When and how should I clean my bearings?
Every three to four weeks, or before a major race, the following procedures are recommended to clean all of the bearings in your T1:
1. Remove the blue seals on both sides of the bearing by inserting the tip of a hobby knife into the inner seam and prying the seal up and out
2. If the seal bends a little and you can see a kink, carefully flatten the kink out by hand
3. Spray the seals with motor cleaner and blow dry with compressed air
NOTE: Place the seals aside in a manner that will allow you to remember which side of the bearing each one originally came from. The bearings have two different sides to them since one side has a plastic membrane covering the balls and the other is open. The seals have two different sides to themselves as well. Make sure you can differentiate the two different sides of the seals in order to put them back on with the proper side facing out.
4. Spray the bearing on both sides with motor cleaner
5. Spin the bearing while it is still wet to dislodge any particles with the cleaner
6. Spray the bearing on both sides again
7. Blow both sides of the bearing dry with compressed air to make sure particles come out
8. Hold the inner part of the bearing with my left thumb/forefinger and spin it to make sure it spins free without any "weird" vibrations or sounds.
NOTE: When dry, the Xray bearings should spin freely for more than 5 seconds and come to a smooth stop. New bearings can spin upwards of 10 seconds. If one stops a little suddenly after spinning freely for a few seconds, I'll repeat the cleaning process to make sure I have removed all particles and then I'll spin test the bearing again.
9. Place one drop of bearing oil into each side of the bearing
10. Replace both seals at the same time by lining them up on each side of the bearing and lightly pressing them in all the way around the bearings circumference with your thumb and forefinger
NOTE: Do not press too hard or use any type of tool, such as a wrench tip, to push the blue seals in as they will push in too far, bend and cause drag.
If you spin test the bearing after you have re-oiled and sealed it, it will not spin freely for an extended period of time. The lightest of oils may allow it to spin for one or two seconds. This is normal and once you have mounted the bearings in the car again, the drive train will spin them freely.
Make sure you use a motor cleaner that does not leave a residue after it dries as this may cause drag and wear in the bearings.
