Well the damn Vermeer 252 bearings are knocking again! i only have a few months on them . I think it is time to try the tapered roller bearings. If anyone that just did this switch is reading this, can you advise me?
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Vermeer 252 pillow block bearing problems
- Thread starter Humpstump
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imalogger
ArboristSite Lurker
I'm just curious, how much are you greasing those bearings? One of the quickest ways to ruin a bearing is over-greasing. I read an article in a farm mag a while ago about bearing failure is directly related to greasing. Too little is not good, but too much is just about as bad - you blow your seals out... They said bearing failure went up a lot after cordless grease guns came out and ppl got over zealous with them. i think often one or 2 pumps is sufficent unless youve got bushings and in that case its good to "flush" them. I believe one of the ways a lot of bearings get ruined is even if ppl wipe the zerk, they neglect to look at the end of the gun tip. The tip often picks up junk from around the last zerk. Ever tried sealed bearings? I've been pretty impressed with the longevity high quality sealed bearings. Just my .02
I was greasing them all the time then I tried new bearings and did not grease much, still a problem, man am I getting tired of this machine eating bearings up!!!!!!!!!!!! Do you think it is the way it is made with the ball bearings not tapered?
ApexTreeService
ArboristSite Operative
Have never replace or greased my upper bearings. Have owned machine since 2003. Just replaced my cutter wheel bearings yesterday for the second time since owning the machine. Last time was 4 or 5 years ago. Never greased them either. First time I replaced them, bought new cast pillow block/bearing (UCP208-24 ) complete cause they were cheap. $15 now days on the net. Had to cut 1/8 steel spacer to put between block and Vermeer frame. Can't remember why I did this, but probably so cutter wheel shaft would not rub on belt housing. This time around, I reused the same cast housing, rotated (hammered) (easy) the bad bearings out, had one spare bearing insert from 4-5 years ago, bought another locally for $15. Then I just wire wheeled the cast housing where the bearing rotates into, tapped in a zerk fitting where there was not one before, and reassembled. We'll see if occasional Amsoil grease makes a difference in these. By the way easiest way to get the inner race off the cutter wheel shaft is to torch it. First if the bearing is intact, start by torching (Oxy-Acetylene metal cutting head) the roller balls out of the bearing (one minute process) so you can get the pillow block and outer race off, leaving only the inner race still pressed on the shaft. The you can have that torched off in literally two minutes. If you don't have a torch, go buy a portable unit from Harbor Freight for $80 or whatever they are. If you were to run/skim your hand along the pressed on race, that is how you want the actual flame to cut the race off. So heat the steel on the race at the end of the shaft, and start cutting with the oxygen and cut away the race until you see the shaft exposed, then move on to more of the race. So the flame will never be directed toward the shaft like this ----o (which works too, but can pit the shaft, but rather like this ____o , do this on one side (30-60 sec.) then the other side and race falls off. No damage, no grinding, no prob.
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