A trick for cleaning out bearings

[JasonGotaProblem]

If a picture is worth a thousand words, what about a video clip? Heck, what about both?
https://youtube.com/shorts/pFAJlALoN8U

I've been having a lot of success with this approach. I believe I came up with it on my own, but I would not be surprised if others have independently arrived at the same idea previously.

[Mic]

 Cool idea

Enough downward force should keep the bearing sealed against the bottom of the glass so the grease has no where else to go

Do you pack grease into the dropper stem or do you heat the grease and suck it into the dropper ?

Again,
Good idea none the less

Mic

[Bill B]

In a sence a bearing packer works on the same theory.  You can totally replace the grease in a bearing using this method. Your idea would work with an oil lubed bearing, where a bearing packet would be used with grease. With a little work it may be possible to use a bearing packet and flush with solvent instead of grease....Bill

[JasonGotaProblem]

Agreed. There's nothing new about the concept. This just cost me $0.00 to accomplish. I do it with small amounts of solvent refreshing frequently until it runs clear. Usually by the 3rd flush. I dry with compressed air afterward.

And i use tsi 321 oil not grease, personal preference. And I have indeed used this method for injecting oil. I dont think the bulb on this thing would support grease. I have injected grease by cutting the very tiny tip off a ziploc bag and cake frosting-ed it in with good results.

[steelfish]

thanks for sharing

[BocaSnook1]

Very ingenious!

Thanks.

Tad

[SteveL]

Agreed. There's nothing new about the concept. This just cost me $0.00 to accomplish. I do it with small amounts of solvent refreshing frequently until it runs clear. Usually by the 3rd flush. I dry with compressed air afterward.

And i use tsi 321 oil not grease, personal preference. And I have indeed used this method for injecting oil. I dont think the bulb on this thing would support grease. I have injected grease by cutting the very tiny tip off a ziploc bag and cake frosting-ed it in with good results.

A 10 ml feeding syringe from the pharmacy, a vet or tractor supply would work well instead of the dropper.  I keep a couple syringes loaded with different greases with caps on the tip.   I don't know if you would get enough pressure to fully pack the bearing with the syringe though.

With your method, I see three options:

• Use two shot glasses
• Rinse the shot glass between bearings
• Drink cheap stuff, in which case it wouldn't matter

Still, it might limit the number of bearings you can do at one time. 

[Midway Tommy]

Interesting concept, especially for oiled bearings. Personally, especially on the type reels I work on, I would rather remove the seal, at least on one side, soak it in lacquer thinner to make sure all the old grease & dirt are removed and then repack it so I know it's full. Removing & reinstalling seals & dust covers is not a big deal to me most of the time.

[oc1]

What does a bearing shield do anyway?  It doesn't keep water out.  I doesn't keep oil in.  If the cage and balls were completely and tightly sealed then the races couldn't move.

[JasonGotaProblem]

Yeah you would definitely need to remove the seals to do this. If the shields (which are not seals) are held in by the c spring I would remove that before this operation. But this will get past pressed in seals Idk just takes a bit longer. I use this with solvent to remove grease to use oil instead.

I believe the purpose of a shield is to keep dirt out. The handle and pinion are a great place for sand to get in.

[foakes]

What does a bearing shield do anyway?  It doesn't keep water out.  I doesn't keep oil in.  If the cage and balls were completely and tightly sealed then the races couldn't move.

As far as I am concerned, on reels, it just impresses the reel buyer.  Water gets in everywhere.  Yeah, I know that it will keep grease in better — but a reel needs to be regularly serviced anyway — and the old grease needs to come out.  The new, modern greases stay put — and are not affected too much by water intrusion anyway.

For me, pop off the shields, toss them in the trash, soak the bearing in lacquer thinner using also the ultrasonic cleaner, rinse, dry, drop in a jar of oil for 10 minutes, remove & inject grease — ✔️ done...

Best, Fred