Oh….BEARINGS, I have been just in love with the fact that the XB8 clutch bell bearings seem to last forever!!!!
I used to drive a Mugen X5 and with that thing the only way to guarantee that I would have a bearing failure was to replace the clutch bearings every hour (1/4 gallon) of run time. I KNOW!!! Seems like a lot and it was, but if I didn’t I would have a bearing come apart at (ALWAYS of course) the worst possible time. I don’t think there is ever a good time for a clutch bearing failure. There is just to much expense associated with it; clutch bell only if your lucky, but could easily be as bad as clutch bell, spur gear, fuel tank, clutch shoes……..ouch.
I recently ran the same clutch bearings over 3 gallons of fuel on my practice XB8!!! That’s about 12 HOURS of run time!!!! I finally changed them just because to me and my experiences in the past……that’s just insane they lasted that long. They were still smooth and clean when I pulled them too. The XB8 is so awesome!!!
Anyway, back to the topic:
I would highly recommend changing them at least every 2 gallons of fuel. That is if everything on your car is right. Like, if your engine moves and your mesh changes, or if your chassis braces come loose or something funky happens that would load the bearings…..change them at first chance! Definitely change them when replacing the shoes or the bell or before an important A-Main, etc. It’s just the right thing to do, at the right time.
I don’t ever re-oil/re-use bearings. To me, it’s not worth the risk.
ALWAYS remove the seals on your new clutch bearings and blast out all of the lube with a good contact/brake cleaner. Get a little comm. drop bottle or bearing bottle that has a needle type tip on it. Place about ½-1 drop of Mobil 1 oil in the bearing. NOT on each ball, just ½ drop of oil replaces all of the grease you blew out. That’s it……trust me and the bearing master Mr. Bearings-Jedi-Joor (who taught me).
For added security knowing that you have the absolute best working clutch possible after your first ½ -1 tank of fuel on your new bearings pull your clutch bell and again….with that dialed contact/brake cleaner clean-out the inside of your bell. With a ½ drop of oil you probably won’t clean anything out of the bell. With 1 drop of oil you’ll clean just a tiny bit out.
Anyway…….hope this helps,
Mike
geeeeesch, I'm a windbag huh.......
