OS 50 Bearings :(

[mattie-lodge]

Hi All,

Thought I'd share my misery with you all and also present a warning.

Below is a photo of the whats left of the bearing I have just removed from my OS 50 Hyper. As you can see the cage has come apart and gone through the engine.

Couple of reasons why I have posted this. First reason is the warn anybody off using non standard bearing WITH metal bearing cages. This is the second one that has gone like this for me (first one I got away with). As you can see by the piston I've not run it over lean, it's just when the metal cage breaks up it takes your engine out. Repair will be a piston and liner for me The second reason is how many people and what amount of time are your bearings lasting for in gallons? 3DBasher has put it down to fuel and says since going to Wildcat he has not had the problem.

Would be interested in your thoughts guys

[Tim Procter]

Been discussed before Mattie.

Lee (3dbasher) also told me that Magum would perish the bearings in my engines, Still waiting for the first to go yet.

I'm no expert by no means but I think the life span of your bearings will depend on how lean/rich you run your engine and of course how hard you thrash it.

Could be a million miles away with my statement but fingers crossed using Magnum 30% all is well with mine at the moment.

[mattie-lodge]

How many gallons have you done on your 50 Tim?

[Tim Procter]

How many gallons have you done on your 50 Tim?

Only about 5 gallon in the 600nsp with the Align 50 fitted.

Probably 7 gallon in the 700 with the OS91HZ

Still nothing in comparison with what you use Mattie but keeping my ears open for the dreaded noise.

[Mike W]

Run about 7 gallon thru my hyper on the Titan .. bearings still seem ok .. have now changed to magnum 30 from Wildcat CY30 so will see what the bearings are like after this 4 gallon I have left to go thru before changing to optifuel ....

[Aidi]

Sheesh Mattie!! Thats a pretty spectacular bearing failure. Bet it made your heart skip a beat when it went.

I have just done the bearings in the 600 i bought back in June. I would say it has had about 8 gallons through it. 4 gallons of 20% Wildcat and 4 gallons of 30% Magnum. Front bearing seemed fine on removal, and rear bearing is just worn. On rust or corrosion on either.

I am replacing it with Stainless Steel ones from Hendersons. I have removed all the protective cages apart from the front bearing on top of the engine. Will be interesting to see how they compare to the original bearings.

Rgds
Aidi

[moyesboy]

I changed the bearings on both my motors once, the 600n just recently. I am using NTN 6902t2 for the rear which has some sort of plastic cage (phenolic I beleive).
2 boxes of wildcat 20%
1 box of magnum 20%
One box of magnum 30%
One box of magnum 20%
two boxes of magnum 20%
This is since i startedin Feb 07 so obviously the motor had an easy time of it at the beginning - for a flight or two anyway

gotta be very self disciplined here not to think about the cost of that lot

27 gallons (one magnum30% left).

so this is split between 3 sets of bearings because one set hasn' run much. The older motor got new bearings whe I got it second hand, and a bearing change whan I swapped it into my knight out of my raptor.

so I am averaging 10 gallons - but only actually had one bearing, the rear one in my new OS motor, that definitely needed changing.

what I heard is running 20% and developing collective management is the way to get better bearing life

[HuskyD]

What brand bearing were they Mattie? I was toying with going with metal cages, so would like to know who made these beauties.

[Ade_Law]

i had an old tt50 do that. but have used 10+ bearings with metal cages from henderson bearings in ringwood in my hypers and had no issues like this. But i also change the bearing as soon as it starts to sound rattly. which was about 10 gallons or about a gallon after running it a little too lean.

my tt53 is still on its first bearing, probably 20 gallons....

Ade

[mattie-lodge]

Not too sure what brand they are. Just a locally supplied one.

I'm just about to try a sealed bearing in the one I have just fitted. Will see how long this lasts

[3dx]

Since changing over to magnum 20% from coolpower- no probs whatsoever on either hyper 50 and os szh 70 engine's - worked out I've burnt over the year around 10 gallons,,, bearings sound ok- could'nt really tell if they were knackered anyway!!!! - Now just started to run my 90 c spec on 20%-
signs are looking good considering I got it for £110 off bmfa with hatori pipe as well ... Can you get ceramic bearings for os engine's ???- thinking long term here.......

[mattie-lodge]

You can get fully ceramic but they are expensive.

I know many people have had this problem and it has been flogged to death but I'm just really starting to see the effects of it.

Perhaps its just one of those things

[HuskyD]

Not too sure what brand they are. Just a locally supplied one.

I'm just about to try a sealed bearing in the one I have just fitted. Will see how long this lasts

Not sure sealed is the right way to go. Normally sealed are pre-impregnated with grease, which wouldn't last 2 mins in an engine, it'd just burn off unless it was VHT grease.

SKF make probably the best commercially available bearings in my opinion, so was interested if they were the ones that failed.

[mattie-lodge]

Been thinking about these sealed bearings for a long time now, The bearing seal and grease I'm told is rated to 150 degrees.

Considering the head is reaching about 110 degrees that's why I thought I'd try it.

[Ade_Law]

i asked that question of a bearing guru a while back, the oil will wash the grease out but wont get enough oil in it to lubricate it properly.

Ade