how to clean ball bearings

[turbocharged s15(2)]

hey how do you clean ball bearings.What do you clean them in.Is there any steps anybody can provide me with so i can clean mine.Thanks

[WillyChang]

When new/clean, BBs will feel smooth.

When dirt gets inside, it'll feel very gritty and not roll smoothly.

Rubber sealed bearings avoid dirt longer, but the usual metal-sided

bearings (silver sides) are more common.

Easiest way is to grab your can of Motor Spray, and shoot some through the side of the bearing. Hold it in white cloth and you'll see the fine dirt flushed out the other side. Keep flushing until there is no more dirt and the bearing runs smooth again.

If even after a lot of spraying it doesn't run smooth... might be worth pulling the seals off. The metal shields are clipped on via C-clips around the outer circumference... look closely and you'll work out how to remove it. Pull the seals off and start squirting again.

When it all rolls smooth, drip in some light oil and reseal.

Rubber-sided BBs shouldn't really need cleaning... and their sides are harder to pull off too. They can be levered off but half the time they won't go back on properly. [:I]

[Stu.B]

If willy's tip doesn't work try my less sophisticated quick fix.

Get a power drill, put a short bit of dowling roughly the same diameter as the inner diameter of the bearing in the chuck. Wedge the dowling into the bearing. Grip the bearing in a vice or similar and switch on the drill. Now and grit is ground a way and can be removed with WD40. Obviously this is a last resort but it can get 'sticky' bearings to rotate freely again.

[SJoerD]

I put them in a can with special thick bearing grease, and heat the can up. They feel very well, not gritty at all, after re-greasing them. Don't make the can TOO hot, or the quality of the grease will fall to much, but if you dont make it hot enough the grease wont enter the bearing well as it's not getting thin enough... []

Revised a lot of bearings that way, works great! []

[mr_lister999.]

A tool i have heard of is a called a "bearing blaster". Basically you force new grease in and the old out with a sort of press thing. Under £10 i have seen them for. I never got around to getting one as for racing super thin oil is better than grease thats too thick for ultra high performance. Not really an issue for normal driving though.

[Guest Carsnboats]

Hi Willy,

The RS bearings (rubber shielded) can be taken apart for cleaning very easily. All you need to do is put the tip of a modelling knife under the lip of the seal where it meets the inner race, then twist the knife and the shield flicks out with no damage. I used to race Schumacher Buggies and was forever cleaning out the bearings.

All the best

Clive[8D]

[WillyChang]

quote:Originally posted by Kendalboatsman

The RS bearings (rubber shielded) can be taken apart for cleaning very easily. All you need to do is put the tip of a modelling knife under the lip of the seal where it meets the inner race, then twist the knife and the shield flicks out with no damage. I used to race Schumacher Buggies and was forever cleaning out the bearings.

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Hi Clive,

Yes, have yanked off rubber and fibre seals before... but just can't get them to fit back in properly! They just flop out again too easily thereafter in use... [?][8)]

Methinks I shouldn't dismantle those afterall... [:I]

Anyhow the blue "rs" Tamiya BBs in the 04PRO have never needed cleaning, so I'm letting sleeping dogs keep snoozin' for now.

[WillyChang]

quote:Originally posted by mr_lister999.

A tool i have heard of is a called a "bearing blaster". Basically you force new grease in and the old out with a sort of press thing. Under £10 i have seen them for.

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That tool is just a 'funnel' attachment to allow you to spray Motor Spray into your bearings to clean them. It is not to press/pack grease in.

Comes in 2 pieces - put your bearing inside then squirt Motor Spray into the nipple at top, Dirt and spray comes out the other end. Its probably a little more efficient than doing it raw.

They were popular 5 yrs ago and lots of companies made them eg RPM etc. However I'm trying to find a new one lately and all the LHS don't stock them anymore... []

[WillyChang]

quote:Originally posted by Sjoerd

I put them in a can with special thick bearing grease, and heat the can up. They feel very well, not gritty at all, after re-greasing them. Don't make the can TOO hot, or the quality of the grease will fall to much, but if you dont make it hot enough the grease wont enter the bearing well as it's not getting thin enough... []

Revised a lot of bearings that way, works great! []

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This is what I'd do for a *chain*, Sjoerd... but I think the bearings deserve better. All the grease in the world won't 'clean' your bearings, and there's nothing to force new grease in and push out the old. (that's Willy with the greasegun talkin')

re: Blasting your BBs. This actually removes the factory grease in them; this will make them roll with a little less friction too but you'll need to replace the lubricant. Most racers use light oil, but thereafter you'll need to service your BBs regularly.

But... I picked up some Tamiya Titanium Grease over xmas - and I suspect this might work great as a BB grease, I'll try it on the next lot of BBs I pullapart. Titanium grease is as light as Ceramic, its not sticky like AW, it 'smears' better than Molybdenum... look for it on the Tamiya Mini4WD rack.

[WillyChang]

quote:Originally posted by Stu.B

If willy's tip doesn't work try my less sophisticated quick fix.

Get a power drill, put a short bit of dowling roughly the same diameter as the inner diameter of the bearing in the chuck. Wedge the dowling into the bearing. Grip the bearing in a vice or similar and switch on the drill. Now and grit is ground a way and can be removed with WD40. Obviously this is a last resort but it can get 'sticky' bearings to rotate freely again.

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Actually, I did this too back in the 'old' days, before Motor Spray in pressure packs was available. [|)] (BEST INVENTION, that!!)

Used to grab a 5mm countersunk-headed bolt, bolt the bearing onto it and spin it in the drill. Grab the BB's outside with pliers and then dunk it all (still spinning) into a bath of solvent - metho or shellite.

Yes, there is some Fire Risk doing that. [}]

[DJTheo]

Will mate, in regards to the number of your posts in this topic, do I sense a little obsession about cleaning BBs? [][]

I have a feeling all those stories made real sense in the old days when a BB set for a Tamiya 4WD costed as much as the car itself, but for todays $1 price, is this struggle really worth it?

Also somehow (despite running in dusty Greece) I never had problems with my bearings or needed to service them, my Boomerang has still some from my Holiday Buggy in 84, strange! [:0]

[RETRO R/C]

Actually - the WORST thing you can do is to "clean" you bearings for the first time !! When you apply solvent or blow out dirt - you are removing the lubricant from the manufacturer and also now encouraging dirt to enter more easily.

Alot of "racers" actually run their on road cars without shields on them to reduce friction.......they also run them DRY - which means NO lubricant at all........as the dust and dirt theoretically just passes through - as there is no grease or oil to attach to!!

If you have to clean the bearings because they are "gummed up" - I highly recommend getting an old fish tank pump, a glass jar and some "shellite" or methylated spirits.

Now it goes like this :

Permenately attach the glass jar to the fish tank pump in some way (blu tack would do) - put a moderate amount (enough to cover the bearings), of shellite into the jar - and then the bearings.

Now - turn the pump on - the vibrations form the pump will gently shake out most of the dirt from the bearings. This works even better if you have taken the shields off.

When re-assembling the bearing - try and use as little lubricant as possible - the main reason for this is that when the dirt enters the bearing again - it will combinne with the lubricant - and create a bearing destroying "grinding paste"......not what you want.

All in all though - bearings are very cheap now - and sometimes it is more cost effective just to buy new ones !!

You can also get "ultrasonic" cleaners that Jewellers use if you want to get really high tech !!

Cheers

Darryn

[SJoerD]

LOL...

I forgot to mention I clean the bearings first... [8)]

Also, the grease I put in is a little tough as first, but after some running in they work like they were new from the factory again! []

Same goed for the gearboxes. If you just put fresh grease on it, it feels a little tough. But after the first run you can already notice a great difference, and they go smooth again... Just telling the obvious things here I guess... [|)] []

[WillyChang]

quote:Originally posted by DJTheo

Will mate, in regards to the number of your posts in this topic, do I sense a little obsession about cleaning BBs? [][]

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Ah well, yes... still got BBs that we've paid $10 *each* for. [:I]

quote:I have a feeling all those stories made real sense in the old days when a BB set for a Tamiya 4WD costed as much as the car itself, but for todays $1 price, is this struggle really worth it?

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"Waste not, want not"... the greenie in me (yeah right) whispers we really shouldn't be simply throwing away everything. Bit like the cloth vs Pampers nappies arguement.

Then again, all that Motor Spray is probably killing the ozone layer too. []

quote:Also somehow (despite running in dusty Greece) I never had problems with my bearings or needed to service them, my Boomerang has still some from my Holiday Buggy in 84, strange! [:0]

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Depends how smooth you like your bearings, I guess. Also depends who you hang out with... if there's any aviation freaks you call friends, as them to show you a magnetic bearing. Whoa, nil friction - you'll be cleaning your BBs everyday from them.