carrier bearing help

[20Honda400ex00]

Ok so I bought a new carrier bearing off ebay this past summer. After greasing it and installing it I noticed after a couple rides that their was grease coming out the sides on the brake hub and sprocket hub. Was wondering if this was normal? Im currently tearing the quad down and cleaning it, I took the carrier out tonight and notice that the grease is now black and liquidly. Any help/info would be greatly appreciated.

[slightlybent47]

Do you have the spacer tube in? Did you over tighten? Did you use high temp marine grease?
Sounds like the seal didn’t work. It’s very easy to damage them when you install them

[2001400exrida]

it's probably just normal. pack some more grease on it and reinstall. I just took mine apart and it looked fine but i thought i had issues because it was leaking water when i would adjust my chain.

you can't keep all of the dirt and grime with those seals. that grease will get a little dirty, but as long as you still had grease you should be ok.

I did not use marine grease, i used wheel bearing grease

[20Honda400ex00]

Originally posted by slightlybent47
Do you have the spacer tube in? Did you over tighten? Did you use high temp marine grease?
Sounds like the seal didn’t work. It’s very easy to damage them when you install them

Spacer Tube? Is that on the inside of the carrier?? I did not touch the seals I order a hole new carrier. I did not use marine grease.

[20Honda400ex00]

Originally posted by 2001400exrida
it's probably just normal. pack some more grease on it and reinstall. I just took mine apart and it looked fine but i thought i had issues because it was leaking water when i would adjust my chain.

you can't keep all of the dirt and grime with those seals. that grease will get a little dirty, but as long as you still had grease you should be ok.

I did not use marine grease, i used wheel bearing grease

Their was still grease when I took it out. I just don't want it to happen again.

[slightlybent47]

You want to use synthetic grease not regular grease. Regular grease is like oil in that when exposed to water it will turn milky and break down. Marine grease or synthetic is the way to go.
The bearings themselves are sealed so you don’t need to pack them like other non sealed bearings do. Besides the stock swing arm has a cavity where the swing arm and the bearing housing comes together. And all your grease will come out there if you over pack them. I use plenty of marine grease so water doesn’t penetrate or break down the grease when it gets wet. And by packing them real good will keep out dirt and water. After all if there’s no room for it to get in then it’s going to stay cleaner. If you ride in wet conditions then pack it full, but if you just ride mx where you don’t get it very wet then I just pack them with a little grease. You should pull it apart at least once a season and repack it anyway.

If you bought a carrier with the bearing already init, then check to see if the spacer tube was put in. it should be between the bearings inside the carrier. This is very important as it keeps the bearings from being over tightened. If it is worn it may need replacing. You will have to remove the bearing in order to check the length of the tube. The diameter is not a concern but the length is. I would wait till you need to replace the bearings because you will trash the bearing when you remove it.

[20Honda400ex00]

Originally posted by slightlybent47
You want to use synthetic grease not regular grease. Regular grease is like oil in that when exposed to water it will turn milky and break down. Marine grease or synthetic is the way to go.
The bearings themselves are sealed so you don’t need to pack them like other non sealed bearings do. Besides the stock swing arm has a cavity where the swing arm and the bearing housing comes together. And all your grease will come out there if you over pack them. I use plenty of marine grease so water doesn’t penetrate or break down the grease when it gets wet. And by packing them real good will keep out dirt and water. After all if there’s no room for it to get in then it’s going to stay cleaner. If you ride in wet conditions then pack it full, but if you just ride mx where you don’t get it very wet then I just pack them with a little grease. You should pull it apart at least once a season and repack it anyway.

If you bought a carrier with the bearing already init, then check to see if the spacer tube was put in. it should be between the bearings inside the carrier. This is very important as it keeps the bearings from being over tightened. If it is worn it may need replacing. You will have to remove the bearing in order to check the length of the tube. The diameter is not a concern but the length is. I would wait till you need to replace the bearings because you will trash the bearing when you remove it.

That might be my problem I didn't use a synthetic grease.(used valvoline multi-purpose grease) How much space should be between the spacer tube and the bearings??

[slightlybent47]

There should be no room at all. The bearing is supposed to jam up to the spacer when you tighten up the lock nut on the axel. Since you had it installed then when you take it back apart then the spacer tube should not flop around inside the carrier. It should be pushed up tight against the bearings and be tight inside.

[slightlybent47]

Regular grease will work fine but if you ride in wet conditions you should repack them more often. The marine grease just last longer and works better.

[20Honda400ex00]

Originally posted by slightlybent47
There should be no room at all. The bearing is supposed to jam up to the spacer when you tighten up the lock nut on the axel. Since you had it installed then when you take it back apart then the spacer tube should not flop around inside the carrier. It should be pushed up tight against the bearings and be tight inside.

I just checked it and I can feel any gaps or see any gaps. I can move it slightly tho.

[2001400exrida]

yeah i just use regular old wheel bearing grease, like i said i pulled the carrier about a week ago cuz i was getting water in there and everything looked great, my grease was still on there so that's all i care about.

water still drips out when i loosen the rear, it bugs me haha.

[slightlybent47]

It should have little movement, but at this point I would just put it back together and run it. Could be it just wasn’t tight enough before and didn’t push it all the way together. If you don’t have synthetic grease you can just use regular grease for now and put the good stuff in later.

[20Honda400ex00]

Originally posted by slightlybent47
It should have little movement, but at this point I would just put it back together and run it. Could be it just wasn’t tight enough before and didn’t push it all the way together. If you don’t have synthetic grease you can just use regular grease for now and put the good stuff in later.

Ok thanks you for the info. Might as well put the good stuff in now since its in parts lol.