1/4 x 3/8 flanged bearings never last

[85Edinger]

Hello all,
Has anyone else had issues with 1/4 x 3/8 bearings exploding? They just don't seem to take much stress. I've had them come apart a few times in my transmission (6 gear), but mostly it's the wheel hubs. Jump landings and lateral impacts seem to pull them apart pretty easily. I might just install some 3/16 axles and the 3/16 x 3/8 bearings Kaiser generously donated, I'd think the larger profile would make them more durable. Am I doing something wrong?

[markbt73]

I can honestly say I have never had that problem. My 10L is running on its original rear axle bearings that are almost 20 years old now. Granted, that's an on-road car that spent most of its life on carpet, so maybe it's a bad example. But I just de-crunchied the rear hub bearings on my Worlds car with my standard treatment (pop off shields, overnight soak in B-12 Chemtool, let dry, re-oil, put shields back) and they're smooth as silk now.

Do you have them shimmed properly so they can't move laterally? Are your axles worn down so they don't fit tightly in the inner races? Have you tried rubber or teflon sealed bearings, to see if they last longer? That's about all I can think of.

[85Edinger]

My axles are pretty new, but I'm not sure about the shims. I add shims until it binds, then remove one.

[85Edinger]

I'm pretty sure the dirty conditions I run in has contributed to the repeated failure of my Avid metal wheel bearings. Where do you recommend I get rubber sealed bearings? I only need the wheel bearings, the Avids in the gearbox have been OK. Boca is expensive for individual bearings, and their pricing for kits makes no sense.
http://www.rc10talk.com/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=26133
Sorry to bring back an old question, but nobody seemed to know the answer in the first place.
Is there some place to order rubber- sealed 1/4 x 3/8 bearings for a reasonable price?

[kaiser]

does avid have them w/rubber seals or teflon?

they may have a revolution in that size, rubber on one side, metal on the other.

[85Edinger]

Nope. If they did I would have bought them already. Even their regular metal version is currently out of stock.
Edit: I've been using dry teflon lube in the bearings. It's worked great in the transmission, maybe I should go back to 3-in-1 for the wheel bearings.

[85Edinger]

I talked with Avid and now they're considering making a limited run of rubber sealed 3/8 x 5/8 flanged metal bearings! Thoughts?
They also told me that motor spray eats metal and should not be used frequently on bearings.

[kaiser]

I talked with Avid and now they're considering making a limited run of rubber sealed 3/8 x 5/8 flanged metal bearings! Thoughts?
They also told me that motor spray eats metal and should not be used frequently on bearings.

start a thread with a poll, this deserves it's own thread.

[85Edinger]

Poll started.