Cleaning the Ball Bearings!
I know that this is a big pain in the ass and subsequently that most racers don’t clean their bearings.
They wait until they have a huge build-up of dirt and then just spray them with an air gun. It’s no
wonder then that bearings are the number one spares on sale.
Firstly, don’t let your bearings get to the stage where they have a huge build-up of dirt. Gently hold
the bearings by the sides and see if they can rotate freely (avoid touching the surface as this could
result in the dirt infiltrating the seals). Depending on the result you get read the relevant section.
Rotate Freely:
Get hold of a very thin screwdriver, and gently, in a circular motion, scrape the dirt out from between
the outer ring and the seal. Don’t clean the dirt from the inner ring yet.
When most of the dirt is out, take a semi-hard thin brush and gently clean the bearing by brushing
from the inside out. Avoid pressing down to hard as you could force the dirt on the inner ring into the
bearing and damage the balls.
Finally, put a damp paper napkin or kitchen towel onto the surface of the bearing, while at the same
time rotating the bearing. Next, gently push the towel onto the inner ring with your finger while still
rotating the bearing. Do it gently!
It may seem like a long process, but believe me you can have a very clean bearing in about 2
minutes. Also, in this way, you don’t get excessive dirt build-up so it can’t infiltrate the bearing and
ruin it.
Doesn’t Rotate Freely:
Well you’re screwed! Just joking. This means that unfortunately dirt has infiltrate inside the bearing
and you will have to open it up. If you don’t then dirt will rapidly wear off the balls and the bearing will
fail. From there on you must replace it a.s.a.p. Not mentioning that a failed bearing will cause
excessive wear on the axles, make your car behaving strangely and could even result in a more
extensive damage.
So before you go out and buying new spares, replace your ball bearings or clean them properly. If
your bearings are Teflon sealed, then you probably have to replace them anyway. There is not much
we can do to clean them. If, however, your bearings are the standard sealed type, then we can
hopefully restore tem back to life.
Get hold of a small screwdriver or pin and gently remove the clip holding the seal in place and
remove the seal. Do this on both sides of the bearing. Place the bearings in a cup with enough
methanol, alcohol or fuel (not as effective) to cover the bearing and leave to soak for 2-4 minutes.
Next, while keeping the bearing in the solution, rotate the bearing. If you still notice any resistance,
move the bearing back and forth in the solution and try again. Do this until the bearing offers no
resistance to rotation.
Remove the bearing from the solution and place over a suitable drive shaft and rotate it quickly by
spinning the outer ring. Dip it back into the solution and spin again. Repeat this process a few times
until you notice that the bearing spins absolutely freely without the slightest resistance or any funny
scratching noises. This is a great way of removing any dust from the bearing - the particles inside
the bearing are "loosened" and "grabbed" by the methanol and then spun off by the centrifugal force
generated by spinning the bearing.
Finally, put a little ball bearing grease (only use proper ball bearing grease) on the seals the seal the
bearing. Don’t use too much grease as it will leak out and surely attract any dirt when running.
The whole process should take you about 10-12 minutes. The next decision is for you to make; do
you spend 10 minutes cleaning your bearings properly, or do you have the finances to go out and
buy new bearings.
If following the above methods does not sort out your bearing, then replacing them is inevitable.
