Bearing lubrication

37 chief · Aug 24, 2020

I installed a flange bearing on my flail mower blade drum a few months ago. Right away it didn't take grease. the problem was the bearing hole didn't align up with the bearing housing. I found out when I removed it. It is a four bolt 17/8 shaft size. The shaft turns very fast. With some time now, I know it hasn't taken grease. I changed it. When I removed it the bearing was still good, with the grease from when it was made. I may be over greasing my bearings. I give them a shot every few days. I guess I should back off the greasing. No manual is available, and never will be. The company is out of business. Any thoughts? Stan

Russ from MN · Aug 24, 2020

That's what I've been telling people, too much grease can be bad, especially on high speed bearings. I attended a bearing lubrication seminar once and the instructor explained it this way, "Go to the beach, and run down the beach in ankle deep water, then go out and try to run in waist deep water!" What happens is the rolling members will slide against the race in the unloaded zone, instead of rolling, and that caused wear and heat. The one exception is slow speed bearings in a wet environment, those can be greased often. One time someone thought a bearing was hot on a machine, said we have to grease it! I checked the temperature before and after with my heat gun, it got a lot hotter after greasing. If you pop the shield out of a sealed bearing, the amount of grease in it is enough for the life of the bearing!

guido · Aug 24, 2020

Hello 37 chief,

Russ is right, you can over grease and it is not doing the bearing any good. If the bearing has a seal it usually greased for life. Each greasing spot has its limits, one pump; two pumps, and so on,

Guido.

SVcummins · Aug 24, 2020

I grease em everyday. I also still have sealed bearings that are original on my 41 year old combine

retired farmer · Aug 24, 2020

Except you never know with chinese bearings if they been greased or not. Got one sealed one once that the seal didn't come close to sealing anything and there wasn't much grease inside either.

WGM · Aug 24, 2020

I have equipment with sealed bearings that have grease zerks. The owner manual will have a lubrication chart specifiying lubrication schedule.

Bearing lubrication

37 chief

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Russ from MN

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guido

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SVcummins

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retired farmer

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WGM

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