timken roller bearing

tlcff8

tlcff8

Designated Racker
Silver Member
so apparently i messed up and degreased my roller bearings and then washed them out with water. Just now read that water should be avoided in roller bearings at all costs. I haven't reassembled the spindle yet, or used them. So can they be saved, and what should I do in order to make sure they are ok?
 
Clean them with WD40, diesel gas, or a solvent. Get all the water out. Then pack with grease again. As long as they haven't rusted your ok.
 
I had to recently flush out about 100 bearings to change the grease to another type for a test. We contacted the manufacturer and they recommended we place the bearings in a hydrocarbon (diesel fuel) that is heated. This will dissolve the old grease and clean everything.

We did it in stages, with 3 heated containers. The bearings went in the first container (a cup) and put in the oven for about 15 minutes. They were then shaken. This did the bulk of the cleaning. Then we transfered the bearings to the 2nd cup which had clean diesel fuel, and repeated. Finally, we transfered the bearings to the 3rd cup. All 3 cups were heated. This did a great job cleaning the bearings and getting them ready for re-greasing.
 
We did it in stages, with 3 heated containers. The bearings went in the first container (a cup) and put in the oven for about 15 minutes. They were then shaken. This did the bulk of the cleaning. Then we transfered the bearings to the 2nd cup which had clean diesel fuel, and repeated. Finally, we transfered the bearings to the 3rd cup. All 3 cups were heated. This did a great job cleaning the bearings and getting them ready for re-greasing.
Click to expand...


wow,that sounds dangerous.
 
iusedtoberich said:
I had to recently flush out about 100 bearings to change the grease to another type for a test. We contacted the manufacturer and they recommended we place the bearings in a hydrocarbon (diesel fuel) that is heated. This will dissolve the old grease and clean everything.

We did it in stages, with 3 heated containers. The bearings went in the first container (a cup) and put in the oven for about 15 minutes. They were then shaken. This did the bulk of the cleaning. Then we transfered the bearings to the 2nd cup which had clean diesel fuel, and repeated. Finally, we transfered the bearings to the 3rd cup. All 3 cups were heated. This did a great job cleaning the bearings and getting them ready for re-greasing.
Click to expand...

I've used kerosene with success before..........
How hot was the oven?
 
bearing race, metal lathe?

tlcff8 said:
so apparently i messed up and degreased my roller bearings and then washed them out with water. Just now read that water should be avoided in roller bearings at all costs. I haven't reassembled the spindle yet, or used them. So can they be saved, and what should I do in order to make sure they are ok?
Click to expand...

Hi

I don't know what kind of machine you have. I'm assuming it's a metal lathe, and these roller bearings sit in a race that is replaceable. If the bearings, and races are replaceable, and what you have has any hours on them I would highly recommend replacing them before cleaning them. You won't get them to seat exactly as they were. It will also improve the machines tolerances, and smoothness which will show when machining. It will be worth the money if your trying to get the most out of your machine. Not to mention it will last a lot longer before having to tear it down again to replace. The spindle is the heart of the machine, as much so as the bed ways, so I would also get the best money can buy if it's a good machine to start with.

Dennis
 
BarenbruggeCues said:
I've used kerosene with success before..........
How hot was the oven?
Click to expand...

Kerosene or diesel would work the same. This was an industrial oven in a manufacturing facility. It was only heated to about 100 degrees F, so not much danger of anything. You don't have to heat the hydrocarbon. It just makes it dissolve the old grease a bit better.

Searingcue has a good point about new bearings. You might want to check MSC and the ebay suppliers to see if they have this bearing. It might be very reasonable in cost, especially from ebay.
 
I didn't figure it was too hot. In that case, I could just sit them outside here most days in the summer!

Dennis brings up a very good point. If I had a machine such as this tore down I would seriously consider just putting in new.
 
I prefer 'mineral spirits'...available at WalMart and building supply stores.

larger automotive stores have or can get the bearings that you need, probably at a lower price than the catalog order places. franchise auto stores (autozone, advance, etc) won't carry the bearings unless they fit some automobile or truck up to one ton in size.

.
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Greased bearings in a lathe?

I have always seen oiler cups or flooded bearings in a bath of oil. I never saw the vintage lathes with grease used in the bearings. My first lathe was a Craftsman 9 inch. It had oiled babbitt bearings. Those bearings were poured in place and oiled with cup oilers. Very tricky to replace them, they are not half sleeves like auto engine crankshaft bearings. But fortunately, if regularly oiled, they lasted almost forever.
 
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