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Good vs. Bad Bearings

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I finally got my reels back. I had the stock bearings in my Curado and Citica replaced with the ABEC 7s I had bought. When I received my stock bearings, I decided to clean them myself. Soaked them in Acetone twice and spun them dry. They would all spin nicely.

After they've air dried, only 2 of the 4 bearings would spin nicely, 1 of them spins nicely as well, but has a lot of noise to it and the last 1 doesn't spin at all (maybe for like 2 seconds).

What should I do with them? Clean them again or toss them? I'm also not sure which are the good ones.

  • Super User

You should probably oil them.

  • Author

I've placed 1 drop of Shimano Bantam Oil on each bearing and they now all spin for about 3 seconds quietly. I am confused.

  • Super User

What are you confused about?  Stainless bearings need oil to run properly.  Spin drying bearings isn't really the best for them.  All it does is heat them up too quickly, and sometimes they seize.

Once a bearing is cleaned and properly lubed, it will be pretty obvious if you have a bad one. You can feel rough spots and/or free spin will be almost non-existent.

  • Super User

I bought a bunch of bearings off eBay a few years back to replace the worm gear bushing on a few reels.  They seemed fine after cleaning and adding oil.  Fast forward about two years and I have since replaced all those bearings with stock Daiwa bearings. 

My point being is that every bearing either seized up or felt like they had sand in them only after one year of use.  I thought I was getting a great deal, turns out I was wrong.  Your stock bearings are probably fine, just keep them oiled lightly.

  • Author

Thanks for clearing it up for me guys.

  • Super User
Once a bearing is cleaned and properly lubed, it will be pretty obvious if you have a bad one. You can feel rough spots and/or free spin will be almost non-existent.
What are you confused about? Stainless bearings need oil to run properly. Spin drying bearings isn't really the best for them. All it does is heat them up too quickly, and sometimes they seize.

Not to mention that Acetone leaves a film behind. Like JF, DVT, stated you don't run stainless without oil ABEC5, 7's whatever. You do not spin dry bearings, you blow them out or you lay them on a towel to absorb and dry.

But mostly your problem was the film left behind...

Tight Lines!

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