Spherical bearings - To lube or not to Lube ??

[Tony Harman]

OK Guys - lets get the font of knowledge on this one - hope there's a few racers lurking around because I'd like to know what you do.
Rose joints / Spherical bearings / Rod ends, whatever you want to call them. How should you clean them and lubricate ? - in fact should you lubricate at all ?
On most open circuit type cars the bearings are exposed and take a fair old battering from the elements. I have heard from some sources that you shouldn't use petrol or similar to clean them and also shouldn't use WD40 or similar to protect and lubricate them as this causes the liners to swell and push out and shorten their life. I guess we could put protective boots on them but I've never seen that on an open car. What do you think ????

[autosportfan]

Keep replacing them

[KC]

I would think that by lubing them you would invite more sand, dirt and debris to adhere to them and effectively shorten their life.

[Red Dog]

There are little boots for them but they are small so you wouldn't see them unless you look closely. They just cover the centre. I have not tried them. I have found that small inexpensive joints wear out very fast. Even mid priced ones are not great. Spherical inserts as opposed to rod ends are far far stronger. If you can't redesign your wishbones and trailing links to suit then go up a size in rod end.

I would not grease them or lube them as KC says.

[enzo]

Lubing teflon lined rod ends won't accomplish anything for you except to make them gather crud faster.

If the rod end is of good quality, and the ball is still snug in th teflon, grit isn't a real problem as the edge of the trflon acts as a wiper,keeping the dirt out. It's only when the ball finally gets loose that getting grit inside is a problem.

Tere are very few good rod end manufacturers in the world. I use Aurora almost exclusivly, and have had even the low-carbon bodied units last many seasons. The only others I would consider are Ampep and NMB.

[Tony Harman]

Interesting comments, particulary on the teflon acting as the wiper. I had a bit of feedback from a NMB dealer, they said never to use petrol or similar to clean, but to use WD40 to clean although this shouldn't attack the liners

[THR]

i myself wondered this and asked Aurora this is the replies, really is interesting!

PTFE lined rod ends should not need lubrication. In fact, lubeing a lined
rod end can hurt more than it can help.
The bearing liner wear face (the surface contacting the ball) is not pure
PTFE, rather it is a surface that contains a quantity of PTFE. As the ball
moves relative to the liner, the exposed PTFE is rubbed onto the ball, and
back to the non PTFE areas of the liner. Soon you will have coated the ball
and fully dispersed PTFE on the liner wear face.As this happens, the
friction goes down. Think of dipping a cloth in wax, and waxing your car. At
first, the cloth holds some wax, and the car is bare. As you rub the cloth
on the carS both the clothe and car become fully covered in wax. When you
lube the ball with oil or grease, you inhibit the balls ability to retain
the PTFE. Eventually, the PTFE will be removed from the liner, causing the
friction to increase.
I will caution that this may not apply to all makes of rod ends, but in
generall I'll stand by this.
Are you having specific problems? I'd be happy to adress specifics as
needed.
Regards,
John McCrory,
Race car product manager.


Non lined rod ends can be lubed with a high quality EP grease. Whatever you
use for wheel bearings or C.V. joints would be fine. In applications with
significant load, i.e. the steering or suspension, you are best to use a
lined rod end. No matter how well you lube a metal on metal joint, there is
no way to insure a lubricant film under load. A PTFE lined joint may require
a greater force to pivot un loaded, but under load will move more freely
than a metal on metal joint. I would be concerened about the bearing torque
only if it is a problem on the track - lack of steering return being an
obvious problem! Once you examine the joints on the car, let me know part
numbers and manufacture, and I may have more to recomend.
Regards,
John

[Tony Harman]

Nice work Hobbit !
I also contacted a couple of bearing comapnies, but didn't get such a detailed reply, one even said they had never been asked before and didn't know. I'm going to copy John's reply over onto the Classic Clubmans website, http://www.classic-clubmans.co.uk/ along with my other feedback.
Although I have asked around feedback from experienced racers has been that they have always kept the bearings clean and had them last for years. As always the best thing is to buy good quality bearings I guess.
It looks in conclusion that the best way to go is to use the small protective boots and allow the bearings to do their own thing. Although how many cars have you seen with these boots on in the paddock ? Not many I reckon...

[THR]

bases on the reply i got. id just leave them as is.
wouldnt ever touch them!
them boots are a pain in the arse, not worth the hassle!