Greasing a new sealed bearing? (Ep72)

[@blarneyetone]

I just re-greased some sealed bearings on a mower spindle. First thing to do is to remove ALL the old grease, since potentially mixing two grease bases with cause premature failure. I used engine de-greaser, then some brake cleaner to get all the old grease out. Then, depending on the bearing, application and operating temp, in my case I re[repack it about 30% full with a NLGI grade 2 Lithium based grease.

[@unclemarksdiyauto]

I did a newer video where I cleaned the old bearing grease out, dried out the cleaning fluid and repacked with clean new grease. Thanks Dan for the info on what grade and type of grease you have used in the past.

[@smalltownMainer]

i replaced a bearing on my snowblower, but first i checked it and found little to no grease so i fixed that problem, then i went and added grease to the other 3 that were still ok. now they will all outlast the rest of the machine.

[@unclemarksdiyauto]

It is amazing that so many people just replace them without trying this first! It costs almost nothing and most of the time, grease is the fix! (Or is it…grease is the word…from the movie Grease.) Now I really feel old! LOL.

[@thedavesofourlives1]

@@unclemarksdiyauto or they follow this ill advice and overpack them and smoke em

[@aratipatel2208]

It may be worth to repair or regrease. Dry running bearing definitely have some play. It cost less 2$ here in India. I prefer replacement.

[@unclemarksdiyauto]

These a still fairly cheap here at about $20 CAD. Nice to hear from you, Arati. All the best from Manitoba, Canada!

[@davidclay1362]

SKF know what they are doing. Cavity is only around 25% filled, and a soft grease that is easily pushed around. Heavily filled with thick grease will result in low efficiency(bearings have to endlessly "bulldose" grease around), and higher temperatures(pushing grease generates heat). New bearings from a company such as SKF should be used as supplied. Oh, and if overfilled, seals may pop out

[@davidclay1362]

Oh, and mixing different greases may be bad, just as Dan says!

[@unclemarksdiyauto]

Your comment makes perfect sense, David. SKF is suppose to be a good company, so hopefully your right. As too how much grease was inside, it has been a few years since the video was posted, so I am not 100% sure, but I thought I remember that it looked like maybe half of your estimate of how much grease is inside. and yes ,over full is not good either! Thanks for stopping by.

[@jonlambshead5115]

I know this a old video but if you use a stanley knife blade they are pretty easy to remove the metal ones with out damaging them

[@unclemarksdiyauto]

Thanks Jon! I appreciate the idea and will try it next time! I am always trying to improve. We are all learning. Thanks again.

[@eskimo1000]

The manufacturers use low quality grease out of the factory. You need to clean it out and repack with some better grease 👍

[@unclemarksdiyauto]

Good idea.

[@testgames4028]

Bearings companies wants to keep their sales/revenue cycle going. If bearing last for VERY long time. this will affect their revenue. If bearing dies quickly, it will affect their reputation. So, they make a balance. I'm with checking bearings: - Adding grease if needed. - Clean old grease, add high quality right grease (high temp) lithium complex grease. But not with filling the bearings 100% full, need to leave some empty space. To not pop off or damage crack the seals or causing bearing drag. Anything too much can be bad. Just as too much "dry" bearings are.

[@unclemarksdiyauto]

Yep too much not good either.

[@philliphall5198]

What I do is remove metal cover for inside and drilled two tinny holes on bottom and spindles on mower

[@unclemarksdiyauto]

I have seen a small engine repair video where those spindles for the blades have grease nipples but if you tear the assembly apart, the grease never gets to the bearings!

[@muchmore344]

Ufff.... - the metal shielded one is a "-2z" or "-zz" bearing. it is more like a thight dust cover. lower friction, but not for real dirty enviroments - the ruber seal one is an "-2R" it is sealed and the lubrication in it is for its lifetime. So what happened to your old bearing: - it got too hot and the gears slowly leaked out. The new bearing is sealed better, however it generats more heat, and if the enviroments is too hot the ruber seal will fail. The way you removed the seal, will have caused damage to the seal-lip. The additional greas you added will not help, but will prevent the balls from rolling correctly. This will cause gliding, and create more heat. Therefore your actions will have shorten the life expectancy of this bearing. If a bearing fails repeatedly, than it is wrongly sized.

[@unclemarksdiyauto]

Good information Matthias. Thanks.

[@rocknral]

Mate, you said EXACTLY what I was thinking. Sometimes KZbin is a curse with videos of people guessing their way thru problems giving bad advice.

[@jeremylunning654]

I'll never understand why people think they need to grease things that are not meant to be greased. Sealed bearings are sealed for a reason.

[@unclemarksdiyauto]

Hey, when they start to make noise, you can grease them then and they will probably outlast the machine there are in.

[@jeremylunning654]

@@unclemarksdiyauto if they are making noise they are done.

[@barrygrant2907]

Who doesn't clean all the metal filings off a vice first when opening up bearings for servicing? Who would follow this guy's advice?

[@unclemarksdiyauto]

If your looking to snag some subscribers, just put out some good content! You seem to know what your talking about. Just do it, Barry!

[@milordas]

needle, pressing tool.. there is much easer method, zz, 2rs does not matter, you even dont need to dissasemble it

[@primitivefpv6660]

Those bearings last a long time with the grease they come with. The metalic faced one is a sheilded bearing and the black you got from skf is sealed type. I work in building maintenance and skf bearings have worked well for me. Even with equipment running 24/7. I havent had to go back and change a sealed bearing yet knock on wood. That one that you pulled out must have been a cheap knock off that didnt use proper lubricant to begin with.

[@unclemarksdiyauto]

This was a SKF so not sure why it looked like not much grease inside. Oh well, grease is cheap. I am glad I looked inside it though. As for vehicles, usually they start making noise, so you have lots of time to replace them if you pay attention. thanks for your comment!

[@philliphall5198]

I remove metal cover anyway And grease it anyway AllWAYS grease new brging

[@unclemarksdiyauto]

I agree, the new bearing seems to be pretty dry when it comes to the lubricant in it.

[@kellylunceford5625]

Razor blade pops it right out.

[@unclemarksdiyauto]

Probably Kelly, but if you know me...probably cut myself removing the seal! LOL.

[@kellylunceford5625]

@@unclemarksdiyauto Well I just did a bunch yesterday just take the tip of the razor blade in the edge of it easily and pry up pops right out just thought I would mention

[@unclemarksdiyauto]

@@kellylunceford5625 I appreciate the tip Kelly. I will try that next time for sure!

[@ottenshx]

Prutser

[@unclemarksdiyauto]

Unclear what your comment means. Looked at your channel to see if you have videos on bearings, but didn't see any.