstrate to everyone how smart they are. Most seem to have never posted an actual video themselves, they just arm-chair critique others' videos.
So all you self-proclaimed authorities on bearings- calm down. It is a bearing on a piece of garden equipment, not an F-15.
Thanks for the video, Dony. Ignore the self-important twits in the comment section. We adults appreciate your efforts.
thanks Ian, lol
Stupid insults don't help. But those with very long practical experience can spot howlers like "filling/packing" a bearing.
STF UP! That´s the FUN of it!!
You've got a wicked pen there Mr Ian. You hit the bullseye.
I have to say I watched your video 2 -3 years ago and ever since I have checked every sealed bearing I’ve come across. I will tell you about 1/3 of new bearings I’ve purchased have had either no grease or very little. I would strongly suggest everyone watching this video to check your bearing, especially if they are critical !!! Like motorcycle wheel bearings.
I agree!
That's good to know and check.
Yep, that's why I'm here! I was talking to a guy at work about my new scooter's bearings being a bit squeaky after riding it in the wet. He rides motorbikes and he said that he greases every single bearing he buys before installing it on his bike. He also said that the majority of new bearings don't have enough grease if any at all.
That was an awesome tip. I have never heard of anyone doing this. After talking with several friends who are mechanics, they all assumed that I knew to do this. It is nice that people believe that I am sharper than I actually am.
In an emergency you can temporarily extend the life of a slightly noisy bearing by completely removing all the grease washing it in solvent and gently blowing out with compressed air and repack it with grease but leaving space for expansion inside the seals.
You need to choose the correct type of grease for the application it’s working in as not all greases are created equal. Once the balls, rollers or race have become pitted replacement is the best option. Sometimes if you have an oddball sized bearing this is your only option until you can procure a replacement.
From many years working as a machinery fleet mechanic I would sometimes have a sleeve machined up so I could fit a common over the counter bearing to replace hard to get oddball bearings that some machinery manufacturers thought would be a good idea to fit. 😀
I have been a small engine mechanic for 20 years and found this very helpful. a lot of people are not aware that you can do this!
Don't do this.
Half Fill a soup can with grease.
Heat it to 150-200 degrees. ( hair dryer oven etc).
Push the warm bearing under the grease.
Let it slowly cool.
Then it will suck in just enough without stretching or scoring the seal.
Replace the bearing when possible.
There’s a reason for that…..because your not suppose to !!
I think i should take my small engine to a real mechanic
@@steveiv9250 Yes, just because you CAN do it doesn't mean you SHOULD do it.
Uh What is the purpose of doing this to a bearing that is sealed? What is Timken’s professional opinion about disturbing the perfectly good seal.
I have never had a sealed spindle bearing fail, can’t say the same for unsealed spindle earrings.
Hi Don, love your channel. I re-grease snowmobile bearings used in the rear suspension wheels. They take a lot of abuse. I remove the bearings from the wheels with a press after removing the snap ring retainers. I remove both seals using a precision screwdriver. Bearings are cleaned in a jar with mineral spirits, followed with a blow gun with the bearing in a clean rag. Then, I spin the bearing to see if it has any resistance and check for pitting. If all is good, I use moly lithium grease and reinstall everything. This really extended the life for these extreme use bearings.
This is the best tutorial I have ever watched on youtube. Video is clear, high definition, focused the whole time. Voice is loud, clear, moderate speed with easy to understand accent. Varies types/sizes of bearing is demonstrated. Nice work!
I am impressed I have seen many of this videos and no one 1st removes the old grease and wash the bearing with kerosene or oil or degreasant, nope, straight ahead adding grease to the old one.... Amazing
i never knew you could get those covers off! thanks for the video. tip for packing the bearings, put a rubber glove on your left hand, some grese on the heel of your palm, press the bearing in it repeatedly with the other hand. this forces the grease through and works really fast.
Good video. I usually remove both sides, soak it in mineral spirits to remove the old grease, then pack it with new grease.
electronicsNmore 😉
That's the way we were taught in auto shop back in the day. One reason was back then some greases had a different base make up like soap based for example, and if two different greases with a different base were mixed it could liquefy after awhile. I don't think that is the case as much these days but I am still more comfortable not mixing greases especially in something like a wheel bearing. Also, who wants to mix good clean grease with old dirty and potentially hardened grease? Not me, that's not how we were taught by our shop teacher. He believed, and so do I, in cleanliness especially when it comes to machined surfaces and tight tolerance parts, like engines and bearings!
Theres no f.cking grease in there
electronicsNmore - ...and followed by a spray of WD40 and a blast of compressed air to remove the last of the crud. People forget that grease (actually, most lubricant) is designed to “absorb” a certain amount of contaminants, so it doesn’t need to be perfectly clean. Dirty lubricant=lubricant that’s done its job.
@@mullaway5746 have never used that in any bearing...should use a quality bearing grease
I have done this many times from the 70s when I worked as a mechanic in the textile industry.
Who said I can't learn something today? I just learned how to grease a sealed bearing, thanks Donyboy.
There's a lot of people who would like to see your excellent video. If you could double the life of the spindle bearings, that would be a game changer.
Great tip, used it on my mower deck idler pulleys. Way better than spending 30 bucks apiece for pulley/bearing combination.
Thank you Dony Boy. I was planning to replace the sealed bearing in the head of my angle grinder. I repacked it with new grease instead, and it runs nice and smooth now.
AWESOME!! Have been working on engines forever and never thought of this!!
You should actually start from the inside edge of the rubber gasket. The rubber on the inside is much softer, and won't get damaged by the pick that you use, since it just folds out of the way. If you try to remove the gasket from the outer bearing race, you can tear the rubber and potentially damage the brass below it, meaning it wont seal as well when it's reassembled.
Like the video. it's amazing all these people have so much negative to say. For cryin out loud it's about greasing a bearing, it's not like he's greasing an aircraft carrier.
There sure seems to be a lot of grease-sperts on here for sure.
Dale in Canada
All these years and I never realized they were that easy. Thanks for the video. Good info.
Thank you. This video saved me 40euros.
I was replacing wheel bearings yesterday and got sand in new bearings and i had to wash all the grease out to get the sand out of there.
Now i know how to re-grease them.
Great, good advice. I'll be checking all my rubber sealed bearings from now on.
I watched this video years ago. Last week I had a chance to use the technique I learned from this channel. My idler and tensioner bearings in my old GMC were making noise. I repaired them with ease and now they will last many more years. Thanks donyboy
That is one of the things I learned while in the Air Force since we had trailers which had to be greased on a regular basis to keep them from breaking down when we needed them most. Thanks for the tip, and I hope you are having a nice week.
Sidney,thank you sir for your service to your country. We as Americans need to stand up for your veterans. I myself am a veteran
Great vid thanks. Just a few points, after prying the seals out there is usually bending, so before reinstalling check you flatten the seal out perfectly. I always use a good quality "water-proof" grease as this type of grease doesn`t get washed-out so easily. Don`t buy cheap bearings where ill fitting seals don`t actually keep dirt & water out, the main cause of bearing failure. Finally as this vid points out don`t over grease the bearing. I always take off both seals squeeze the grease but leave a finger groove in the grease so as not to put pressure on the seal.
On our farm machinery, we drill a tiny hole in the metal sealed bearings and then use an injector needle. A dab of caulking then seals the small hole. The easy to reach bearings just get replaced, but some take hours of disassembly to get off, so this is were the injector needle comes in handy.
Delmar: several great ideas together! I´ll add that not everyone realizes that for the caulk/silicone to adhere, the spot must be W E L L dgreased;
Thank you
I've done the same many times with the metal seals, they're usually in a area that is protected anyway. I've also added oil with a syringe thru a very small hole. I know this will set off a wild debate about oil and grease not mixing, but the small amount of original grease is usually dried out anyway. I've had great luck.
@Nunya Business at the injector needle and grease gun shop
Great advice - sometimes when your searching on UA-cam you come across a video that is quick and straight to the point - excellent 👍
Thanks. Very useful. I needed to reseat the cover on a bearing, because of my ineptitude when pressing the bearing in. This was most helpful
Good idea to clean the bearing from old grease with benzine . If you reach the point where you need to do this the old grease is usually hard and makes the bearing rough and new grease wont solve the problem. So clean it out first and blow it out with air and the bearing usually becomes smooth and then you insert the fresh grease.
I did this on the bearings inside the hubs of my bike they run smooth again and it saves me money so thank you!
I cleaned and greased the bearings on both idler pulleys on my Jeep Grand Cherokee, using this method. Worked like a charm! Many thanks! Cheers🍻!
i never knew that could be done, I learn something new on your channel all the time
I've bought quality bearings that literally had a pin head of grease from the factory, so before installing I will always grease a sealed bearing. It's easier being happy ! Thanks Donny, good Vid !
For small high speed bearings like alternator bearings or idler pulley bearings, that see sub freeing temperatures, I use a thinner lightweight grease. Heavy grease will spin the bearing centers sometimes if you don't use light enough grease or too much grease. too much grease causes a bearing to run much hotter.
And do you know why?
@@tandemwings4733 too much grease creates friction, friction creates heat.
@@satibel
I'm very well aware of that.
I wasn't asking you, I was asking him.
I really enjoy your channel. PhD is small engine and machine mechanics.
Clutch "Throwout" bearings come to mind for this great tip....
I even check new bearings when replacing them in blade spindles and always remove a Electric PTO clutch on a lawn mower and add grease if necessary. The PTO bearings have been very low content of grease when new. I have a John Deere L130 mower that I greased the PTO clutch that will be ten years old this summer and is still working very well. A little maintenance on these bearings will save you lots of money and it is simple to do. 👍🏻
Don I didn’t tell you before you can pop out the metal seal cover as you do the “rubber” type. The will pop back in on all I have lubed.
This will work been doin it for 40years! Never had a problem.
Thank you sir you saved the day! The top spindle bearing is the same bearing in my Husqvarna, so I used an old spindle bearing. It only had a seal on one side though, so I pulled the seal off the idler bearing and used it on the spindle bearing.
If your spindle has a zerk fitting, then the bearings should only have one seal so the open sides are facing the inside of the spindle. That way when you grease the spindle the grease can actually get to the bearings.
That is a good video! I am a vacuum cleaner repairman and sometimes try this method. Sometimes it has worked and sometimes it hasn't.
Fantastic demonstration and video. I'm hoping not to wreck a sealed bearing and this video was just what I needed.
Yes as one comment about the one is you use the edge of a ten or twelve thousand feeler gauge The seat off without damaging use high quality I used to use teflon on some of my bearings make sure you wash your mouth out with dry air and some cleaning fluid.
A feeler gauge works awesome for removing the seals without damaging the sealing edge. Over packing the bearing could lead to failure depending on usage. Nice vid.
which gauge feeler gauge?
@@You1987Tuber As thin as will allow you to slip under the seal and enough stiffness to allow you to pop it out. Start thin and work way up.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience. Great video. You saved us many headaches and money. Do not stop sharing your skills.
thanks Victor!
Guitar pick works great too.
Ont apprend quelle que chose a tous les jour !! We learn some thing new every day !!!
certainement!
THANK YOU :D buying grease tonight for my longboard bearings ;D
Learned this trick 46 years ago....good to share. God Bless America
Daybook is from Canada.
Thank you, I tried this method with my idler pully on my engine. I took off the covers,cleaned it out then regreased it. The only thing was it didn't get rid of the sound (I'm guessing it is already damaged) so I'm going to changing it, but I'm glad to know that I have experience doing this now
Do it again clean old grease out with mineral spirits
@@bigred1247 next time I will
You made me feel better, I've been using these methods and more for years, never had a problem, thanks.
That cover is crazy easy to remove. I always thought a sealed bearing meant it is waterproof but the one you showed would leak like a sieve. Thanks for the tips.
Just goes to show how people are willing to part with so much money when that term "sealed" is used.
They do leak, look inside a lawnmower wheel bearing , that has been jet washed down frequently and the grease is black and filthy.
Nah mate. You get different types of seals. There is light contact rubber seal which i wouldn't want to hit with a high pressure cleaner ever. You can get seals that are full contact rubber seal that can handle being washed down, just don't go blasting the bearings for long as you will damage the seal.. You can get triple lip seals etc. The trade off is more friction, hence more heat.
You can look up how deep groove ball bearings are made and see how much grease to relube them with, or even better a bearing catalogue will tell you. Over lubrication will lead to premature failure. But as you saw one of those bearings had zero grease. Clean out the old grease , relube with injector nozzle and replace seals.
This video had some great info. Cheers for posting.
DonnyBoy,
I need my mini bike tomorrow and didn't know how to remove the bearing seals. For the information of US residents, Harbor Freight has a set of picks that's often on sale for around a dollar. Mine worked fine.
Thank you for the video
Excellent video.... I just learned a few things from this video..... when and where the different types of bearings go, and for what reason.... I learned that I can remove the seal and tool needed for romoval, in order to grease it, I also that I could do this in any situation , no matter the application it is being used for at that particular time, same process carries across the entire field of bearings and races... So 👍👍...
Glad you enjoyed it!
I used to finish grind bearings for a living but didn't work in assembly. The largest bearing I ever worked on was 13 feet in diameter, it took several shifts to grind it to size. Most of what I worked on was 4 to 10 foot diameter. As commentators have suggested (small) bearings can be cheap to replace but I've worked ones that cost the customer over $200,000.
I repacked a couple of idler pulleys on my mower deck. They run smoother now.
I had already replaced one, and repacked that one to replace the other one. Now I have a spare that is repacked and ready to go if needed.
I never knew that you can regrease these bearings. Thanks
excellent.i will be doing this to my idler pulley bearings very soon...thank you.
The sealed bearings usually found in mower deck spindles usually fail due to lack of proper lubrication. The spindle housings may have zerk fittings and you might THINK the bearings are receiving grease when you pump grease into them, but the truth is, they're sealed, which prevents any new grease from reaching the bearings.
The fix for this is to disassemble the spindles and remove the seals from one side of each of the bearings, then reassemble them with the open side of each bearing facing the middle of the spindle shaft. You should also drill a (one) SMALL weep hole in each spindle housing prior to reassembly. Make sure that after drilling, you carefully clean any metal from the spindle housing before reassembly.
Doing this will greatly reduce the incidence of spindle bearing failure... 😀
Do you really think that every engineer that has designed a mowing deck spindle was adding a grease zerk just to trick everyone if they add a grease fitting then we can ultimately trick all whole grease the spindles into thinking they are getting an amazing machine they can maintain and it will last forever but little do they know we have really screwed the end user by sneaking a couple of extra inner seals on both bearings so we can destroy there foolish lawnmower war on grass agenda and force them into buying more bearings and spindles??? Since it’s obvious you actually think this way and are very dumb how about you learn about bearings and seals and heat and why they use inner seals on the bearings and actually what the name of that seal is and how it works captain obvious!! Mowing deck spindles are not like a auto frontend spindle captain jackass they have a different seal captain jack nuts so how about you do some research before spreading false info to everyone or are you the one that started that world wide lie and have ppl pulling those seals out while ur skinning it back and scobbing ur mallet headed mushroom tip while ur poppa cleans it squeaky clean doing the reverse cowgirl on it at a medium pace so you don’t blow ur seal to fast!
If you remove the blade and pulley and use Red grease, after 50+ pumps you will see that grease has penetrated the inner seals and comes out the outer seals.
Wow! Just learned something new! Thanks!
Great 👍 video. Doing this job in the morning.
when i pick the seal. i do it from the inside edge so not to damage the outer edge which might be the cause of future leak of the grease due to centrifugal force.
I like to use the injector after removing the cover. Easy to get grease on opposite side of the bearing.
RichE
Donboy is the best at clear fix it videos, thanks so much for your time to show how its done.
Just serviced a very squeeky tensioner pulley yesterday. My first try at it. And my Idler Pulley bearing, since I had the drive belt off. Made sure I cleaned the heck out of them (both sides) with brake cleaner first. Until the bearings looked pristine. Lots of dry desert dust from SoCal coast. Then packed them good with red bearing grease. Re installed. The tensioner pulley still squeeks (1/10) as bad, maybe because it had a tiny 1/2 mm of side to side play. And because it was a cheap bearing on an AutoZone Duralast pulley from 15 - 20 years ago. Whereas the idler pulley was the original OEM part with an all metal bearing casing (good bearings like you had here) instead the cheaper plastic casing for the balls like in the tensioner pulley. Drove around a good 5 miles already - still some squeek - may have to order a new bearing for that. What's a good metal only bearing for a tensioner pulley? Who can I order it from with free shipping? Do I need to get #'s off casing ring? How do they measure it, outer diameter × hole diameter × width? What do the serial numbers on the side of the rings stand for?
Great advice, I use Lucas Oil red n tacky. Brake clean the cheap stuff out, dry, and apply
Thank you! Similar technique based on this video It works on dura ace 9100 hollowtech bottom bracket.
Wow, the needle injector for ball joints... that is GENIUS.... I've only ever regreased a ball joint once or twice because I would take the ball joint off the car, take it into my work shed, clean the grease out, then put the new in and replace the boot.... this doesn't risk contamination and it's so so much faster than that.
P.S. I tried adding grease while it was still attached to the car, but since I work in my front yard in Florida there's grass, dirt, and especially SAND that blows up all the time. Just one quick gust of wind and sand is in everything. It's really difficult to keep a clean environment when if you accidentally touch the ground and then what you're working on again particles of sand will be in it :(
You saved me mucho denero thanks. Koyo tensioner and idler pulleys go for 35 dollars and up especially for lexus vehicles
Thank You for this video. Just saved me almost $100 in bearings.
It's best to clean the bearing out first to remove any contaminants and to remove the old grease which may not be compatible with the new grease. You also want to push the grease into the bearing, not just wipe it across the top like you did.
Great video. A natural teacher.
Another excellent video. You definitely have good teaching talent. Very articulate.
SteveB.... I disagree about using white lithium grease. Also the bearing should be soaked in solvent and cleaned.
Nice I thought I was going to have to dig out my dad's needle that's how he done it but as you say under pressure or speed it spin's out.
Thanks Donny boy for your service.
Thanks a lot! Now I can enjoy riding my bike with friends.
I have worked on mechanical stuff for 35 to 40 years and never knew could remove that seals on a sealed bearing. I had used the needle but it puts a hole in your seal and grease finds it's way out and in no time your back to replacing the bearing. Thanks for showing us this video.
Hey Donny Love your work! You're my favourite Canadian.
Wow, thanks!
Thank you for this. I have 2 wheels that seized up after I rode through a flood, (didn't realise they got wet :-(. Managed to free them up with heat and light oil, followed by thicker oil, but grease would be far better! I shall give this a go!
Hey, cool stuff! Obviously a tradeoff/decision to make between replacing a bearing and just re-greasing it like this, but for things that aren't critical bearings (failure isn't going to destroy stuff) this could make a lot of stuff more salvageable!
Awesome! I didn't know this was possible. Thanks for posting!
Nice video. Now i'll repack the bearings on my bike.
Excellent video , no guess work needed .
Very good video you help a lot of people thank you
Thank you very much.
There are further suggestions that should have been made know!( 1 ) There are different grades of grease ( SHOWN ) however the correct process is to use "for instance brake parts cleaner" to flush out all the old grease.( 2 ) NOTE: Remove BOTH sides seals then LIGHTLY blow compressed air thru to remove the residue. DO NOT SPIN THE BEARING WITH COMPRESSED AIR!NOTE: In high temp bearings the grease expands when under heat so don't pack more grease than needed.( 3 ) Once this has been completed pack the grease from both sides to force it into the inner channel groove then spin the bearing by hand to ensure the grease has been packed.( 4 ) REPEAT packing the bearing then remove excessive grease.( 5 ) Reinstall the side seals! Following this method will ensure the grease is fresh & there is no Old Residue of the previous grease. As twosence fromCleveland stated- QUOTE: Petroleum lubes generally mix, but the additive package for speed range, temperature (hot or cold), and various chemical repellent properties can "cake" when mixed. There is also silicone grease which won't mix with anything (rare though). This is why it is necessary to remove the OLD grease.KUDOS for a good video donyboy73
You would be better off to make your own video. Your suggestions sound valid but I could barely follow along. The grammar and punctuation leaves me wondering about certain steps.
@@clarencealexander1908 What don't you understand?
@@mattfoley6082 If he cant understand what was explained, he should not own tools.
@@clarencealexander1908 Are you slow?
Quick tip, I like to use a sandwich bag to pack bearings. That way i can really massage the grease in and dont have to use up 1/2 a bottle of gojo at when im done.
MyMusic Account1 good point !
I read gojo and could physically feel the grit and sand
What a good set of videos. So easy on most things. Very helpful.
Thank you Don!
Love this guy.....Thank you Don
Metal covers -- that's what's installed on my new spindles for Murray 11ic/36. So you've answered my question!! I won't bother to try to open them let alone knock them out of the spindle or "jackshaft housing asdembly" as Murray calls it. So the zerk fitting is I oh going togrease the hollow between the assembly and spacer that the jackshaft passes through to prevent condensation moisture presumably. So, is there a need to drill a tiny seep/weep hole to prevent grease build-up that could force the bearings to burst??
Thanks a lot Dony, I might just be able to get on with installing the 'spindle' and drill a weep hole in the future. Big THANK YOU.
i learned this from the RC car world. they use a bunch of sealed bearings and you can regrease and seal them instead of buying new ones
Being born and raised on a farm, we'd get syringes from our vet, we'd fill those and use that to fill a sealed bearing. Made it easier to make certain grease was completely filled into the bearing. Injector needles are nice but, honestly, they can still be a bit too large to get in those bearings, hence why you remove the cover(s). Any more, we use the injector needles with an attachment we made, to only clean bearings. Cheers :)
Great information!. I have done this with literally hundreds of automotive drive belt idler and tensioner pulley bearings. They can be almost dry and still be restored. I like Wolf's Head Red grease. It's a complex lithium grease. Seems to stick to the bearings.
I have gone through a Koyo industrial bearing class. We use a majority of the Koyo bearing on the equipment on the machinery at work. If the right type of sealed bearings are used in the correct applications. They claim they are sealed for the life of the bearing. But, we also pull the seals completely out of some bearings that are installed in a grease block
The average spindle generates enough heat to somewhat 'liquify' the grease. As long as the spindle is full, grease will eventually penetrate the sealed bearings. As someone mentioned, there are decent pressures within the spindle too. Sealed bearings are necessary to keep the grease in, under the higher pressures. Removing a side will only shorten the bearing's life.
thankyou i have a mk3 cortina with seals bearings on the half shafts i will use that little trick next time
thank you sir, I didn't know we can remove the cover to add grease, all bearing grease will be melt or burn out couples years...
I got a new potter’s wheel and the bearings sounded dry. Thanks for teaching me how to maintain my own equipment!
Simple yet very informative cheers
I found that white lithium grease will have a tendency to dry out over time. It doesn't work with bearings very well. It seems to me that automotive wheel bearing grease is non-drying and impervious to water and better suited for the job. (This is sometimes called "Red Grease"), although some similar bearing greases will be Blue, Green and sometimes Black. The container should say it's for bearings, though. I'd clean out the old grease before adding any fresh and don't over pack the bearing, as someone else had stated. I've even read that cleaning a bearing with mineral spirits will leave a film that will prevent the grease from lubricating as it should. Clean them with something that won't leave a film, like aerosol break cleaner or lacquer thinner, (MEK or acetone). Don't smoke around MEK or acetone, though. It's very flammable.
The pick that was shown can be found at places like Harbor Freight. I bought a set of different style ends that include the one shown for about $2.00 US. If the balls in the bearings show that they are rusty or have a color other than chrome, the bearing is no good and will need replacement soon, even if lubed. The balls have a chrome plating on them which is hard and resists wear. If it's gone, the bearing will fail, guaranteed. The exception would be if the bearing's is subjected to a very low load and RPM application.
Yes, finally have a use for that one of the picks with the weird tip.