My jackshaft bearing is rusty and dried out - Why?

[culvert]

Hey guys,
Doing my preseason maitenance. I pop the cover off the jackshaft brg and it all rusty and dried out.
I grease this thing twice a year. What is causing the rust to form in a brg that is up high and dry from the snow?? I could see the driveshaft brg going this way sitting down in the belly pan but why the jackshaft?

Talked with dealer when I ordered the new brg & hes never heard or seen any of them go bad other than the older 03 design flaw.

Any explantain why????

 

[Geezer 2]

Rust

I have a question not an answer. Do you park your sled in a heated garage during the riding season? Doesn't the rust almost have to come from condensation? Either that or the seals are allowing moisture to get in.

Geezer

 

[Grimm]

Perhaps cracking open the seal has damaged it in such a way that allows moisture to get in and cause this premature wear?

 

[culvert]

No to the heated shop. It is stored inside but it is an unfinished shop.
The damaged seal I dont think so because when I bought the sled with 700km on it I was reading a post on TY about these brgs. Went and checked mine and it was rusty.
Now I grease twice a season but this time I will just change it out with 2100km on it.

why do others pop the seal and add grease during the season? Are yours just lacking grease or are they rusting up aswell?

Thanks for the help

 

[Geezer 2]

rust

Well I guess I will call mine dumb luck and or just dumb but I have never added grease to a jackshaft bearing and I've never had one go bad. If the seals don't leak they should be fine. I just check them for movement and leave them alone. The wheels down low are a different story. I won't run that axle bearing more than 3 yrs. I'm knocking on wood as I type.

Geezer

 

[apltx08]

I grease mine couple times a year and never had any issues w/rust or condensation...do you pressure wash your sled prior to storage or any type of running water that might make it self in that area?

I park mine in a heated garage and never had issues w/rusty bearings...all of my sleds have been parked in a heated garage 5 sleds in the past 12yrs.

 

[Yamahammer485]

Heated garage for years, no rusty jackshaft bearings

Im not exactly why yours would be any different from others....

 

[Grimm]

Maybe the seal is damaged on the other side, not the side you removed to re grease it.

 

[culvert]

I dont know why either, I read about it couple yrs ago on this site and since then have been pulling the seal, cleaning and regrease.
Why does this brg even need to be regreased continuosly?

Either way new one on order so I will change it and see how it goes this season.

 

[BenderSRX]

Its not a 4 stroke, but my srx this year i changed the track and i thought i would do the jackshaft bearing also and mine was rusted an siezed, I don't remove the seal but i do grease every year, i'm lucky my track needed to be changed. Could have been nasty the rip out this year

 

[Phatboyc]

Newb question: How do you grease the bearing without removing the seal?

 

[culvert]

you cant. you have to remove the seal inorder to clean out old grease and put in new.

 

[Dano]

I can’t see a heated garage having anything to do with water in the bearing. The bearing area gets hot whenever the sled gets used and cools off if left out in the cold. Doing this several times may cause condensation, but not a heated garage. I can see condensation developing in the fuel tank though. I’ve always had a room temperature garage with no issues.
Anyways, I would just replace the jackshaft bearing every now and then. Contrary to the lower speedo bearing, the jackshaft bearing often gets hot. In fact it gets very hot, especially if the clutching is a bit off and the clutch has slippage. If the seal is buggered a bit, it’s easy for the hot lube to leak out the bearing.
I'm changing mine this week.

Dan

 

[BLUEBALLER]

Newb question: How do you grease the bearing without removing the seal?

Use a grease injector needle. They work well on sealed bearings, just attach to the end of your greasegun and slip the needle past the flexible part of the seal. Pump a couple times, spin bearing & repeat.

 

[Phatboyc]

Thanks I'll go buy one!