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Tips for Installing New Pulley Bearing & Seal
A friend very recently stopped by to see our new-to-us bus and suspected the pulley bearing in the photo was failing due to grease being spun out from its dust cap. I ordered a new bearing and seal from Prevost and it just arrived. I have already removed the old bearing and seal, yet wonder if the pulley should be lubed with some product prior to installing the new bearing and seal. Tips or suggestions on how to install the new bearing and seal appreciated
PS – is it typical to find significant grease on the old bearing? Could it be that it was previously replaced and the installer added grease to help get it in? Should grease be added? Maybe the old bearing was ok and someone added a bit too much grease causing it to leak out via the dust cap? There was no leakage on the backside of the pulley. THANK YOU AGAIN
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6 Replies
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How did you know it was failing? When you rotated it did it feel rough. Did it have any slop? Was there any sign it was dry, pitted, or otherwise not perfect?
Grease gets warm, grease flows a little easier when warm, centrifugal force slings it out from the cup and makes streaks, but that is normal.
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I strictly went off the observation and recommendation of a friend who works on “everything”.
He suspected it was bad, or going bad, simply because of the grease slung out from the dust cap, so I ordered a $220 replacement from Prevost.
Once I got the old bearing out and saw it covered in grease, I thought it may have already been replaced and the installer lubed its exterior with grease in order to seat it more easily. Erring on the side of caution (or ignorance) I simply purchased a replacement bearing and rear seal from Prevost.
Any tips for installing the new bearing and seal? Do I add any type of lube to help it get seated or should it go in without any lube or anything else?
EDIT: I just compared the old one to the new one, and the new one definitely spins more easily, but I cannot say I feel or hear any difference. The old one, around the exterior also appears scorched from heat.
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Might the attached photo of the old bearing show evidence of heat scorching?
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Got it done!
My friend coached me through it and it was not difficult at all. I just had never done it and did not want to mess it up. I used sockets from my 1/2” drive set to tap it in and now good to go for hopefully another 100k miles 😊 -
Good catch! That old bearing does look like it got hot. Did you manage to get the dust cap off without destroying it?
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Believe it or not, the dust cap was not hard pressed inward as would be typical. It was outward at least 3/16″ which allowed easy removal.
Yet had that not been the case, a replacement was listed on the Prevost parts diagram and if I recall accurately, seems it was around $140
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