Best way to maintain bearings?
 

im just curious what everyone does as far as bearing maintenance goes, especially the clutch bell. i normally just use cheap bearings and replace often. but was wondering if there was anything i could do when i first buy the bearings or after a couple runs to extend the period in between the swap outs. thanks

the best way is to throw them out when they start to get rough and order some new ones from Avid bearings for a $1 each at www.Avidrc.com

I use bearing with rubber shields on each end. I pull the sheilds off and pop the bearing in a "bearing blaster" and spray it down with NC brakeclean.

Then I relube with a self-cleaning bearing oil I mixed up.

I usually replace the bearings every time I tear part of the car down that involves bearing removal. I clean the old bearings, and keep the ones that feel real good.

The rest I bury in the track to please the naked bearing gods.

Blast the grease out and replace with a small amount of oil in clutch bearings.

If you want to get the most life you can out of drivetrain bearings, take them out every few gallons and clean them. If you find any that are gritty, toss em. After cleaning and checking them for roughness/slop, lube with grease, not oil.

Do they sell bearing sets? Instead of having to buy them one-by-one?

Im not so sure you can do anything to extend the life of the clutch bearings....
Any lube and it will spin into your clutch and you dont want that.
I follow the practice your using and changing them often. Nothing worse than having all this $$$ tied up in your car and loose becasue you tried to get another 20 minutes out of 2$ in bearings.

I dont see any advice for maintaining other bearings?
Like what kind of oil and greases on wheel bearings, front engine bearing?

I know that they are working on bearing sets but nothing yet that i know of. once you order the singles and make a list you will just have to reorder from your first list for nowor make a new list.

Carolinas rc has bearing sets I think.

Thne reason I avoid bearing sets is because they come with a bunch of bearings you don't need. Seriously, how often do you change your steering rack bearings??

I just by 10 of each hub, diff, pinion, and 20 clutch bearings for my car, and that nearly lasts me the life of the car. And then some.

I tried doing the whole bearing maintenance thing.. waste of time.

My diff bearings hardly ever wore out. 3-5 galongs of fuel for $1 bearings.

Rear wheel bearings 2 galons

Front wheel bearings 1 galon.

It's hardly worth it to clean them when you're only going through 4$ worth of bearings every galon.

I order $9 dollar 10packs from boca, free shipping.

alright good stuff guys. i have an mbx6 and i have just been buying the avid bearings so i guess i will continue to do so. so far not one DNF from a bearing failure so i will continue what im doing. thanks guys

When I pull them and install the new Avids -
I take the ones that feel good pull the rubber side out & drop them into an ultrasound cleaned for awhile - the pull-out dry & re-lube.
Keep them around for spares jik - or give them away...

My bearings last 3ish gallons before I swap them, my clutch cleaned and re-lubed 1/2 gallon using the Avid ceramics - I run indoor on clay so it's not to bad on them.

Best thing you can do to keep clutch bearings intact is to keep the rest of your clutch maintained. Keep the burrs of al shoes, make sure it's shimmed properly, don't run worn shoes, etc. Be sure the clutch bell is in good shape. Anything that builds up heat will kill bearings in a hurry.

I typically try to replace them before each race but before the main I take brake or carb cleaner to them and make sure they roll smoothly.

MIP use to make "The juicer" to re grease clutch bearings.

Great lube that didn't fling everywhere.