high speed bearing lube

[racergeo]

i am using Timken tapered roller bearings in my lakster. the grease flys outwardly off the bearing because of the taper. my bearings were dry but unworn after only 3 runs. Im using Redline grease so i contacted their chemist who said mix it with a little gear grease to get STP type consitancy so it will flow better and run 1 to3 thousands of clearance for heat expantion. bearing speed will be about 4000 rpm. ANY OTHER IDEAS OR SNAKE OIL TRICKS? THANKS   ( ps, i dont want to go to an oil bath system)

[Sumner]

i am using Timken tapered roller bearings in my lakster. the grease flys outwardly off the bearing because of the taper. my bearings were dry but unworn after only 3 runs. Im using Redline grease so i contacted their chemist who said mix it with a little gear grease to get STP type consitancy so it will flow better and run 1 to3 thousands of clearance for heat expantion. bearing speed will be about 4000 rpm. ANY OTHER IDEAS OR SNAKE OIL TRICKS? THANKS   ( ps, i dont want to go to an oil bath system)

I got some AMSOIL Series 2000 Synthetic Racing Grease to use:

http://www.synthetic-solutions.com/grease.htm

But I haven't used it yet, so I'm interested to see what others have to say about this also.

c ya,

Sum

[Dean Los Angeles]

I would start with Timken's web site:
http://www.timken.com/products/bearings/products/TaperedRollerBearings/overview.asp
And lubrication:
http://www.timken.com/lubrication/
It's not only about the lubrication. Sounds like you are running an open bearing. They have sealed bearings available.

[Richard Thomason]

We used to have to replace wheel bearings after every meet. We tried a different grease in all eight bearings to try and find what was best. We met up with some snake oil peddlers that suggested taking what ever grease we thought was best and lace it with their product. We tried it and went 7 years with the same bearings. Didn't have to replace them until we pushed back in a lot of water and they immediately rusted. 5000+ wheel rpm. If anyone is interested in our particular materials, pm me.

[racergeo]

richard, something this good every one needs to know. or are you trying to cash in? lol

[jimmy six]

I'm definitely not an expert but I eliminated timken bearings not only because the ball bearing kept the lube in but because of rolling resistance. Many are now looking at ceramic bearings. Good Luck

[Richard Thomason]

Dang, if I could ever cash in on anything, would I be that stupid? Rules on the sea are written in blood, rules at B-ville are written in experience and $. Safety rules are a whole different ball game.

[russ jensen]

I got some AMSOIL Series 2000 Synthetic Racing Grease to use:

http://www.synthetic-solutions.com/grease.htm

But I haven't used it yet, so I'm interested to see what others have to say about this also.

c ya,

Sum

local puller stopped to visit Art Arfon& he had the jet car that welded a brng to spindle rebuilt & instead of grease he was using oil like a lot of big rigs do- thought it a good idea so thats the system I use. on my al grand nat hubs just made a "O" ringed bolt on cap w/ a lexan sight gage in center & fill plug off ctr. never had any problems- when stock cars quit paying the grand nat spindles & hubs & wheels went to front of my cultivator tractor;;{which carry a lot of wt when applying liquid fert ;though - be it @ low speed}never had any trouble & never packed a wheel brng either..If hub is 1/2 full of synthetic 50 wt oil it would seem to be hard to hurt a brng @ any rpm..heat buildup? cut the 50 wt  w/ marvel oil??

[Bob Drury]

Jeez Richard, wasn't that a burnt up spindle you had at Marlo't last year or am I having a nightmare?  p.s. my memory may be distorted from living in the 60's.............

[Sumner]

local puller stopped to visit Art Arfon& he had the jet car that welded a brng to spindle rebuilt & instead of grease he was using oil like a lot of big rigs do- thought it a good idea so thats the system I use. on my al grand nat hubs just made a "O" ringed bolt on cap w/ a lexan sight gage in center & fill plug off ctr. never had any problems- when stock cars quit paying the grand nat spindles & hubs & wheels went to front of my cultivator tractor;;{which carry a lot of wt when applying liquid fert ;though - be it @ low speed}never had any trouble & never packed a wheel brng either..If hub is 1/2 full of synthetic 50 wt oil it would seem to be hard to hurt a brng @ any rpm..heat buildup? cut the 50 wt  w/ marvel oil??

Interesting.  Thanks for sharing that.  My back runs on sealed bearings all the way across.  The front might not be that heavy and is running on early ford spindles with Mopar hubs, so I might look into that idea.

For what we are doing I'll bet you could just tap a small fill hole 1/2 way up and fill to it and then plug it.

c ya,

Sum

[Seldom Seen Slim]

Sum, walk across the street and look at the non-driven wheels of most any semi tractor, and probably the trailer wheels, too.  It's very common to have "wet seal" bearings on 'em, and they usually have a transparent plastic cover with a line scribed around the face and a center hole with a rubber (?) plug.  Visual inspection of oil level is a 2-second task, and adding some lube requires nothing more than pop out the plug, add some goop, and put the plug back in.  one quick look and you'll see if you can adapt the concept to your racer.

[Richard Thomason]

Bob, no actually it was a cv joint. Wasn't burned but had some shiny spots on the cages. Everyone said was not a problem so we are still running the same ones. I think it actually was two years ago. Time flies when you are having fun.

[hitz]

 Many of the truck wheel bearings that use oil have special seals. The seals turn inside themselves and not on the spindle. They have a lot of drag. Some standard wheel seals don't hold even heavy oils like 90 wt. gear lube. Some of the older Bonneville bike racers used Vaseline in their wheel bearings. The best thing I have found for heavy load Timkin use in slower speed applications is the old Union chassis F2 grease. It had white lead in it so it is no longer sold. If you can find any white lead a mixture in your regular grease maybe something to try. What ever you try, inspect them often at first. JD's pick of sealed bearing are a good way to go but check the applications for speed and load before buying them.

 Harv

[Harold Bettes]

Hi Guys,

For high speed wheel bearing lube, a good choice would be the following stuff:
Kluber Lubrication - IsoFlex NBU 15
Hochgeshwindigkeitsfet  High Speed Grease

This stuff is good and I have no idea to tell you how to get it. I have had this canister for a very long time.
Not something that I would recommend for the normal 20K mile deals, but perfect for racecars.

I betcha that Pork Pie has a lead on this stuff as it is from Germany.

Best Regards to All,
HB2

[russ jensen]

I use std 3/4 ton chevy oil seals from napa  with no leakage problems..-made tractors w/  front axle from pete & 1 from mack w/ 10 bolt al hubs- have the rubber fill dealy & seals are nothing special- just dbl lip seals. on race car hubs -  used brass pipe plug for fill as didn't want to come out in heat of battle..russ