Centre Bearings are they needed?

[Tommo]

Hello, I am rebuilding a Johnson 4hp 1985 model. On disasembling I lost 5 centre bearings, now I need to know what to do. <br /><br />Can I simply just use the remaining 25 bearings and not buy anymore? Whould that work?<br /><br />Or should I just not use any? Being the centre bearings they dont really serve a purpose, they upper and lower ball bearings can take all the load Right?<br /><br />Or should I not be a tightase and just pay the $40.00 and fix the motor properly?<br /><br />Thankyou in advance.

 

[T_I_M]

Re: Centre Bearings are they needed?

Hold on there. You need all the bearings.It will work for a very short time(seconds or minutes ) then fail .All the bearings work together to support the crank .If you don't put them all back will result in catastrophic failure.<br />The key to a proper rebuild is assemble and quality parts don't be cheap , do it right once and engine will last you a long time.

 

[OBJ]

Re: Centre Bearings are they needed?

Spring for the bearing Tommo. The centre bearing is a support bearing and keeps the middle of the crank from wobbling at temp. Would cause some really nasty noises after a while.

 

[surlyjoe]

Re: Centre Bearings are they needed?

ya, even one missing or extra ball will hose you. and without the center one the crank will snap in short order. there are places that sell the individual balls if you know the size

 

[R.Johnson]

Re: Centre Bearings are they needed?

If you lost some roller bearings, make sure there are none in that block before you put it together. If you drop a roller into the block, it will always go to the furtherest dark corner, and hide from you. Don't fall for that.

 

[lark2004]

Re: Centre Bearings are they needed?

Get the bearings Tommo, It really needs them.<br />Use some vaseline on them to help them stay in place as you put it back together.

 

[Tommo]

Re: Centre Bearings are they needed?

Thanks for the quick replies, after considering your advice i will not be a cheapskate and i will buy new centre bearings.<br /> Thanks Lark for the tip about the vaseline I was going to buy Needle bearing assembly grease but if you say vaseline will work I'll use it.<br />Thanks again

 

[lark2004]

Re: Centre Bearings are they needed?

It's an old trick, the fuel will dissolve it when the engine is run, and the oil in the fuel will then take are of the lubricating.

 

[Tommo]

Re: Centre Bearings are they needed?

Just another question, I got all of the 60 bearings for the piston though 3 are a bit rusted, not badly, I just wonted to know if i could replace a few of these bearings with centre bearings?

 

[lark2004]

Re: Centre Bearings are they needed?

They are a different length, I guess you could, But, be sure to grind them to the right length, and round off the ends, as the original bearings have had done to them.