When a wheel bearing is wet and you dry it with an air hose which direction should if be dried?

Answer 1

This is a "do as I say, not as I do" answer. You really should NOT air blowgun a bearing ever. Couple of reasons. First if you "spin up" the bearing yes it will dry but it is also spinning to beat hell with absolutely no lubrication which can scar the bearing suface. Second, they have been well known to explode violently when spun up. Now for the real world. If you must use a blowgun always blow with the shaft axis. In other words picture the blowgun posistioned as if it where the shaft the bearing rides on. Now you are blowing across the bearing rather than with bearing rotation and you most likely will not spin it up and do damage. Good Luck

Answer 2

Just to confirm what Mobileminiman dude said. I wrenched for a living for 15 years and now do it on the side more as a hobby and helping friends and such. I once was drying off a bearing after cleaning it in solvent. To be exact it was like the front outer bearing on I believe a later model El Camino. The oe bearing had a plastic cage on it. Remember, the cage is not designed to withstand a load of any type. When the bearing is installed and properly loaded in the hub the cage pretty much does nothing, it just keeps the bearing from falling apart when not installed. Back to the story. Stupid me having fun making the little bearing go round and round and whistling in that high pitch that sounds so cool almost lost an eye when it exploded and hit every wall and ceiling in the shop. Let me tell you, it didn't just fall apart, it exploded and I was very fortunate that I did not aquire any shrapnel in any part of my body. After this little incident I still used the air gun to dry any bearing that I had cleaned but I just held onto the cage when I did it. There is no reason to let it spin. A little tip. If you clean the bearing with solvent, rinse it off with brake cleaner, it will dry faster and the cleaner will get out all of the solvent. You do not want any solvent residue in the bearing because solvent is designed to displace grease. I shouldn't have to explain that one to you. DON'T SPIN YOUR BEARINGS!

Answer 3

if its a sealed bearing then it should be repacked with grease after u dry it out wd-40 and if its not a sealed bearing do the same thing , but if u must use an air hose direction doesnt matter

Answer 4

Of course it will spin in either direction and the centrifical force will remove the wet substance so it doesnt matter what matters is that you regrese it in the proper direction or it will not be absorbed .

Answer 5

Bearings are not directional...Blow it dry, pack it with new grease, and re-install it...Resist the temptation to siren it with the blowgun, they have been known to come apart or lock up at extreme rpm's...

Answer 6

Are you serious? Everybody knows you are supposed to dry it in a clockwise direction>

Answer 7

your not supposed to blow air on a bearing and spin it to dry it

Answer 8

It doesn't matter,what matters is that you don't spin it for too long without lubrication.

Answer 9

clean it very well.inspect them and pack them with grease.