When and how do you maintain your bearings?

I want to know is it really necessary to re-lube the bearings of motors?
When is the first time to do this after buying motors?
Too soon, the grease will be washed out. Too late, permanent damage will occur.
How to do this? Removing them form the motor, cleaning and re-oiling?
Or just re-oil them?
Thanks

[bruce750i]

Really I don't check mine. Maybe because I don't have a lot runtime logged onto to just one motor. Are your motor temps higher than normal? I just re-oil mine after wiping the dust off of them.

[Finnster]

IDK the ideal way, but I wipe them off well, use some bearing oil liberally, wipe them off well again (oil tends to flush out dirt,) and re-oil lightly one more time. It was some bearing oil I got at the LHS w/ a fine needle tip applier.
I've revived many sticky bearings this way.

You could use WD-40 and blow some dirt out if they are really dirty and crunchy, but its not sufficient for lubrication. Bearing oil is needed either way. Usually by this time I am tossing the bearing anyway.

My motor runs normally without over temp. I just want to prolong the life of the bearings since they are the weakness of brushless motor. May I will just grab a bottle of bearing oil and put a drop or two into the bearings directly someday. Thanks anyway.

[TexasSP]

If dirt and/or debris has made it into the bearing assembly, it is already compromised. You want to be careful when attempting to clean them as you can also push dirt/debris into the bearing innards. If you start experiencing issues related to bearing wear, it's time to replace. These type bearings are not made to be rebuilt.

[SpEEdyBL]

Well most motors have shielded bearings which have a tiny space that dust can get inside. I doesn't mean your bearings are compromised if that happens. Motor spray cleaner followed by re-oiling can do wonders for a gritty bearing.

I know it's very wasteful but generally if I remove a bearing from anything, I just replace it with a new one. The cost of oils, cleaners, grease and my time adds up to more than the cost for a new bearing. I do save the old ones, for some rainy day if I blow one and don't have a spare...

[TexasSP]

Originally Posted by SpEEdyBL

Well most motors have shielded bearings which have a tiny space that dust can get inside. I doesn't mean your bearings are compromised if that happens. Motor spray cleaner followed by re-oiling can do wonders for a gritty bearing.

If bearing has dirt or grit inside and is not a rebuildable type, then it is compromised. While performance may be able to be improved it will not be the same. It's not worth the risk of an expensive motor to be cheap and not just replace the bearing.

As these bearings are, it would take a lot to get anything inside that would cause its performance to suffer, but when it does, it's over.

[aqwut]

Originally Posted by Electric Dave

I know it's very wasteful but generally if I remove a bearing from anything, I just replace it with a new one. The cost of oils, cleaners, grease and my time adds up to more than the cost for a new bearing. I do save the old ones, for some rainy day if I blow one and don't have a spare...

I do the same thing....

[Finnster]

Originally Posted by aqwut

I do the same thing....

Depends on what it is. Motor bearings I would be more conservative with. I still try to keep those clean. If I've taken apart my motor, those things are going in the trash.
For the general use bearings? (eg wheel bearings) Those always get dirty quickly, and I just clean them up, re-oil and put them back in. I have many 8x16 bearings that are over a yr old in my trug and my Sav and I've had to replace only a couple that were not smooth after a (sorta) regular cleaning. Damn things do get expensive after a while, but my $3 bottle of bearing oil has lasted me for 4yrs or so now and there is plenty left. My cans of WD-40 get rusty before they are empty usually. lol

[Metallover]

The guy at the lhs told me to get this $7 can of electric (brushed) motor/bearing cleaner. Man Im Glad I did. It cleans brushed motors. It has some pressure to it so it really penetrates the cracks. It cleans all the grime out of bearings like no ones business.

Not only does itnwork wonders fornits intended uses, but it's perfectly flammable too. Spray a circle I the garage floor and you've got a ring of fire for a few seconds. Makes a sweet flamethrower too (for an aerosol).

[J57ltr]

You know guys I was just thinking about relubing my sealed bearings and it occoured to me that a lot of you know might know how to dissamble and reassemble shieled and sealed bearings. I have yet to see a bearing that can't be taken apart and put together without damage, outside of a few industrial applications.

Give me a day or 2 and I'll post up a write up on how to and what to look for, with pretty common tools you already have.

Jeff

[himalaya]

If your bearing still works well, leave it as it is.

I was taking too much care to my toys, clean and re-oil them each time got back from the field. But I then found re-lubing will hurt the bearings cos the oil will "flush" into the bearing and bring dirt/sand in. It can't be more obvious that the bearing sounds worse after being lubed, I can feel the sand inside when spinning the bearing. I experinced the same over all kinds of bearings, metal, rubber sealed, ceramic......

So what I learned to do is, lube the bearings when new(to solve thick grease it may contain), leave it there, replace it when necessary, NO RE-lube.

[J57ltr]

Your not doing it right then.

Jeff