[Closed] One for Tandem Jeremy.....

And that has to do with the debate over removing seals of sealed bearings to pack them with grease how?

All I did was stated my preference for an undamaged seal over packing the bearing with grease.

Its an area of debate and both sides have validity. It comes down to opinion and experience.

sorry - want to call me out on an area of debate than at least try to make it relevant and be prepared to back it up.

i agree with jeremy...i would think the seal does a better job intact...than damaged...and greace wont help.

Linky to the original STW thread? I missed that one.

It's easy to remove seals without damage.

NEXT!

I'm with Al on this one

Tandem Jeremy says:

"I would assume the bearing manufacturer know the correct amount of the correct grease to put in "

Oh great, other people are arguing TJ's case for him now.

This can only end in tears

And there is the debate.

Which is better - a risk ( and al it is there and I have seen it both by me and by others) of damaging seals or the risk of the bearing having insufficient grease. People who know more about this than us cannot decide. My preference is for undamaged seals. My opinion my preference. Others can logically reach a different conclusion.

I think that poor quality bearings will benefit more from removing the seals and regreasing. good quality bearings have better / tighter seals and are less prone to failure.

The previous thread on this had expert opinion both ways - from far more knowledgeable folk than Al or I.

Dave - and your link has any bearing on this how? Car wheel bearings are usually unsealed taper rollers not sealed ball races.

al - I have some spare bearings here. I'd love to see you remove all 4 seals without damage.

Can I just make an attempt to make this clear as I obviously have been misunderstood.

My preference is not to disturb the seals. My opinion. Others may prefer to remove the seals and pack with grease. Their choice their opinion.

There is no evidence either way and experts ( which none of us are) advise both.

Obviously misunderstood, how do you come to that conclusion?

What I love about the STW is that the same people have been arguing the same gimpy point about seals for years now, none of you ever convince each other so why not just argue about things you can all agree on like immigration policy or the highway code.

For what it's worth, anyone who removes the seals of a new bearing before installation is a ridiculous fool and I will fight to the death to defend this arbitrary opinion.

Si C

Bikepawl - Al seemed to think I was saying that I was definitely right and any other view was foolish - when all I did was express my opinion and gave my reasons why I held that opinion. I did not say removing the seals and packing with grease was wrong.

There are two options. A person makes a judgement based on ones experience and knowledge. Neither position is provable. Expert opinion is divided. I made no attempt to say I was right - just that it was my opinion and this is how I reached it

Al ripped into me personally on the basis of what he thought I had said on an incomplete reading of what I had written not on what I had written. Again.

[i]Car wheel bearings are usually unsealed taper rollers not sealed ball races.[/i]
What you shouldv'e said TJ was, 'Car wheel bearings USED TO BE unsealed taper rollers (usually) not sealed ball races' Other way round now, mainly.
But as an ex fitter by trade, I wouldn't remove seals to put more grease in.

Ah - ta for that Esselgruntfuttock. Its a while since I changed a care wheel bearing

Happy to do it TJ. PLease post me them 😛

Walking away,

but I do have to point out that in this thread he merely stated his preference for removing the seal and regreasing.

Rather more than that if you read it paul. Personal attack on me for holding my opinion

Please read my last post properly.
"in this thread"

cynic-al - Member
It's easy to remove seals without damage.

NEXT!

personally i leave em untill they sound contaminated and then i lift the seals degrease em and repack em.but i allso order the new ones at the same time.

ooops - bang to rights there pawl 😳

Let it go

I'm with TJ

Bearings are cheap, so why not simply buy good ones, instal them and be done with it.

Because there is a better way.

cynic-al - Member
It's easy to remove seals without damage.

NEXT!

I think you'll find that it's relatively easy to remove the seals without causing [i]obvious visible[/i] damage, but that's far from the same thing as saying [i]without[/i] damage.

Back when I was a production engineer in a bearing factory, we wouldn't dream of replacing seals that had been removed for any reason; it's practically impossible to ensure the same degree of sealing. It might [i]look[/i] ok, but 9 times out of 10 it won't be.

Leave 'em be - they'll last much longer.

Interesting. What kind of damage would the seals have?