Cleaning wheel bearings

Submitted: Wednesday, Sep 21, 2011 at 19:53
ThreadID: 89163 Views:2875 Replies:8 FollowUps:5
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Hi, a bit of a basic question about how people cleaning wheel bearings

I have read people using brake part cleaner, kero, petrol and other spirits.

What I am unsure about is do you after that before you let them dry naturally or dry them with a air compressor.

Do you need to clean the cleaner off, I read that some one rinsed the bearings off in water after cleaning in kero. Are you supposed to do this when cleaning with any of the other options.



Richard
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Reply By: Rangiephil - Wednesday, Sep 21, 2011 at 20:00

Wednesday, Sep 21, 2011 at 20:00
I clean them with kero or turps.
I blow them out and then let them air dry but do NOT spin them up. This will kill them.
Any grease still in will be pushed out when new grease is inserted using the palm method.
Regards Philip A
AnswerID: 465684

Reply By: nick - Wednesday, Sep 21, 2011 at 20:03

Wednesday, Sep 21, 2011 at 20:03
You can dry them with compressed air but dont let them spin while drying them as this will/can stuff the bearing and even worse they may explode.
Petrol and a paint brush is an easy way of cleaning them and then a shot of compressed air while holding the centre to stop it spinning. Dont forget your safety goggles either.
AnswerID: 465685

Reply By: Oldman - Wednesday, Sep 21, 2011 at 20:11

Wednesday, Sep 21, 2011 at 20:11
Bloody he'll that was a quick response, thank you.

So you do not wash the bearings in water after cleaning them with kero or water?


Richard

AnswerID: 465687

Follow Up By: Fab72 - Wednesday, Sep 21, 2011 at 20:24

Wednesday, Sep 21, 2011 at 20:24
Toyota recommend washing out with kero, rinsing with water (hot water if possible) then drying with compressed air. As mentioned above...don't spin them.

The "hot water" we used came out of the nozzel of a steam cleaner.

Petrol works just fine too, except it leaves your hands looking like a lizzard's skin.

Fab.
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Reply By: Mrbrush - Wednesday, Sep 21, 2011 at 20:27

Wednesday, Sep 21, 2011 at 20:27
Throw the old ones out, Put new ones in.
Then you can sleep at night on a big trip.
AnswerID: 465690

Reply By: Bushranger1 - Wednesday, Sep 21, 2011 at 20:31

Wednesday, Sep 21, 2011 at 20:31
All good advice everyone has given here.
I would definitely not rinse with water. A bit of Shellite for a final rinse works well & it evaporates quite fast too.

Cheers
Stu
AnswerID: 465691

Reply By: Oldman - Wednesday, Sep 21, 2011 at 20:55

Wednesday, Sep 21, 2011 at 20:55
Thanks all,

Cleaning with sheltie sounds good but the fact that it is flammable doesn't it make it the same issue as using petrol?

I must admit water does not seem right but then again the grease is going in and they should be dry
It was probably a Toyota info page I found where it said to rinse in water.

New bearings is an option for sure nice to know what to do if you don't have them.
Richard

AnswerID: 465695

Follow Up By: Andrew - Thursday, Sep 22, 2011 at 15:13

Thursday, Sep 22, 2011 at 15:13
The water is to remove any residue that might change the characteristics of the grease. Doesn't sound like it would make much difference but remember the cleaner is actually on the running surface of the bearing so any damage would occur in the first few revolutions.
How big a problem is it? haven't heard any one who actually put a bearing failure down to this issue.

A
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FollowupID: 739762

Reply By: Been-Everywhereman - Thursday, Sep 22, 2011 at 16:43

Thursday, Sep 22, 2011 at 16:43
New bearings is a bit of overkill with a 105 series as the bearings require repacking every 20thou kms.
AnswerID: 465736

Reply By: Macca44 - Thursday, Sep 22, 2011 at 17:08

Thursday, Sep 22, 2011 at 17:08
PETROL should never never be used to clean any parts, it to hard on the skin BUT also highly flammable , one spark any source bang , Then you wont be worrying about wheels, wash in kero and degrease then rinse with water and blow with air but do not spin. old mechanic.
AnswerID: 465737

Follow Up By: Fatso - Thursday, Sep 22, 2011 at 19:44

Thursday, Sep 22, 2011 at 19:44
Thanks for that Macca.
I have used petrol to clean things for 30 years & never considered the threat of fire.
It will be kero next time.
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FollowupID: 739782

Follow Up By: Oldman - Thursday, Sep 22, 2011 at 20:15

Thursday, Sep 22, 2011 at 20:15
Macca would not the kero get the grease out, why degrease as well or have I read your statement wrong.

I saw a video on the web where the guy just cleaned by spraying the degreaser then let them dry , not air pressure.

Would not the jsu washing in kero be enough as it would evaporate or just use the degreaser alone and let dry.

There does seem to be many variations on what should be done on the web which creates the confusion for me at least.

Richard
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FollowupID: 739785

Follow Up By: Fatso - Thursday, Sep 22, 2011 at 20:26

Thursday, Sep 22, 2011 at 20:26
G'day Oldman.
I don't know what the answer to your question is & hope that Macca replies.
But many years ago when I was an apprentice fitter & turner one of the other apprentices was cleaning out the gearbox of a large milling machine that had shredded a gear using kero. Our 70 year old ex sugar mill engineer stopped him & explained that he should be rinsing the gearbox to remove metal filings with the oil that it would normally run.
The reason being that the residue left behind from the kero would change the properties of the lubricant & could cause further failures.
Standing in front of a very complex gearbox & having the technicalities explained in a very informative way made it very easy to understand.
That might be part of the reason.
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FollowupID: 739786

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