Checking idler bearings

[snerkman]

Ok, so last month when I'm prepping the sled for riding, I was checking my outer front idlers. When you spin them with your finger, how much should they spin? Two of mine spun "freely". That is they would spin around several revolutions when flipped with your finger tip. The other two were much stiffer. Maybe one revolution. So I was thinking those two were going bad. I ordered four of the spoked plastic wheels with replaceable bearings. I just got them yesterday. They spin fairly stiff like the ones I thought were bad. Is this normal? Did I just waste $100 bucks for nothing? Or are the two that spin freely the abnormal ones? I expected new wheels to spin like a kid's pinwheel in the wind. What's the real deal with telling if the bearings are bad or not?

 

[Metallicat]

When the bearings are fresh and packed full of grease they won't spin that freely...they're tight with all of that bearing grease! When they lose grease they'll sometimes free spin like you described but you'll likely feel some roughness from the bearings as by that time they're usually contaminated with water and pitted from rust.

Ok, so last month when I'm prepping the sled for riding, I was checking my outer front idlers. When you spin them with your finger, how much should they spin? Two of mine spun "freely". That is they would spin around several revolutions when flipped with your finger tip. The other two were much stiffer. Maybe one revolution. So I was thinking those two were going bad. I ordered four of the spoked plastic wheels with replaceable bearings. I just got them yesterday. They spin fairly stiff like the ones I thought were bad. Is this normal? Did I just waste $100 bucks for nothing? Or are the two that spin freely the abnormal ones? I expected new wheels to spin like a kid's pinwheel in the wind. What's the real deal with telling if the bearings are bad or not?

 

[yox185]

New ones spin like that because of the grease. After they wear-in they will spin easier. Since you have new ones anyway pop off the seals on the old ones and check them out. I think you will see the ones that didnt spin as well will have rust in them. Clean 'em up and regrease them and use them for spares.

 

[sherlock29]

When your bearing go bad in the idlers you will hear them, or at least fewel them rough... if you spin them and they sit there and spin free there's not grease left. when you hear a bearing its bad!!!!!

cheers.... good luck

 

[shanksyamaha]

Usually the ones that spin easy and fast are dry, There is little or no grease in them to slow them down. Not necessarilly bad yet but dry... You didn't waste any money because you got better wheels that you would have needed eventually anyway...

 

[SharkAttak]

i take my out every year and clean and re-pack them, have had the same doo 135mm idlers in there for 4 years, got to do maintenance on them, saves a lot of $$$