Lubing bearings with non-removable sheilds

[cam91]

Is it possible? Do you just put some oil on the sheild and rotate it a bit and hope it sinks through?

thanks,
-cam

EDIT: While I have a thread going, I might as well ask: Does anybody know what ABEC Sin Systems Ceramics are? I know it doesn't matter, but Im tired as hell of people asking me and me not knowing.

[Jraice]

You can oil them, but it wont help much because there will still be dirt etc...

I would rinse and agitate a lot in alcohal to try to get some dirt out, maybe rinse in mineral spirits FIRST... Then re-lube...

The lube should sink in, but if theres dirt in there all its doing is helping it spread around the bearing.

[cam91]

yeah I've already cleaned them with Kerosene and alcohol, so I guess I'm good to go

[SteveC]

Rip one shield off. do it with a big needle or a smallish blade. be careful not to damage the inside. Or yourself... start on the inside of the shield.

The bearings will require a little more maintenance afterwards, but they will be way more cleanable. So it will be less work.

Some bearings are sold with only one shield. just make sure that it's on the outside when you put things back together.

If you run a couple of searches there's heaps of discussion about DIY cleaners and which solvents work the best.

[nuthead]

About the SiN System Ceramics, if they look like pesky, ignorant kids, tell them they are ABEC 15. Look at their faces...

[Will Lum]

pfft, just spit on them and call it good^^

[nicotine]

What I did to lube my sister's bearings from her scooter, which are sealed, I took a bit of grease in my palm and then worked it into the seam at the outer edge of the bearing and just kept working it into that seam all the way around, flipped then repeated. It worked well enough for her dunno if that'll work for you though.

[omskates]

The metal shields may have C-clips, push those off with a pushpin and the shield should come off easy after that. I hate C-clips, you can actually just leave one shield off & insert that side to the core of your wheel w/ spacer. I like to clean with 'fuel injector cleaner' and empty Gatorade bottle, shake well, dry, then lube.

[jhelm007]

I agree with the above for removing one shield. If you don't want to do that though, you can put a drop where the sheild meets the inner race. it will sink right through the gap and coat the inner race and the balls when you give it a spin.

[sniffleless]

Lets say you don't want to try removing one of the shields. You should because it's way easier to clean and lube that way but lets say you don't. In a pinch here is what I have done to squeak a few more sessions into some worn out sealed bearings. I took a can of Tri-Flo spray lubricant i had for my bike and put the nozzle straw thing right up to the space between the inner race and the shield. Spray and roll, spray and roll. I did this until it felt adiquitly lubed. It has worked well for me. It'll let you run until the bearing seezes up from grime build up. I've ran bearings for years like this. You can run a cheap set of bearings like this for awhile and when they crap out you just tos them and go buy somemore. I perfer bearings I can clean but in a pinch the other works fine too.

[mojomuskrat]

This doesn't warrant a new thread, but I thought it was humorous nonetheless; so I am posting it in the current "how to lube your balls" thread...

I just called Zumiez to ask if they had minilogo bearings in stock (I don't want to drive the 30 mi to a decent skate shop, or wait the 3 days for a package). The clerk said no, but they have some others, and listed element and several brands I wasn't familiar with. Then, he said:

"Beyond that, you start getting into the high end stuff like Reds!"

[BetterSense]

I just clean them with 2-cycle gasoline for my weedeater or whatever. When the gasoline evaporates it leaves behind the oil. Works like a charm.

OR

Just buy some abec3 pleasure tools and throw your current bearings away.

[omskates]

Not always an issue, but if you happen to DH highspeed a lot and are running bad bearings there is a potential to actually melt out your wheel cores. This does happen and I hope never to me