Sealed or serviceable bearing: your choice?

[thclimer]

Now where's the fun in that. If tractor manufactures stopped putting zerks on all the movable surfaces they know for sure sales would drop by 50% cause they know that greasing a tractor is the most enjoyable attribute of owning one.

 

[Seven Gables]

I’ve very very seldom had to replace a greaseable bearing over the years , sealed I’ve replaced many. If I can get to a sealed bearing I grease them on the machine with a needle, here’s one off a fork lift mast i greased, first thing that pushed out was tiny water droplets

 

[pmsmechanic]

I've greased metal sided bearings by drilling a needle sized hole in the side and then sealing it off with a dab of silicone.

One thing I have not experimented with is removing the metal side and replacing it with a rubber one from an old bearing.

I've heard about incompatible greases but never experienced the problem. I buy a good water resistant grease for the u-joints on my cummins diesel trucks and use it for everything. Rear u-joints especially last a lot longer if you use a water resistant grease.

I think the if you clean off the zerk before you grease you prolong the life of a bearing by greasing it. A good example is the water being pushed out in the above pictures.

I suspect the real reasons for producing non greaseable bearings is that it's cheaper and they get replaced more often due to lack of proper lubrication. The minimal grease in a new bearing would seem to portray that line of manufacturer reasoning.

One thing that's important to remember is that a greaseable bearing is easy to push the seal off of by over greasing. 3 shots of grease every lube is more than enough.

 

[WinterDeere]

I guess I walk both sides of this fence:

• When I buy new equipment, I appreciate it having sealed bearings.
• When I'm restoring second-hand equipment, I curse it for not having Zerks.

And I only ever give 2 shots. You wouldn't believe the grease-packed drum brakes I've found on some trailers, from people over-greasing.

 

[LD1]

Its application specific.

There is no practical way to make a single bearing greaseable like found in idlers.

Spindles however....with TWO bearings....can either be greased through the housing or spindle...with inner seals of the bearings omitted or removed. So for spindles I prefer greaseable.

But as others touched on.....GOOD bearings is a key point. Look at automotive wheel bearings. They havent been greasable for 3-4 decades. And not uncommon to get 200k miles out of a set of wheel bearings. Remember when we had 1980's pickups and we were re-packing the front bearings every 10k?

u-joints I dont have much opinion on. Sealed or greaseable dont seem to make them last any longer. Greaseable ones usually only pump grease to one....maybe two caps if you are lucky. Grease takes the path of least resistance. In a u-joint you are giving it 4 places to go....and it DOESNT go to all 4 equally. I have replaced greaseable u-joints and found 2 or 3 caps well lubed and like new and one dry as a bone and wore out.

But I have talked to some engineers (specifically about mower decks) and asked why they make non greaseable spindles and the answer was simple. Most homeowner-type's dont grease properly. And a sealed bearing last way longer than a greaseable bearing that doesnt get serviced properly.

 

[big bubba]

agree with above posts. unfortunately, we don't always have the luxury of choosing quality sealed bearings when we purchase equipment
agree w/pmsmechanic: sealed bearings are cheaper to produce. & just another throwaway item seems to be the way of manufacturing these days

as a footnote, i was glad to see that on a larger idler/tensioner pulley on my older Toyota pu that the sealed bearing itself is replaceable, a $15 press fit sealed bearing vs $175+ for the new pulley.

imho the best comprimise would be to have idler pulley bearings press fit replaceable. doubt it will happen anytime soon.

 

[WVH1977]

I bought a my first Gravely mower in 2008. It has sealed spindles. I was not easy on that zero-turn and cut grass with it for 12 years. Sold it to my cousin and she is still cutting with it. Sealed spindles are still going strong. My new Gravely is in the commercial series and has sealed spindles. I am not worried about not having access to grease them.

 

[DK35vince]

I bought a my first Gravely mower in 2008. It has sealed spindles. I was not easy on that zero-turn and cut grass with it for 12 years. Sold it to my cousin and she is still cutting with it. Sealed spindles are still going strong. My new Gravely is in the commercial series and has sealed spindles. I am not worried about not having access to grease them.

Yes,
I've had a Hustler Super Z (commercial zero turn) for 10 years now with sealer spindle bearings.
Never an issue. I'm expecting many more years from them.

 

[big bubba]

have both zerk & sealed spindle bearings on 2 mowers, neither have failed. could be spindle bearings can house far more grease than an idler pulley that is also subject to heat generated by belts.
so i agree, all sealed bearings are not equal. my main complaint is that i am constantly replacing idler pulleys that engineers boast will last indefinitely

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

Like round balers!! Dozens of bearings and all sealed, not one zerk fitting to be found! Metal shielded at that so you can even sneak a little grease in there.

On baler rollers pop the seal out and put mostly grease, little air space. You'll find when you first open them that it's mostly air with a little grease space. Or you can make a vacuum chamber out of a gallon pickle jar and lube them that way. It also helps to keep a digital laser thermometer to check temps while in use. Just drop a bale, leave it open and shoot each bearing real quick. At least you'll know which one needs replacing.
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