RainmanP

I did a search, and, surprsingly, it doesn't look like this particular aspect of cartridge bearings has been addressed. The Sunshine Gyromaster hubs on my old Schwinn Voyageur have cartridge bearings. Pokey, FYI, I did have to use a cone wrench on the narrow adjusting nut. The bearings seem a little dry. They roll quite smoothly. I wouldn't call the sound/feel gritty, just not the nice smoothness of a well greased bearing. So I have a few questions about cartridge bearings.

1. Barnett's describes a method of cleaning and re-greasing cartridge bearings by carefully prying out the seal, cleaning the bearings, in situ, with solvent, then repacking and carefully pressing the seal back in. Has anyone actually done this? Were you satisfied with the results?

2. Has anyone pulled and replaced cartridge bearings themselves? How did you get them out and in? Pry with a screwdriver or use a puller and press? My current thinking on this issue is to let my lbs do it since they have the tools. New bearings are only 4 bucks apiece, and they may not even charge me for the installation though I do take good care of my favorite wrench.

Thanks,
Raymond

jmlee

for what it is worth, I just asked my lbs's chief mechanic about this. His view was that they virtually never need replacing. My wheels are at least 13 years old, but have only, perhaps, 12,000 km on them (most in the last 18 months, the rest in the early 1990s).

I would ask your local guru to look at them. The new ones might have that "dry" feeling too.

Cheers,
Jamie

Hawkphoto

Yes, I have quite recently done this rainman. Use a razor blade to pop the seal out, use a citrus degreaser w/ tip to blast out the old grease, water hose to emulsify, then dry COMPLETELY w/ air compressor, repack w/ syringe filled w/ favorite grease (I like Pedro's Syngrease), replace seal, enjoy!

This is actually quite easy to do, and You will notice a huge difference. IMHO you will do a better job than your LBS ever could because you care more about your bike than they do...

Use the axle to pop out the opposing bearing and then the remaining bearing. And, don't forget to remove (and REPLACE) any "C" clips on the front hub!

Good Luck!

Mike

roadbuzz

:confused: Was he just talking about wheel bearings? Or Sunshine Gyromaster?

I ask because I put a Phil BB in my commuter, and after several years it got a little rough (like silk when it was new). Granted, I'm talking about oranges in a discussion about apples.


It sounds like the BB was a very different animal from what Mike describes... I didn't really investigate much, but the left and right bearings appeared to be sealed units that were pressed onto the spindle and into the housing. It wasn't something I felt I had the tools to do right, and didn't want to screw up, considering the cost of the thing and warranty considerations.

And I'll add my plug for Phils (way off topic)... the week I returned the unit for bearing replacement was during Interbike, so everybody was at the show. The service took an extra week (2 weeks from the time I sent it to get it back), so they didn't charge me for it. Mind you, I didn't raise h#ll with them or anything... I didn't expect to get it back that fast in any case. They just didn't charge me. :thumbup:

RainmanP

Mike,
Interesting you mention this. My rear bearings are marked 6200NK, which the buy at a bearing shop I called said means although it is identical dimensions to a standard 6200, the NK means it is designed for use with a spring clip/C-clip. I don't see anyplace a spring clip could go. Where were the clips on your front hubs? Clipped onto the axle?
Thanks,
Raymond

By the way, my front hub bearings are maked 629, but I can't find that designation bearing reference.

drcrash

Check out https://www.nationalprecision.com/bb2.htm. This page describes the 629 bearing in your front hub. It comes in shielded (Z/ZZ) and sealed (RS/2RS) varieties. It also comes in a NR flavor that has a groove for a retaining ring.

RainmanP

Thanks for the help, guys. After careful consideration, mainly regarding the age of the existing bearings, I decided to go ahead and spend a few bucks for new bearings. Glad I did. The old ones only had seals on the outside. The insides were a rusty mess of glop. The new bearings are sealed both sides. Once I found something I could shape to get into the little recess to reach the inner lip of the bearing from the opposite side of the hub (a barbecue skewer that I bent just right) the bearings tapped out without too much force. After cleaning the recesses and wiping a thin film of grease, the new ones pressed in with hand pressure. I feel much better now. I haven't done the fronts, the 629s. I may take a shot at cleaning and regreasing those since they don't feel as bad as the rears did. If they are open on the inside as the rears were I won't even have to remove the seals to clean them out.

Thanks, DrCrash for the site reference on the 629s!

wayback

Yeah, I know this is an ancient thread. Still seemed like the best place to ask questions about cartridge bearings.

Got a Gyromaster front hub and the 629NK bearings are badly rusted. Need replacements. The axle is fixed to the hub, probably held in place by the internal c-clips noted above.

Before I start calling around, can a competent LBS press out the old c-clipped cartridges without damaging the hub?

Where can I buy new cartridges? Called the nearest bearing distributor and the guy I talked to wouldn't try to locate them.

Do the replacements have to be 629NK? Would 629ZZ or 629RS work just as well?