Hi all. I am rebuilding a 5-speed trans from a 82 R100RT. I have a conundrum. All the bearings coming out are open on both sides. William (boxer2valve) indicates 2 of the bearings in the usual purchased bearing sets come with two having ONE side sealed--put that seal to the outside. Fine, sounds good--still using gear lube. The set I got from EME has two bearings that are fully sealed, TWO sides sealed. This makes me nervous. When contacted EME said the sell hundreds of these sets and no one ever asked them this before and they are the correct bearings. So--anyone have thoughts? They look to me to be like sealed greased bearings, not using transmission oil for lube. EME tends to know what they are doing but the answer I got from them was less than calming. The original bearings lasted 250K+ miles and I do not want to have go back in in my lifetime! Anyone?
-
Welcome! You are currently logged out of the forum. Some forum content will be hidden from you if you remain logged out. If you want to view all content, please LOG IN!If you are not an MOA member, why not take the time to join the club, so you can enjoy posting on the forum, the BMW Owners News magazine, and all of the benefits of membership? If you click here, you have the opportunity to take us for a test ride at our expense. Enter the code 'FORUM25' in the activation code box to try the first year of the MOA on us!
Transmission bearings
- Thread starter 515PHOTO
- Start date
I wish Matt Parkhouse had a presence here...I'm sure he'd know what's what with as many transmissions as he's overhauled.
Did boxer2valve have all you needed? I might follow his lead as he's actually does the work.
In this thread, there's a section by MotoPhoenix on rebuilding an '82 R100RS transmission with youtube videos. Might be worth watching:
forums.bmwmoa.org
Here's video number 1:
Did boxer2valve have all you needed? I might follow his lead as he's actually does the work.
In this thread, there's a section by MotoPhoenix on rebuilding an '82 R100RS transmission with youtube videos. Might be worth watching:
Online Maintenance Videos
This thread contains the videos that Chris Harris has posted on youtube. A few other authors are noted as indicated. Note that this is Chris Harris' product and is not necessarily sanctioned by BMW or the MOA. So, take that into consideration. In addition, you'll need to put your "bleep"...
forums.bmwmoa.org
Here's video number 1:
stevenrankin
Well-known member
It is important to remember in the case of transmission bearings they operate in a liquid environment. Looking at the picture of the bearing I see on EME's website the bearing may be "sealed" in that grease or dirt will be hard to get into the bearing but, gear oil may flow in to lubricate it.
May I ask why you didn't buy all the gears from Boxer two valve?
Do I make sense? St.
May I ask why you didn't buy all the gears from Boxer two valve?
Do I make sense? St.
PGlaves
#13338
I do not know about Airheads but with the Oilheads after a certain model year BMW/Getrag did go to"sealed" greased bearings. They had problems with very early failure due to metal contamination (swarf) from production circulating in the oil and damaging the bearings. So as counter intuitive as it seems they used sealed greased bearings in transmissions filled with gear oil.
Then some funny things happened. Folks would introduce some brands of synthetic gear oil and the next time they looked the gear oil was a streaky brown color. The discoloration came from the synthetic gear oil washing the grease out of the bearings. Since by that time oil could bypass the seals the transmission bearings were still lubricated, but the crap from production was long gone in prior oil changes.
Then some funny things happened. Folks would introduce some brands of synthetic gear oil and the next time they looked the gear oil was a streaky brown color. The discoloration came from the synthetic gear oil washing the grease out of the bearings. Since by that time oil could bypass the seals the transmission bearings were still lubricated, but the crap from production was long gone in prior oil changes.
pauls1150
MOA #24991, south of Los Angeles
"Sealed Bearing" is (almost) an oxymoron - transmission oil is typically high in detergents, and WILL work its way into the bearing, washing out the manufacturer's initial grease but replacing it with the trans oil.
(other oxymorons: common sense, legal brief, jumbo shrimp, childproof, and rap music)
(other oxymorons: common sense, legal brief, jumbo shrimp, childproof, and rap music)
This thread shares my experience with “sealed bearings”-
forums.bmwmoa.org
There is a picture of one side of said “sealed bearing” shows ZERO grease when the seal was carefully removed. The other side had three “dabs” of grease. The thread has what was done.
In this transmission question, if the “sealed bearings” were anything like what was found in this thread, it would be a good thing to have transmission oil infiltrate the bearings.
OM
Rear wheel bearings on a F800GS
I was wondering if anyone here has done theirs? I put a new tire on yesterday (K60) and while I had the wheel off "felt" the bearings. They have a "notchy" feel and while not at a crisis level, I am going to do them- once I round up the removal tool, the bearings and the seals. I know there has...
forums.bmwmoa.org
There is a picture of one side of said “sealed bearing” shows ZERO grease when the seal was carefully removed. The other side had three “dabs” of grease. The thread has what was done.
In this transmission question, if the “sealed bearings” were anything like what was found in this thread, it would be a good thing to have transmission oil infiltrate the bearings.
OM
stevenrankin
Well-known member
Let us remember grease is grease, transmission oil is oil. Unless you get grease real hot, it won't flow into a bearing whereas transmission oil will at room temp, I learned that lesson at eight when I pumped a grease cartridge full of wheel bearing grease into the gear box of a rototiller my dad had me change the gear OIL on. He mistakenly called it grease and so I used grease.
For wheel bearings packed with grease exposed to some contaminants sealed units can make sense as long as they were properly lubricated at the factory. The grease can't get out and dirt can't get in.
I like Paul's write up, interesting and I could see it happening. St.
For wheel bearings packed with grease exposed to some contaminants sealed units can make sense as long as they were properly lubricated at the factory. The grease can't get out and dirt can't get in.
I like Paul's write up, interesting and I could see it happening. St.
fmdualexhaust
Active member
Rap was just a short cut for crap.
AntonLargiader
Well-known member
Your R100RT came with open bearings other than one (the rear intermediate shaft bearing) that has a single seal facing the outside. The Paralever models got a dual-seal bearing on the rear of the output shaft.
I use that same configuration when I rebuild. I have seen that using sealed bearings everywhere can add drag to the system, making the shifting slightly worse. It's very possible that many people do not notice any difference at all.
My position is that BMW designed the lubrication to work with the seal arrangement they specified, so I just stick with that.
I use that same configuration when I rebuild. I have seen that using sealed bearings everywhere can add drag to the system, making the shifting slightly worse. It's very possible that many people do not notice any difference at all.
My position is that BMW designed the lubrication to work with the seal arrangement they specified, so I just stick with that.
