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Rustyred

Front wheel bearings - sealed or sheilded? - C-81

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Rustyred

Hi folks,

 

I need to install new bearings on my C-81 front wheels and I am wondering what is better - sealed bearings or shielded bearings?

 

Obviously the wheels currently have zerk's as the bearings were shielded ones. But is switching to sealed ones even better?

 

With thanks, Rustyred

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rmaynard

I use sealed on my show horses so that I don't have grease on my wheels. I use open on my workers so they can be well greased to keep water and dirt out.

It's all about personal preferences.

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DougC

I prefer to have the ability to grease my bearings. The last 6 sealed mower deck bearings I installed after removing 1 side of the seal 3 of the bearings were factory greased full and the other 3 had no grease in them at all and they were NAPA bearings.  It can be a crap shoot.  And as Bob said above depends on your preference and with low cost sealed bearings, your luck.   :)

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WHX??

Some good info in this thread Rusty

 

Like Bob I personally go with sealed bearings and take the inner seal out for grease ability for my workers.  Show trailer queens no need for even that, don't even bother greasing.

Edited by WHX9
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doc724

I always use high quality bearings, sealed both sides from Motion Industries.  After install, I remove the zerk fittings and install a set screw to keep water out.  My reason for doing this is simple, it keeps the machine cleaner as there is no grease squirting put of either end of the axle.  All my machines are workers, but grease can and will drip onto the garage floor where inevitably it gets stepped in and tracked into the house and on the carpet.  It is a personal preference but I prefer to not get yelled at for tracking in grease and then having to pay to have the carpet professionally cleaned.

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WHX??

What bearings are we talking about here @doc724? Are they the super common 1 3/8 x 3/4 flanged? Got a Motion pn? I kinda like yer way of thinking. :handgestures-thumbupright:

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Rustyred

All great information. How much does brand matter? Any recommendation?

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pfrederi

They are the common flanged bearing.  Cheap ones are made out of stamped steel and do not hold up ad well as the ones that look like they are machined.

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ACman
18 hours ago, DougC said:

I prefer to have the ability to grease my bearings. The last 6 sealed mower deck bearings I installed after removing 1 side of the seal 3 of the bearings were factory greased full and the other 3 had no grease in them at all and they were NAPA bearings.  It can be a crap shoot.  And as Bob said above depends on your preference and with low cost sealed bearings, your luck.   :)

 

Back in the day , I used a grazer front mounted zero turn mower (best cut of any mower that I've seen) . Not did we use them we sold them . So when problems started arising with spindle bearings , we needed a solution . We did exactly what Doug did . I put the whole assembly back together bearing seals and all minus the removal of the inside seal of bearing . Just think of it as double seal . Never again had a issue . This became the fix on greaseable bearings on this machine . :handgestures-thumbupright:

 

14 hours ago, doc724 said:

I always use high quality bearings, sealed both sides from Motion Industries.  After install, I remove the zerk fittings and install a set screw to keep water out.  My reason for doing this is simple, it keeps the machine cleaner as there is no grease squirting put of either end of the axle.  All my machines are workers, but grease can and will drip onto the garage floor where inevitably it gets stepped in and tracked into the house and on the carpet.  It is a personal preference but I prefer to not get yelled at for tracking in grease and then having to pay to have the carpet professionally cleaned.

 

My new zero turn uses all sealed bearings . The reason the dealership told me was Simplicity was getting to many warranty issues with the homeowners lack of maintenance . So I see no issue with you using a good quality sealed flanged bearings . Found some good high speed bearings with a quick search :techie-typing: . Looks like this is a common bearing in the go-cart community . @pfrederi is correct stay away from the pressed steel handcart bearings :naughty: !

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WHX??
3 hours ago, ACman said:

stay away from the pressed steel handcart bearings

So are those considered what Motion or others call an "unground" bearing?

 

Anybody got a where to buy and/or  PN's  on the good ones?

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Rustyred

Well it seems in a way as someone said it comes down to personal preference. But what is great about Red Square is that you always become aware of new issues to consider when doing something.

 

In the end I'm going to give sealed precision bearings from MSC a try and see how that goes.

 

Thanks again folks.

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ACman
 
pfrederi

I have found Heim bearing in several older wheel horses...I believe them to be original equipment. 

 

Heim RF122214AP   (Sealed on outside) Used to be made in USA  do not know about now.  About $8 at least from my supplier.

Heim.JPG

Edited by pfrederi

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doc724
On 3/3/2017 at 3:50 PM, pfrederi said:

I have found Heim bearing in several older wheel horses...I believe them to be original equipment. 

 

Heim RF122214AP   (Sealed on outside) Used to be made in USA  do not know about now.  About $8 at least from my supplier.

I am away from my machines right now and no access to data.  However, I believe the above cited P/N is the correct one for single sided sealed.  change suffix AP to PP and you get sealed both sides.  These are the ones I get from Motion Industries and I think they are about $12 each plus shipping.  Outer races are machined, not stamped and yes, they are called "unground".  I cannot remember if they are made in USA or Japan, but definitely NOT China.

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