385xp bearings.... alternatives?

[Mattyo]

heck, I know 14mm thick bearings exist... if one would fit .... that might even be better!

 

[Mattyo]

nope:

http://www.vxb.com/page/bearings/PROD/Kit17767

only 6k rpm.... BOOOOOOO!!!

 

[Jacob J.]

if thats the case, if shortening the lever arm is the ticket...you could use a 1mm spacer on the inside, toward the crank, and then use a 6203.... and gain the lever arm but not the expense of proprietary

There's also the heavy duty properties of Husky's OEM seal. A regular seal on a generic sealed C-3 rated bearing is not going to hold up to the heat and chemical processes related to combustion, especially with ethanol containing fuels. Even the OEM proprietary seal craps out due to those conditions after so many hours.

 

[Mattyo]

HA, there, i learned something. Thanks, and that explains why oil seals are seperate in the bearings, rather than integral.... and therefore I can only assume also why husky did away with the integral seal in the bearing I have in my hand.... curious to see then what shows up in the mail

 

[Jacob J.]

Definitely compare the OEM seal vs. a seal out of a generic sealed bearing. You'll see the differences immediately.

 

[gaspipe]

The PTO side has a deep groove bearing as opposed to a standard 6203 bearing. The deep groove bearing can withstand somewhat higher axial and radial loads than a standard 6203. Plus, when your checking bearing speed limitations for whatever spec bearing, there should be two specs, one for greased bearings, one for oiled bearings. Oiled bearings always run much faster than greased bearings. A 'sealed' bearing (designated 1rs for one side sealed, or 2rs for both sides sealed), can't seal the crankcase from the atmosphere reliably.

 

[Mattyo]

again, I'm learning, thank you gents.... after hearing this, i'm not going to use a 6203 on the pto side... oem it is...now I know why

 

[gaspipe]

And you *can* buy a 6203 1RS or 2RS for the flywheel side, and pop the seals off with a dental pick. And you now have a suitable bearing for that side. I would avoid bearings that do not utilize a metallic cage for the bearing in this application due to the heat.

 

[Big_Wood]

i've rebuilt a bunch of saws with the integrated PTO side seal. i almost trusted a sealed FAG bearing one day. had it pressed on the crank and everything. i was to chicken to assemble the rest so bought OEM. i just can't push myself to do it. i need to see someone else take the risk first if i was made of money i would buy a saw just to do this and report back after a bunch of run time.

 

[bplust]

Did 2186's experience the same PTO side bearing issues as 385's?

 

[HuskStihl]

Watching this thread intently. My 385 will need a PTO side seal/bearing sooner or later. It also happens to be precious to me. Thanks for all the excellent info

 

[Mattyo]

Clearly my saw was riden hard and put away wet.... I don't visually see anything wrong w/ the bearing I removed though. Here's a pic of the SN...
is this 2002? If so then its before the change, and I can't honestly say that this saw appears to be maintained....ever..... its quite a pile. anyone have a flywheel side case half for cheap?


PTO side:
flywheel side.....note...this still has the oil seal intalled

 

[Nitroman]

Your bearing is 6680k14 for $27.34 from McMaster-Carr. Rated to 22k rpm. This is an open, angular contact heavy duty bearing rated at ABEC-3.

 

[Mattyo]

so whats the difference between that and
http://www.vxb.com/page/bearings/PROD/Kit15845

??

mcmaster carr's bearings seems like they are 5x more expensive... yet the same thing.... no?

 

[Nitroman]

Timken and Nachi are not the same. What is the ABEC rating of the Japanese bearing? The Timken is angular contact, the Nachi is...deep groove? They are different.

 

[nmurph]

Clearly my saw was riden hard and put away wet.... I don't visually see anything wrong w/ the bearing I removed though. Here's a pic of the SN...
is this 2002? If so then its before the change, and I can't honestly say that this saw appears to be maintained....ever..... its quite a pile. anyone have a flywheel side case half for cheap?

View attachment 385390
PTO side:View attachment 385392
flywheel side.....note...this still has the oil seal intalledView attachment 385391

Your saw is an '08, week 46.

 

[blsnelling]

Why risk a $1000 saw over a $10-$20 savings? Sealed bearings don't use a seal anything like those used in a chainsaw.

 

[Mattyo]

nmurph, thank you for clarifying that... clearly the search that I did on how to interpret SN's was inadequate...

blsnelling.... again, I have already bought the oem bearing and will likely install it.... my search is to figure out why husky has 2 different bearings, and one is worth nearly 8x what the other is......

the ethanol is an interesting issue, and I can totally understand that standard sealed bearings do not hold up to that.... I can understand that the bearing needs to be thicker to handle the angular forces better, but then why not use a standard open bearing that is larger to begin with? why make it proprietary? (13mm thick instead of standard 12mm)

to speak to the fellow that gave me the mcmaster carr link... I didn't see in mcmaster that they were advertizing timken.... which I would prefer over anything else, but didn't see it advertized....

 

[blsnelling]

The PTO side bearing is no different than many Stihl saws. It's made wider, such that the seal is pressed into the outer race. Why they do that I have no idea. You will not find a generic replacement, other than maybe a Chinese copy of the OEM part. The seals that are installed on many bearings are in no way like the seals used in a chainsaw, and most definitely would not be an adequate replacement to the OEM setup. It is what it is.

 

[Nitroman]

Call'em and ask.