Cleaning sintered bushings

[Mandelstam]

How do you clean your old bushings? I've googled on the topic and have come up with atleast four different methods, more and more complicated. The most extreme was that you sprayed the bushing with propane until it was covered with liquid propane (-42deg F). Then place the bushing in hot oil and let it blead out. Repeat until all the gunk is gone. The easiest method was to place the bushing on some paper in your oven at 250 deg F and let it blead out there. Then put it in some hot oil and let it soak.

[RowdyW]

Hi Karl, just look at old machine shop machines, they just kept adding fresh oil to the bushings till they wore out, which took a long time. Of course they didn't have to contend with saltwater contamination. If they get contaminated just rinse in mineral spirits & resoak in oil of your choice. Why try to heat the oil out of the bushings if you want them impregnated with oil? Just doesn't make sense. Sintered bearings are manufactured with oil & graphite in the bronze.        Rudy

[Mandelstam]

Well, we don't just keep adding oil and grease to our reels all the time, sometimes we take them apart and clean them and then put on new oil and grease. And if I buy a 40 year old reel that has been sitting in a shed for the last twenty, I don't think that the oil in the bushings is very fresh anymore.

I've seen old bushings getting cleaned out and they shed lots and lots of old gunk. I don't want to over complicate it but at the same time I want to get the job done, that's the reason I was asking..

Cheers!

/Karl

[RowdyW]

New oil comes from dinosaures & they aren't new. 

[Cone]

Karl, If you have too, just clean off the surface dirt and put on a drop of oil. There is no way I know to remove all the old oil. As the bushing wears it releases oil. Bob

[Mandelstam]

I hear you. And maybe you are right..