What grease to use?

[mikek711]

Hi all,
I just finished my 12th tank of gas in my new Husky 55r.I completely dissassembled it,cleaned it,and now putting it back together again.My question is what is the best grease to use on the output shaft bearing that the clutch rides on?
I didnt want to use automotive bearing grease because I dont think they ever intended it to be used for something spinning in the neighborhood of 12000+ rpm.
Any help would be appreciated.
Mike.

 

[Greg Carberry]

Use the search and you'll find a big thread on greasing the bearings it not too old. I just use regular wheel bearing grease.

 

[jokers]

Hi Mike, keep in mind that the clutch is only riding on the bearing when it is disengaged, less than 3000 rpm. I can`t tell for sure from the picture but it looks like your rim sprocket is showing some wear, keep an eye on it since the pitch effectively changes as the rim gets smaller in diameter from wear. Russ

 

[treeclimber165]

If you can't find the thread....

MY interpretation of the conversation was that most guys put a small dab of grease on the bearings, but also most said it didn't seem to stay there long due to centrifical force. Getting all the dirt and grit off of it is most important, a dab of grease whenever you have it apart, and many guys just put new ones in when they change the sprocket (the old rim sprockets used to come with new bearings, not any more). Others have run the same ones for years without failure.

 

[fun_chopper]

I have found Valvoline synthetic is best on most grease applications from chainsaw to automotive. For bearings, I do use the valvoline, it dosent break down under heat stress, and it stays put mostly during great centricical conditions. And just to info you, a cars wheel bearings can spin upwards of 17,000 rpm at highway speeds!-Matt

 

[rupedoggy]

RPM?

Being the questioning guy that I am, the above figure of 17,000 RPM seemed a little out of line. I did a quick calculation and got about 6,000 RPM for a 30" tall tire at 80 MPH. Could someone like Doug check my calculations? Mike

 

[mikek711]

Grease

Thanks Guys,
I have some synthetic bearing grease that I use on my motocross bikes for the needle bearings in the swingarm.I think it should be fine.I didnt realize that the bearing only spun when the saw is at rest.Russ,I took another shot of the rim sprocket and the clutch hub.It doesnt seem to be worn...the bright spots on the hub just look to be rub marks.Let me know what you think.This saw is brand new so I hope its ok.I used it for the first time Nov.27th.
Thanks Again,
Mike.

 

[rupedoggy]

My quick calculation was a little too quick and I got a decimal in the wrtong location. My friend Mr. B informs me about 900 Rpm is all the tire is rotating at 80 MPH. Mike

 

[Newfie]

Well based on that info Mike I guess we can extrapolate that "highway speed" in AZ is about 1500 Mph!

 

[spreaderman]

tire speed

A tractor trailor truck tire turns 540 times in one mile or 540 rpm's at 60 mph, most wheels turn 2 to 1 of the bearing.......if this helps

 

[Stumper]

Most of the grease I pump goes into chipper disc bearings and cutter wheel bearings on the stump grinder. Since those applications call for frequent greasings I have settled on Mystic JT-6. It is inexpensive grease that doesn't seem to run out and away as soon as a bearing surface warms up.
I don't think that the saw clutch needles care much what you put on them- if anything. I used to use moly grease when I had it around-in theory a layer of molybdenum disulfide will remain after the grease disappears.

 

[eyolf]

If you bought a new husky or Jonsered, you got a little white tube of vaseline with it. That's what the manual sez to use, and if you can get by with that stuff, you can get by with about anything.

I'm not ever going to claim the award for most hours ever on a chainsaw, but I have worn a couple out, and I never had any trouble with these little bearings. Like Jokers says, it only has to work while the saw idles.

 

[daveb]

Even spreaderman's numbers are a little high, a full size truck tire-11R24.5, turns about 479 rpm@60mph. A low profile 22.5 tire still turns 515 rpm@60mph. I think we're getting off subject. To answer your question, Mikek711, Russ is right about the bearing only spinning when the chain isn't turning. I don't think it makes much difference what grease you use because every time I've taken a clutch off, the bearing was dry. I haven't had one fail yet, but I stll put some grease on it when I put it back together.

 

[StIhL MaGnUm]

Mike,

First off I'm glad you decided to join the Chainsaw crue here there's lots of good people here,and also lots of good info as well.As for the grease I use EP-O grease that I get from Baileys it seems to work pretty good,but I guess you could use any type of grease just don't run it dry thats all..

Later Rob.

 

[jokers]

Hi MikeK711, I guess I was seeing things in your first pic, that sprocket looks new. I even had guys emailing me saying that they want my old sprockets when I am done with them after seeing this post. As far as the splines on the hub getting worn, eventually it will but I haven`t seen any failures of that part before the drum itself is worn out. I`m sure that it accellerates wear inside the hub of the rim but it`s insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Russ

 

[fun_chopper]

Check it out, the bearing at the center if a wheel approx 1-2" is tremenously smaller than the outsife of the wheel. if you used a ratio here you would find that the brearing spins approx 49 times for every revolution of the wheel, now I know their travel is relative, but their speed is not, now a single roller inside the braing revolves 63 time for every revolution of the bearing race. so here it is 1 (tire revolution)=49 (bearing race revolution)+63 (single bearing revolutions)=112 rpm. Now 1 revolution of the wheel =112 revolutions of a bearing inside. 17,000/112=151.79ish now by my calculations a 265 60r 15 spins about 460ish rpm, at 60 MPH so my calculations of 17,000 where way off the actual bearing speed is 51,520 rpm!-lol this was just to prove a point with grease-Matt

 

[Fish]

Huh?
While under use, the bearing doesn't move. The clutch body
is connected to the crank. At idle is the onle time the "sprocket"
bearing gets any use. Because the "clutch" is not engaged,
connecting it to the crank. I may be wrong, but sprocket bearing
lube is a non-issue.
I may be wrong, and usually am.

 

[Crofter]

fun - chopper, I think I'd do a bit more research on this one before I bet the rent money on it. The bearing in the clutch only spins below centrifugal lock up.

Frank

 

[dbabcock]

I'd like to know what kind of grease doesn't work in this application. I've used spit, spew, Crisco, KY, MEK, DMSO, fish milt, Vaseline, snot, puss, puke, whale blubber, cocoa butter and SPF 15 sunscreen all with great success.

 

[Crofter]

Boy Doug when you research a subject you cover it in depth. Guess a man is limited only by his imagination; wish I had thought of doing that research. Anyway bask in the glory!

Frank