Bearings and gas.

[lone wolf]

We washed parts in gasoline always when I was a kid. Wash engine, transmission and rearend parts in it till our skin burned. Wonder we didn't make a spark and burn ourselves up. Later I learned about mineral spirits with a brush which works nice. Brake cleaner works well and fast but I have found it leaves a white residue that reminds me of lime. You can wipe it off where it is reachable but I don't think it is good in a bearing.

How could it hurt a bearing?

 

[huskihl]

How could it hurt a bearing?

Anybody got a good reason that the grease needs to be removed at all? The c3 rating is already there for the designated rpm. Seems to me that the grease makes a perfect break-in lube.

 

[John Stryker]

Anybody got a good reason that the grease needs to be removed at all? The c3 rating is already there for the designated rpm. Seems to me that the grease makes a perfect break-in lube.

After prying off the seals on the bearing, I have always left the grease in. I haven't noticed any failures, and always just assumed the grease would be a good lube.

 

[Deleted member 117362]

Anybody got a good reason that the grease needs to be removed at all? The c3 rating is already there for the designated rpm. Seems to me that the grease makes a perfect break-in lube.

Not the proper 2 cycle lubricant, may stick in ring, thickens mixture, takes too long to wash out, greasy, looks bad, hell I don't know.

 

[huskihl]

Not the proper 2 cycle lubricant, may stick in ring, thickens mixture, takes too long to wash out, greasy, looks bad, hell I don't know.

Lol. If ifs and buts....

I just can't see it hurting anything in the 20-30 seconds of runtime before it's washed out

 

[rayjay257]

Grease is correct for wheel bearings where the rpm is relatively low but for crankshaft bearings the balls could skid on the grease instead of rotating. In the real world, probably no problem unless you think that cold start to max revs is the proper way to treat a motor

 

[Huskybill]

Oil the bearings good while assembling the case. Gas is a abrasive.

 

[SS Sniper]

I wash cases out with gas all the time lol. As long as you let it evaporate and re-oil it's all good. Gas is a great cleaner.

I’ve always used diesel or lacquer thinner with good results. Not just on saw cases either.

I see no problem with using gas, so long as there’s no residue left behind and it’s dried.

I know of a lot of people who use gas to wash parts before paint, so I don’t buy into the gas causing oil to be repelled after you wash a ball bearing in it and wipe it clean.

I personally wouldn’t install a bearing still packed with grease but that’s just me. It may work fine, but again, not for me.

 

[cuinrearview]

I’ve always used diesel or lacquer thinner with good results. Not just on saw cases either.

I see no problem with using gas, so long as there’s no residue left behind and it’s dried.

I know of a lot of people who use gas to wash parts before paint, so I don’t buy into the gas causing oil to be repelled after you wash a ball bearing in it and wipe it clean.

I personally wouldn’t install a bearing still packed with grease but that’s just me. It may work fine, but again, not for me.

The ebay user shorenutz sells shielded bearings, for chainsaw use the shields have to be pricked out and the grease washed out. I hate mentioning it because it seems like someone has issue every time. I've seen so much **** burned it's way through the top and bottom end of a saw I just like to purge everything and add a little Dolmar oil to everything.

 

[muddstopper]

I guess I am just crazy. Chainsaw bearing run in a mixture of gas and oil. Wash them out with gas and oil mix and when you crank the saw, the bearings are prelubed. I keep gas mix around to run my saws, why would I want to have a can of raw gas anywhere near a saw. I also suspect leaving the grease in the bearings is no worse than lubeing with straight mixing oil. The grease is to protect the bearings from a dry startup and will eventually be replaced with gas/oil mix as the saw is ran. Saw might smoke a little on first startup, but that is probably the extent of the damage that might be caused by leaving the grease on the bearing.

 

[Huskybill]

The blend of gas today isn’t the same as when I was washing parts for my dad in the 50’s.

 

[huskihl]

Grease is correct for wheel bearings where the rpm is relatively low but for crankshaft bearings the balls could skid on the grease instead of rotating. In the real world, probably no problem unless you think that cold start to max revs is the proper way to treat a motor

The 6202 c3 Nachi that many of us use in saws is commonly referred to as an electric motor bearing. Using grease as a lubricant, it's rated at 15k rpm.

I'm not advocating for leaving the grease in them. Just looking for ill side effects

 

[Canyon Angler]

Not a mechanic or an engineer, but I don't think I'd "clean" a new bearing with brake cleaner or lacquer thinner on a bet, because it leaves the bearing TOO clean, as in "absolutely dry." But it doesn't stay absolutely dry for long, since the evaporation of the brake cleaner makes it colder than ice. Seconds later, you've got condensation of water vapor (like on a cold beer can) and not long after that...rust.

Seems to me that 2-mix should get it as "clean" as it needs to be (personally, I would leave in the grease that the bearing engineers specked since I'm guessing they know just a bit more about bearings than me), but unlike brake cleaner, 2-mix would leave a protective film without first removing absolutely every last trace of lubrication. YMMV