Spool bearing cleaning help

[Bootytrain]

I decided to bite the bullet and clean out the spool bearings on a couple of my Shimanos(ive always been afraid to tinker with my reels for fear of not being able to put them back together lol). I soaked them in acetone for about 12 hours and laid them in the sun light on my window for a couple of hours to dry. I reinstalled them, put a drop of the oil that came with the reels but didn't get any increase in free spool time or casting distance Now I didn't pull the shields off, I just dropped them in the acetone, also I didn't notice anything in the acetone like grease particles or debris when I took them out. What did I do wrong? Any suggestions?

[e_bassfisher]

did you agitate them in any way? use a sealed glass container that you can shake a bit.

also, sometimes, it takes a couple flushes to get them clean.

after the acetone dries, be sure to give the bearings several good spins on a pair of tweezers or scribe. when they spin fast, with no sounds(usually random ticks), they are ready to oil and install.

if you need further assistance, feel free to message me

e_

[lpquick]

Bootytrain I bit the bullet some time ago and to be honest never got good results hand cleaning, soaking bearings. I bought an ultrasonic cleaner and did a little test after reading a TT members comments on cleaning bearings awhile back. I took a pair of bearings that needed cleaning and 5 times one after the other tried cleaning them in some simply green in a small glass jar. Did a hot water rinse and blow dry. After ea. attempt I did a free spin on my bearing checker tool and timed the results. All five attempts were close to the same around 12-15 seconds. I then took these same bearings and placed them in my ultrasonic cleaner again using simply green and waited just 15 minutes. I then used hot water and flushed them in the cleaner for another 5 minutes. I then used a can of compressed air to blow them dry. I then timed them on my bearing checker and the results were astonishing. I got over 42 seconds three times in a row. Now this was on a pair of Shimano stock bearings with the metal seals removed. I’m not saying it’s not possible to clean your bearings by hand in a small jar with agitation because with enough attempts, depending on how dirty with debris they are you will see some improvement. I am saying to do it right you need to purchase an ultrasonic cleaner or send them to someone whom has one to do the cleaning. The difference in results will amaze you. Good luck.

[ninjaman]

x2 on ultrasonic cleaner. Best maintenance tool i ever bought.

[njbasscat]

X3 on the ultrasonic. They work well and pay for themselves if you clean your reels every season.

[Strewth]

I followed the tip posted by DougL58 and spin my bearings on a Dremel in a small jar of acetone for a few minutes. Really cleans them out and is super fast. To finish them off, I hold the outer race and spin them on a slower setting until any "tics" disappear.

http://forums.tackletour.com/viewtopic. ... ng#p233310

All you need is a threaded brass rod to hold the bearings - I use a small nut to hold the bearing on instead of a hollow threaded shaft. This tool has brought bearings back from the dead and is quicker than the ultrasonic option.

[Bootytrain]

I got some advice from a member and he suggested that the shimano oil I used might be too thick. I'm going to see if my local bass pro has some hot sauce. I searched the web for ultrasonic cleaner prices, I saw them range from $50 all the way to over $1000?

[lpquick]

I got some advice from a member and he suggested that the shimano oil I used might be too thick. I'm going to see if my local bass pro has some hot sauce. I searched the web for ultrasonic cleaner prices, I saw them range from $50 all the way to over $1000?

Check this previous post about ultrasonic cleaners to give you an idea of the correct size and type.
http://forums.tackletour.com/viewtopic. ... ultrasonic

[MondayMonkey]

I find having one of these around is nice as well. http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LNCMHJ
I've always used 50/50 dilution of Simple Green in my agitator. Does acetone do a better job?

[Bootytrain]

I find having one of these around is nice as well. http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LNCMHJ
I've always used 50/50 dilution of Simple Green in my agitator. Does acetone do a better job?

I ordered one of the bearing tools from Hedgehog Studios. That one looks really nice though. So it seems some people use acetone, and some use simple green. So once I get an ultrasonic cleaner I can actually use water instead of a solvent?

[BassMan33]

I followed the tip posted by DougL58 and spin my bearings on a Dremel in a small jar of acetone for a few minutes. Really cleans them out and is super fast. To finish them off, I hold the outer race and spin them on a slower setting until any "tics" disappear.

http://forums.tackletour.com/viewtopic. ... ng#p233310

All you need is a threaded brass rod to hold the bearings - I use a small nut to hold the bearing on instead of a hollow threaded shaft. This tool has brought bearings back from the dead and is quicker than the ultrasonic option.

This sounds like a really great idea will try it for sure

[lpquick]

I find having one of these around is nice as well. http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LNCMHJ
I've always used 50/50 dilution of Simple Green in my agitator. Does acetone do a better job?

I ordered one of the bearing tools from Hedgehog Studios. That one looks really nice though. So it seems some people use acetone, and some use simple green. So once I get an ultrasonic cleaner I can actually use water instead of a solvent?

No you will need to use solvent to help breakdown oils and or grease, grime and debris. You can use water to flush your’e bearings clean after using a solvent, I use denatured water that will evaporate and leave little to no residue. It’s the residue you’re trying to eliminate for an absolute clean bearing to add the ultra light oil of your choice. Some people use brake cleaner or simply green as their solvent then use acetone to flush the bearings clean with no residue. I just try to use as little as possible of any caustic solutions if not actually necessary. You should be aware of what materials your bearings are made of to select the best solvent, simply green & water are safe for most plastics, while brake cleaner is not and quit a few hybrid bearings using ceramic balls use some type of plastic cages to keep the bearings in place within the racers. Go back to the maintenance section and read:http://tackletour.com/articlebearings101.html Then read classes 201 & 301 if you’re interested.

[MondayMonkey]

I find having one of these around is nice as well. http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LNCMHJ
I've always used 50/50 dilution of Simple Green in my agitator. Does acetone do a better job?

I ordered one of the bearing tools from Hedgehog Studios. That one looks really nice though. So it seems some people use acetone, and some use simple green. So once I get an ultrasonic cleaner I can actually use water instead of a solvent?

That's actually a different than the hedgehog tools those are designed for spool bearing removal. The above one is RC hobby based mostly for testing bearings slide the bearing on and spin it. Also good for removing bearings from hobby cars planes and heli's without damaging them. There are a million other things you can use to hold the bearing while you spin it to check but these are super easy and I had a few left over from my time racing RC's.

You'll always want to use some kind of solvent even with the ultrasonic cleaner/agitator. The agitator helps loosen or remove build up and foreign objects, but the solvent breaks down the oils or grease packed in the bearings. That way it's clean and fresh ready for new lube.

[tywithay]

I got some advice from a member and he suggested that the shimano oil I used might be too thick. I'm going to see if my local bass pro has some hot sauce. I searched the web for ultrasonic cleaner prices, I saw them range from $50 all the way to over $1000?

Go to harborfreight.com and search ultrasonic. They got one for 29.99. It's not industrial class by any means, but mine's gone 6 months without fail. Not like you use it everyday, don't need to break the bank.

Also, no need for fancy bearing spinning tools. I sharpened a pencil and slide it over the lead. It's the same concept. Fits several different sizes and rarely is too skinny to slide on the thick portion

[MondayMonkey]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004305EFO/ref ... 25410_item This is the ultrasonic cleaner I use it works great and it was $32 shipped to my door when I bought it. I'm not a huge fan of the Hot Sauce I use Oust Bearing Speed Oil it was the same stuff I used on my roller blade, skate board, and rc bearings. TTT sells it and it works amazingly well imo.