ReGrease Ball Bearings

[larryinnewyork]

Good morning all,

I am overhauling my 1977 Ariens Snow-Thrower.

I'm replacing all the Bronze Bushings & Ball Bearings.

I bought some Ball Bearings made by Nice.
They are the 16xx series, better quality / 5,000 RPM
Balls are 'SEALED' using plastic/rubber material.


I bought these bearings (3 sizes) on E-Bay.
All are - Made in USA.
Their in plastic wrap from factory.

By buying on E-Bay, I got 'great' prices and was able to help stock my 'Repair Kit'.

Concern : Packageing looks old. One bearing has a sticker dated 1999.

Question : Should I be concerned with the (supplied) grease being too old ? ? ?
Question : Anybody have experience removing the seals and repacking with new grease ? ? ?

Any comments are appreciated.
Thank you.

 

[volk06]

The grease should be ok if they were wrapped and sealed. However, if I were to get those bearings and the grease being 14 years oil, I'd clean them out and repack them with the Durablend or Synpower grease.

 

[nitehawk55]

Pretty hard to grease sealed ball type bearings . You'll likely do more harm by trying to grease them if you try to remove the seal ring . I would just leave them alone if I were you .

 

[Kestas]

I agree with nighthawk. Though it is not ideal to use bearings that have sit on the shelf for 14 years, you may do more harm than good trying to regrease them. It's very difficult, if not impossible, to cleanly remove the seals without nicking them.

A snowthrower that sees occasional use during the year is not considered a demanding application for the bearings. They are far more likely to fail from corrosion-related issues than from grease-related or end-of life issues. Perfect seals are an absolute must to prevent corrosion issues.

 

[volk06]

Originally Posted By: Kestas
I agree with nighthawk. Though it is not ideal to use bearings that have sit on the shelf for 14 years, you may do more harm than good trying to regrease them. It's very difficult, if not impossible, to cleanly remove the seals without nicking them.

A snowthrower that sees occasional use during the year is not considered a demanding application for the bearings. They are far more likely to fail from corrosion-related issues than from grease-related or end-of life issues. Perfect seals are an absolute must to prevent corrosion issues.


Agreed, I did not realize these were sealed bearings. In this case do not regrease them .

 

[HerrStig]

Are they really "NICE" bearings?

 

[larryinnewyork]

Thanks all.

It's always good to get different opinions.

I'll just leave them as is and not disturb the integrety of the Seals.

OLD Bearings removed -
* I'll remove those Seals and see what the insides look like.
* Condition & amount of grease
* Ease of Seal removal

 

[Ken2]

I'd throw those old bearings away. I'd buy new double sealed bearings (-2RS suffix on most brands) that will stay dry in the snow. Bearings that old could have one seal removed, the old grease washed out, re-greased, and used with the seal on one side if the open side is protected from moisture, dirt, etc. I would not use grease that old.

 

[buck91]

What is the size of a 16xx bearing? Ive had mixed results rehabbing sealed bearing in alternators and accessory belt pullies (6000 series), but those see far less moisture than in your application.

That said a good aluminum complex grease and careful seal removal, while overkill, would probably extend service life. How expensive and hard to replace are they? Might not be worth all the trouble and just run them.

 

[larryinnewyork]

What is the size of a 16xx bearing?
I.D. ...... 1/2" or 5/8" or 3/4"
O.D. ...... 1 3/8"
The 16xx Series is Nices top of the line.

I did remove the Seals from 'original' (36 years old) bearings and that grease looked OK.
They had some looseness in them. I figure it's normal wear.
After examining the 36 year old bearings, I feel more comfortable using the NEW 14 year old bearings.
Because most bearing failure is from dirt/moisture, I will not mess with the Seals.

 

[larryinnewyork]

Well, if anyone is interested, I removed the Seals from an "extra" bearing.
These new bearings have seals that are plastic/rubber on the outside & bonded to metal on the inside.
The seals could not be removed without distorting the flatness.

This reaffirms my decision to not repack the grease in them.

Note:
Bearings come as
1) Finish ground ...... or
2) Ground ...... or
3) Unground

Bearings are 30% filled with grease (from factory).
Anymore grease I guess causes problems.

 

[camelCase]

Never try to re-grease sealed ball bearings. Shielded you can *try* to force grease in, but good luck.


If you are installed bearings for say... a wheel bearing, then you normally try to get unshielded and unsealed bearings. This is because the engineers were nice enough to design in a way for you to regrease them and make sure they stay greased.

Shielded bearings are usually used when 1 face is exposed to elements to keep [censored] from getting into them. Possible to regrease, but it ain't easy as all.

Sealed bearings are just that, sealed. They are designed to be lifetime lubricated and will fail mechanically either before or because of the grease wearing out. Try to avoid using these unless you have to.