Sealed Bearings

picassomcp · Jul 27, 2014

I have a 644 New Holland Round Baler. I believe
it is a 1998 built model. Many sealed bearings on
it, most of the rollers do not have grease zerks
due to the bearings being sealed and non
greasable. How long can a guy reasonably expect
these bearings to last? I'm not sure how many
bales this baler has made, but there are signs of
wear throughout the baler. I'm getting concerned
that these sealed bearing are going to start
failing soon. I do store the baler inside between
uses which I'm sure helps.

What kind of luck have you had with sealed
bearings? Should I start replacing them as
preventive maintenance?

rrlund · Jul 27, 2014

It's a crap shoot. I parked a baler a year ago that was new in 97,rolled 1500 or more bales a year. Some of the bearings went in the first few years,some of the rollers still had the original bearings.

RodinNS · Jul 27, 2014

I have an 88' Claas and it still has several original bearings on rollers that have not been changed. The bearings that were replaced were no bad as such... just that they had to be cut off to remove them. That said... I am starting to get concerned about the remaining originals.

Rod

IH2444 · Jul 27, 2014

Get you one of those infrared thermometer guns and frequently check for hot bearings when baling. Better to catch them early vs messing up the end of a roller.

MARK ROBKE · Jul 27, 2014

I agree with the infra red thermometer-if it's hot-it's going bad! Mark

buickanddeere · Jul 27, 2014

(quoted from post at 17:28:17 07/27/14) I have a 644 New Holland Round Baler. I believe
it is a 1998 built model. Many sealed bearings on
it, most of the rollers do not have grease zerks
due to the bearings being sealed and non
greasable. How long can a guy reasonably expect
these bearings to last? I'm not sure how many
bales this baler has made, but there are signs of
wear throughout the baler. I'm getting concerned
that these sealed bearing are going to start
failing soon. I do store the baler inside between
uses which I'm sure helps.

What kind of luck have you had with sealed
bearings? Should I start replacing them as
preventive maintenance?

All depends on the quality of the bearing. A premium quality sealed bearing will outlast a economy grease able bearing.
Also depends on who is swinging the grease gun. Over greasing has ruined more bearings than under greasing.

bison · Jul 27, 2014

what he says^^^

Sealed bearing life expectancy is a crap shoot.
My 40 yr old vermeer baler has still some original bearings in it. other ones i have replaced a couple times already.
On my NH 114 hay bine i have never had to replace a sealed bearing yet in twenty odd years of use.(+/-300 acre/year

Jon Hagen · Jul 27, 2014

"I agree with the infra red thermometer-if it's hot-it's going bad! Mark "

And I will add, get a sealed bearing grease needle.
They are a big hypodermic needle with a grease zerk on the end to attach to a grease gun. If a bearing gets noisy or starts to heat, work the needle between the plastic seal and inner race, metal seal bearings need a tiny hole, the size of the needle drilled so you can grease them. Then give the bearing a shot or two of Mobil 1 synthetic grease.
I have extended the life of sealed bearings several 100% by doing this.

Changing the top line shaft bearings on my Farm King grain auger is a terrible job. I drilled the seals on all the original noisy bearings and gave them a shot of grease. 4-5 harvest seasons and they would start getting dry / noisy again, so the bearings got another shot of grease. Kept the original set of bearings going for 30 years that way, and their still good.

ih_bug · Jul 27, 2014

check for heat like others said a heat gun. you can also just use your hand at the end of the day and check the ends of the rollers, if one is hotter than the rest?
keeping it inside makes a difference just be careful more the one barn/shed burnt by parking a baler or combine fresh off the field inside. hot bearings make fires. also carry a jug of water when baling as well as a fire extinguisher.

BushogPapa · Jul 27, 2014

Most can be greased with an injector Needle and Greasegun and will last much longer..

Ron.

LAA · Jul 27, 2014

Have you tried greasing the bearings with a grease injector needle? Looks like a stainless steel syringe needle with a grese zert on the end, allows you to pierce the seal and grease sealed bearings. I have used them for years and if any dirt gets in that tiny hole it must still be better than no grease because I have not had a bearing failure in years. NAPA and Advanced Auto parts both carry them in my area.

Eldo case · Jul 28, 2014

I have found that after use leave the baler or combine set till cold and then run them a little when cold to redistribute the grease in the bearing. When warm and setting the grease pools in the bottom of the bearing and leaves the upper part unlubricated. I do this when going to leave set for a long time and I don't wash in fall but in spring. I use a leaf blower to clean. Keeps the water out of bearings and I try to park in shed most of the time.

bison · Jul 28, 2014

Using a needle to grease sealed bearings is fine if you can get to said bearings.
on balers most of them are in tight places or inside rollers one can hardly see let alone reach.

Russ from MN · Jul 28, 2014

If it is tuning very fast a sealed bearing will last longer than a grease-able one that has been over greased!

Sealed Bearings

picassomcp

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rrlund

Well-known Member

RodinNS

Well-known Member

IH2444

Well-known Member

MARK ROBKE

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buickanddeere

Well-known Member

bison

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Jon Hagen

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ih_bug

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BushogPapa

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LAA

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Eldo case

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bison

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Russ from MN

Well-known Member

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