General One Way Bearings - DO NOT USE GREASE

Westy

LEGEND
Hey all....

Just in case some of you were wondering... DO NOT .... apply grease to your one way bearing. The Grease will jam in the ramps in the one way clutch bearing (SPRAG CLUTCH) and your Bearing will JAM UP SOLID!

OneWayBearingSpragueDetail_700.jpg


use either Transmission fluid (a few Drops every 10 flights or so) or you can use 3 in 1 oil if you choose.... do not use anything that is "STICKY" as this will render your "OWB" useless.

I found out this thee hard way when I thought I had a seized OWB .... it was because I had applied GREASE to it prior to assembly.

Bearing seized in flight and it was not till It was spooling down that I heard the motor still winding down with the heli rotor! .... I though HUH????? WHAT THE!!!!!!

REMEDY:
Cleaned it all out with Brakeleen and re applied a few drops of Tranny oil (You can also use silicon spray) Never had an issue with it since!
 
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Tony

Staff member
You should not use 3-1 either. You need oil that has NO anti friction properties. Like trans fluid. There is also some grease out there that is made for this too. The links below are the ONLY grease or oil you should EVER use on a OWB. EVER.

Hudy Differential Grease [HUD106211] | Glue, Oil & Cleaners - A Main Hobbies

Team Associated Stealth Differential Lube [ASC6591] | RC Cars & Trucks - A Main Hobbies

Both of those will lube the balls when they are spinning free, but still allow them to grab the shaft when they need to. Slipping is bad lol.
 

Westy

LEGEND
so you can't use 3 n 1 oil? ..... what is wrong with 3 n 1? Silicon is total anti friction material... We used it in the food industry to reduce friction... you should see what happens when you spray it on a stainless bench and run cardboard boxes across it!..... I would say that is ANTI friction.....
 

Tony

Staff member
3-1 is more of an oil and is made to put a thin film of oil between two parts. Just like motor oil. ATF fluid (Dextron III) does the same thing, but it has friction modifiers in it that allow the clutches to still grab, this is what you want in an OWB. You need protection from the heat build-up, but you also need it to grab when it needs to. I HIGHLY suggest using the right grease like I linked to. That is what it was made for. actually it was made for ball diffs in cars and trucks, but it's the same principal with OWB's.
 

coolgabsi

Super Mod & DEAL KING!
I am actually using the second link you have tony on my thrust bearings


But with sprag bearing design bro.. Slipping is needed not between shaft and bearing but between owb and casing.

Like my pinion on the whiplash. It doesn't have balls like a 450's OWB would. Or nitro's clutch starter shaft has.

These bearings (also in align 700e OWB on main shaft) are sprag designs and these sprag bearings need to slip along the casing as they grab on to the shaft the other way spread out like a clutch and don't let it move wrong direction..


In that case if I don't have slippage between casing and sprag, it's a jammed system. I was dealing with all night last night too.

Fly safe!! :) have fun!
 

Ken Jackson

Active Member
What about Align one way bearing grease? 3 n 1 has a cleaner and rust inhibitor.

Ken
 
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Lee

Well-Known Member
I use hair clipper oil. Being bald, I have some lying around :D This obviously needs to lubricate the cutting blades, but not jam up with gunk.
 

Tony

Staff member
I just know what I have run on ALL of my OWB since I got in the hobby in 1994. I know what has worked for me and what hasn't. I can only suggest what I know works.
 

Island Breeze

Senior Rc-Help Member
I use hair clipper oil. Being bald, I have some lying around :D This obviously needs to lubricate the cutting blades, but not jam up with gunk.

LMAO..Lee your too funnny. But man all this time i been using 3-1 oil. need to change now.
 

Tony

Staff member
If it works and doesn't slip, then keep using it. You just want to make sure that no matter what it is, a sprag or whatever, that it doesn't slip. If it slips, the heli is going to come down. Only way to save it is with an auto rotation landing as long as you are high enough to bring your head speed back up.
 

Tony

Staff member
But you auto on purpose hahaha. If it slips, you will be doing an auto without warning lmao. More than likely, it will be when you give it throttle to climb.
 

Tony

Staff member
Maybe. It's a silocon based grease and is "like" what I posted before with the Associated grease. However, I can't suggest this because the Traxxas trucks do NOT have ball diff's, they have gear diff's. But, you can try it to see if it will slip. Make sure you post your results here for the rest of us to see if you do it.
 

leedude1

Member
Hey Tony...I started reworking the 550 and was going to pull main gear and re grease. I was told scorpion motor oil works well on the OWB and I also have super lube would that be ok you think? super lube is a silicone base that I have used and works well with the thrust bearings....

So many differing opinions on this it's hard to weed through the good and potentially bad.
 

leedude1

Member
I'll go with wisdom and time..and my dad always said there is a proper tool for every job.
OWB grease it is.
 
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