m35a2 throwout bearing

[gringeltaube]

..... As most trucks set the grease is getting old and needs to be replaced. ....

And the only way to do exactly that is open it up, wash all parts in solvent, put fresh grease in and then re-crimp the cover back in place.




G.

 

[gimpyrobb]

Show off.

 

[rustystud]

And the only way to do exactly that is open it up, wash all parts in solvent, put fresh grease in and then re-crimp the cover back in place.




G.

Actually if you grease it on a regular basis you are pushing out the old grease. No need to tear it all apart unless you have let it go for a while. That's how it's done in the trucking world.

 

[gringeltaube]

Actually if you grease it on a regular basis you are pushing out the old grease...

I don't believe so. Found rock-solid grease residue in almost brand-new parts, more than once.

 

[peashooter]

Arent there 2 different throwout bearings available for these trucks? I thought i once read that, a cheaper one with fewer balls and a pricier one with more?

 

[gringeltaube]

I don't know what is out there nowadays but yes, I have seen at least three different "quality levels" of popular US-made parts, with the one pictured in #21 probably being one of the cheaper versions.
The better ones have a brass cage and a few more balls.
Of course there could also be differences in the material of the steel races themselves, like alloy, hardness, etc.

I would say, for our application - if used "correctly", even a cheap NEW part will most likely outlast the bearings in the transmission itself. Not so much a 40-year old NOS part for example, if the oil in the grease had already bled out.
Of course, service temps, the lubricant itself and possible contamination play a very important role in service life, too.



G.

 

[rustystud]

I don't believe so. Found rock-solid grease residue in almost brand-new parts, more than once.

The parts probably hadn't been used yet or where "shelf queens" NOS. In my experience in the industry, if the part is regularly lubed there is "NO" build-up of rock hard grease. You never see a Semi-truck come into the shop with a throw-out bearing that has rock hard grease in it that has been lubed regularly. Since the bearing is used everyday, any new grease introduced gets spread around the first time you push-in the clutch. Even in our situation where the truck might sit for months, if it's lubed regularly as soon as it is applied the grease is spread around. The only time I have ever seen hardened grease in a throw-out bearing is a truck that sat for years never moving or starting, or a bearing that has set on the shelf for years.