| Author | Message | ||
     Mark_weiss |
Just replaced the front tire (13k Sync) and found that the front wheel bearings are failing. At about 24,500 I'd noticed that there was some grease on the right side hub/bearing area. Cleaned it up and kept a close eye for the next few hundred miles. All seemed OK. Took the wheel off on Saturday (front tire replacement) and noted that both bearings are quite noticeably notchy. The rear bearings were fine at tire replacement at 24 thousand. Mark SE AZ | ||
| Jphish |
Hey Mark - You been lubin 'em or just letting 'em run ? I'm pulling seals on my black replacement bearings next week with tire change. Only got 10k on 'em but going on 15K trip end of March and don't want to tempt fate. j | ||
| Mark_weiss |
Never touched the fronts. Checked for smooth movement at the first tire change (12K), that's all. I was surprised. Mark | ||
| Mark_weiss |
OK, so it turns out that the bearings were not worn, just contaminated with grit. After replacing the bearings I decided to take a look inside the old ones. I was surprised to find nice bright clean looking grease and no signs of rust at all. Both inner races did have a distinct black line where the outer seal ran. Neither bearing turned smoothly. Although there was nothing that I could clearly see, the rough rolling was easy to feel. I washed the bearings in solvent, completely removing the grease and any other substance and found that the bearings rolled freely. The seals had failed to keep dirt out. I noted that the seals fit over the inner race with virtually no drag. While it would be a poor use of time to pull, clean, re-pack, and reinstall used bearings. It is good to know that it can be done, and that the bearings themselves are OK. Mark SE AZ |
