scsmith
Well Known Member
I'm most of the way through my condition inspection. This is the fifth one (flying six years). So I thought I would be extra thorough.
I pulled the wheels and cleaned and re-greased the wheel bearings. This was a waste of time. The bearings look like new. Compared to typical service exposure of auto hubs, our wheels are hardly ever used, hardly ever exposed to unpleasant environments. Wish I had not bothered.
Completely anecdotal, but I remember hearing of a study that was done by Greyhound Bus on whether it was better to periodically clean and re-grease wheel bearings, or just leave them be. The ones that were regularly cleaned and regreased had a higher failure rate. Suspected damage to grease from residue of cleaning solvents.
I pulled out my conical K&N air filter (it is in a ram-air housing similar to the Bower system but my own design, gets filtered air from the cooling inlet)
It looks like new. It is still pink from the oil saturation. I looked up on the K&N website for guidance on when we should be cleaning and re-oiling them. Some graphic pictures show when it is dirty enough to need cleaning. Mine was way cleaner than the 'clean' picture. Like I said, looks like new. Again, compared to automotive, very small environmental exposure. I even operate off of dry dirt fields occasionally. Wish I had not bothered.
I pulled the wheels and cleaned and re-greased the wheel bearings. This was a waste of time. The bearings look like new. Compared to typical service exposure of auto hubs, our wheels are hardly ever used, hardly ever exposed to unpleasant environments. Wish I had not bothered.
Completely anecdotal, but I remember hearing of a study that was done by Greyhound Bus on whether it was better to periodically clean and re-grease wheel bearings, or just leave them be. The ones that were regularly cleaned and regreased had a higher failure rate. Suspected damage to grease from residue of cleaning solvents.
I pulled out my conical K&N air filter (it is in a ram-air housing similar to the Bower system but my own design, gets filtered air from the cooling inlet)
It looks like new. It is still pink from the oil saturation. I looked up on the K&N website for guidance on when we should be cleaning and re-oiling them. Some graphic pictures show when it is dirty enough to need cleaning. Mine was way cleaner than the 'clean' picture. Like I said, looks like new. Again, compared to automotive, very small environmental exposure. I even operate off of dry dirt fields occasionally. Wish I had not bothered.