What is the best lubricant for ball bearings

Ballbearing oil

Next in complexity are the oil mist and air/oil systems that are designed to provide the exact amount of oil needed for lubrication, preventing excess oil that could be churned by the bearing, increasing drag and temperature.

For over 100 years, we have been engineering, designing and building solutions that meet and exceed customer’s requirements for standard and specialty bearings.

Q:  “When should I replace my wheel bearings?”A:  Eventually, all wheel bearings wear out and will need to be replaced. Assuming normal service under typical driving conditions, the newer, “hub-assembly” style bearings found on most modern vehicles should last around 100,000 miles when maintained properly. The older style bearings might last just as long but it’s a good idea to start having them checked regularly once they reach about 60,000 miles. In performance applications or on modified cars, as is the case with this Porsche 944 Turbo pictured here, you can expect the “life-span of the wheel bearings” to be significantly shorter. The wheel bearings on the drive wheels weren’t meant to be able to handle the throughput of increased horsepower that heavily modified cars achieve over the factory stock configuration. Furthermore, the wider wheels and tires that are often fitted to modified cars in order to accommodate that increased power and transfer it to the road are also extremely hard on the wheel bearings.Q:  “How Do You Know if Your Wheel Bearings are Bad?” / “Signs and Symptoms of Wheel Bearing Failure” A:  When they initially begin to fail, wheel bearings first begin to get loose. This allows the wheels to “wobble” slightly as they roll down the road, which leads to “uneven tire wear”. This looseness, or “bearing play” is usually too subtle to be felt through the steering wheel, at least at first. As the wear increases, the bearing’s ability to mitigate or limit friction becomes increasingly compromised and heat generated from that increased friction will begin to build up.  It is at this point when the decline in bearing integrity speeds up dramatically, and when the first noticeable signs of “wheel bearing failure” become apparent to the driver. When the heat becomes great enough, the grease lubricating the bearing will burn away, further increasing friction and heat. At this point the driver can usually feel “grinding” and some “pull in the steering wheel”, but by far the most common symptom is the “howling noise” coming from the bearing as the car is driven (sometimes described as a “whining noise”). The faster the speed, the louder it gets. After all of the bearing grease is lost, the friction of metal on metal will rapidly build up heat, eventually reaching the point of being hot enough to even soften the steel. Once the wheel bearings have worn to this state, it is critical to have the issue addressed by a qualified auto shop. (We could probably recommend one…)

Bearing oilvs grease

We have tried to define the most important characteristics of a lubricant for our bearings so that they will provide a long service life to owners and operators of the equipment in which they are installed. Only some of the characteristics of the common oils and greases available have been briefly touched upon, leaving many more features of the various lubricants to be explained by a lubrication expert. If customers of our bearings have any questions or concerns about lubricant recommendations for their equipment, please do not hesitate to contact American Roller Bearing’s Sales Department or one of our field representatives. It is the stated policy of American Roller Bearing Company that we do not recommend a specific lubricant or even a company that manufactures lubricants. We will, however, verify that a lubricant chosen by our customers is suitable for our bearings.

It is very important to select a lubricant that will provide a minimum acceptable viscosity at the bearing’s operating temperature, which will usually be between the lowest and highest reference temperatures shown above. Typically, oil viscosity numbers decrease very rapidly with increasing temperature. Determining a bearing’s operating temperature is a fairly complicated calculation that is beyond the scope of this catalog. Calculating the viscosity of a lubricant at this temperature from the lubricant manufacturer’s specifications is yet another matter. Often, previous experience with an existing similar machine will indicate an acceptable lubricant. In house testing of a prototype or the first machine can indicate operating temperatures. Most machines use a lubricant that is selected to match the most severe demand of one component in the machine such as a bearing, gear, etc.

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Generally, grease lubrication is chosen if the lubrication demands of the bearing will allow it. Typical grease systems are much simpler than oil systems and do not cost as much. Often, the only features needed are grease supply holes and an external grease nipple for replenishment.

When choosing a grease for an application, several of its properties need to be considered for the expected operating conditions. The priority of these properties is:

Each manufacturer of a lubricant can supply a specification sheet for each of their products, and each sheet will have a list of about 20 properties and their values related to this lubricant. The most important property of any lubricant for rolling element bearings is its oil viscosity. If the specification sheet is for an oil, the viscosity values will be for the oil. If it’s a grease, it should refer to “Base Oil Viscosity” or another similar term, depending on the manufacturer. Usually, four viscosity values are shown as follows:

From a performance aspect, oil is the best form of lubrication, and it offers several types of delivery methods to the bearings. The simplest form is that of maintaining a static oil level in the bearing’s housing. In several types of equipment, such as those with gears and/or connecting rods, the oil supplied to these components creates a fog or spray that wets the bearing contact surfaces. This is sometimes called “splash lubrication.”

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American Roller Bearing Company primarily makes heavy duty industrial class bearings that are used in various industries in the US and around the world.

In many applications, it is necessary to replenish the grease at regular intervals as the old grease will “dry out” from bleeding oil to the moving parts of the bearing, and the thickening base will oxidize. Re-greasing should be an integral part of the design of the equipment, and some bearing types already provide a re-lube feature. Good designers will provide accessible grease passages in the machine itself for getting grease into the bearing. It does very little good to push new grease up against a bearing if the old grease blocks the way. It is far better to introduce new grease in the center of the bearing and let it push the old grease out each side. If this is not possible in the selected bearing, then the grease needs to be applied to one side of the bearing while the other side of the housing cavity provides someplace for the old grease to go. Some machine designs provided a purging vent or allow the old grease to escape under seal lips. Some types of equipment employed in industries that have abrasive particles in the air use the lubricating grease as a filter media to trap these particles. Regular re-greasing of these bearings and their housings purges the contaminated grease out of the bearing housings. It is important to remember that re-lubrication should be done when grease in the bearing is still good.

There are two basic types of bearing lubricants readily available: Oil and Grease. The former is fairly simple to understand, being a free-flowing liquid, while the latter is a little more complex.  In order to be a lubricant, all greases have oil that is entrained in a thickened base. It is this base that gives the impression that grease is a more viscous type of oil; however, it is the oil in the grease that does the actual lubricating. Each type of lubricant has its own advantages and disadvantages and is selected by the nature of the application. The major advantages of the two basic types of lubricants are:

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Additives are a very important feature of modern oils and greases and can often mean the difference for successful, long term operation of bearings and other machine components. The selection of any lubricant over another should always consider additives.

For high-speed applications, jetted circulating oil is often necessary.  Nozzles inject oil directly into the bearing providing a duel function of lubrication and removal of heat. These systems are complicated and expensive and are selected when absolutely necessary.

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Obtaining lubrication recommendations should not be hard as there are numerous lubricant manufacturers and distributors that should have the knowledge and specifications to provide professional help. Experience learned with their products in similar equipment and/or similar operating conditions is often the best reason for choosing a brand, lubricant type for the bearings in a piece of equipment.

American Roller Bearing primarily makes heavy duty bearings that are used in various industries in the US and around the world. Not only must our industrial class bearings provide long in-service life from a rolling fatigue criterion, but they must also hold together structurally from impacts, overloads, and occasional high-speed excursions. The design of every heavy-duty bearing has been optimized to this end, including our large bore bearings.

American Roller Bearing Company primarily makes heavy duty industrial class bearings that are used in various industries in the US and around the world.

The “Grade” level of the grease is an indicator of how stiff the grease is. Grades “0” and “1” are relatively soft and are typically used at low operating temperatures. Grades “2”, “3”, and “4” are used at increasingly higher temperatures. Grade “3” is also usually used in vertical applications to prevent all the grease from settling at the bottom of the bearing.

High SpeedBearing Oil

Q:  “What happens if I don’t replace my wheel bearings?” A:  If left unattended to, catastrophic axle failure is possible at this stage, which is exactly as bad as it sounds as it can often result in separation of the wheel from the car. In other words, the wheel can literally come off while driving down the road. It’s rare, but it is an eventuality that can and does occur in instances of extreme long-term neglect. If you think you might be in need of a wheel bearing replacement, or simply just want to have yours checked out by a certified auto mechanic, give us a call today at 972-317-4005!

Fifth Gear Automotive specializes in auto service and auto repair. We service all makes and models – both domestic and import – with locations in Lewisville and Argyle, Texas.

Lubrication is absolutely essential to the proper operation of ball and roller bearings. A proper lubricant will reduce friction between the internal sliding surfaces of the bearings components and reduce or prevent metal-to-metal contact of the rolling elements with their raceways. Proper lubrication reduces wear and prevents corrosion, ensuring long service lives for bearings.

Fifth Gear Automotive specializes in auto service and auto repair. We service all makes and models – both domestic and imported.

The different thickening bases have specific advantages so they may be selected for different applications. Some of their main advantages are:

Re-greasing intervals, that will always provide the proper amount of oil to the bearings, cannot always be accurately predicted. We do know that a proper interval is mainly a function of operating temperature, the number of hours in operation per day, and the size and speed of the bearing. Some equipment needs all the bearings re-greased every day, some once a week, some every two weeks, and some once a month. In applications such as this, it is often beneficial to completely wash out the bearings once a year, re-pack with new grease, and continue on with the established re-greasing program. Users are advised to not only inspect the condition of the old grease, but to send samples to a laboratory that specializes in analyzing used lubricants. The knowledge gained for each specific application is the best indicator of a proper re-greasing interval.