ball bearing lubrication

[kingsteam9]

Brain pick time, chaps.

I've got to relubricate the ball races in the gearbox of my Arboga mill - someones previously had a go using something looking like soft cheese and made a real mess of it, with lumps splattered over the inside of the gearbox casing, to boot. The bearings are all SKF and probabaly thirty odd years old but otherwise seem to be in good nick.

Can't find any specific recommendations from manufacturers. Anyone got any ideas as to what type of grease to use? Molydisulphide type worth using??

regards all

Robin

[jgb7573]

Hi Robin,

I've no real idea about what grease to use, but if the previous guy used cheese and it lasted well for 30 years then I'd try a bit of cheddar

I wouldn't have thought it worth buying anything special myself. I'd use whatever I had to hand. If you're using the mill for hobby rather than production use, it's not going to get a lot of load and so it's unlikely to be too critical.

John

[Tel]

So saith I as well - bung in whatever you have to hand.

[kingsteam9]

John/Tel,

Cheddar it is then!. Anything's got to be better that the muck that's in there - looks like it was shoved in with a no.4 coal shovel, and there's so much of it that it's actually causing drag in some of the bearings. Interesting thing was that the one bearing not smothered with it runs superbly - must be a lesson there!

Anyhow I've cleaned a load out and thinned down some with 220 oil so bearings now run a lot easier - might add a spot of moly grease as I've got some and see if it helps.

Thanks for your help.
Robin

[Noddy]

Sounds good; just get a cartridge of lithium grease and stuff it in.

I use CV joint moly grease for some things and its a booooga for oxidizing to varnish (or atleast the tube I got is...)
Keith

[circlip]

I'll second Noddy's Castrol Lithium, (Used to be called Castrolease when we had a motorcycle industry) A tin lasts forever.
Regards Ian.

[kingsteam9]

Thanks each,

I've still got some Castrolease somewhere in the garage - I'll give it a try.
rgrds
Robin

[steam4ian]

G'day Robin

A lithium based grease is what you need, wheel bearing grease will be ideal. Castrol LM will do in this low temperature application. Some more recent wheel bearing greases are specially formulated to cope with the high temperatures fro disk brakes; they will still work in this situation. In large electric motors Shell Alvania was specified.

You can cause a bearing to overheat by overloading it with grease. There can even be problems because too much grease can cause the cage to drag creating wear on the balls or rollers; result premature failure.

Regards,
Ian

[wayne]

White cheese, it could be Duckams waterproof grease for wheel bearings, with this stuff your wheel can be immersed in salt water according to the tin (highly suitable for boat trailers)looks like slightly watered down Philadelphia cheese


I have used this stuff on may Norton commando and Norton f1 wheel bearings, head bearings, swinging arm bearings (F1 only) and wheel spindles ect . i have used it since 1983 with no problems.

Ps contrary to popular belief the Duckams rotary Norton’s race bikes were more successful race bike on the track than the Jps Norton’s

[chameleonrob]

if I remember correctly, the grease is thats already there probably doing more than you think. the idea behind greased bearing is that as the bearing heats up the grease melts and flows to where it is needed.

rob

[SteveW]

Guys,

A while back someone explained some problems with using the wrong types of grease for ball/roller bearings and plain bearings.

The Moly-grease (just can't spell it) should only be used for plain bearings. The molly bits provide the necessary slippery surfaces within the structure of the grease but can act as very effecting grinding paste on rolling surfaces in ball/roller bearings.

I don't know where lithium grease is on this one but it's worth checking. Best use grease type of grease.

[kingsteam9]

Thanks all for the collective wisdom.

I've largely managed to clean out the bearings and regreased them using Castrol LM lithium grease, very sparingly - incidentally that's Castrol's advice on the can so I take it as being soundly based advice. I've since put the gearbox back on the machine and run it and it certainly runs more freely and much quieter than before so I'll now go for more extended use and see how it goes.

Thanks again
Robin

[wayne]

A while back someone explained some problems with using the wrong types of grease for ball/roller bearings and plain bearings

SteveW you are dead right i allways use the correct lubricant for the task in hand. note i did not list my Commandos swinging arm bearings for the white grease i use, these must be oiled as they are bushes on a hardend shaft.