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Sealed Bearings for the RV-12?

gossend

Well Known Member
Anti-splat Aero has stopped supplying sealed wheel bearings for the RV-12. Does anyone know where I can get it done?
 
Anti-splat Aero has stopped supplying sealed wheel bearings for the RV-12. Does anyone know where I can get it done?

If and when you find a vendor that performs this wonderful detail, be sure and post. I have been hounding AS for a few years now with no positive result. I would love it.
 
Like Dick Gossen I contacted Anti-splat about machining my wheels and installing sealed bearings like our nose wheels have. They said there was something about the design of our main wheels that made their process too difficult thus not doing the RV12s.
There are two RV7s hangared near me who have had the sealed bearings installed by anti-splat and enjoy not having to repack bearings.

I will check with Matco about sealed bears like Joe mentioned.
 
I question how often main wheel bearings really need to be repacked… Consider rear drive automobile – some cars never have front wheel bearings repacked and still continue to function for 100K miles with no problem - summer heat / winter potholes. Airplane wheels are lightly loaded and even fast spin speed is not a problem.

Boat trailers where wheels submerge in water and get contaminated is different scenario...
 
I question how often main wheel bearings really need to be repacked… Consider rear drive automobile – some cars never have front wheel bearings repacked and still continue to function for 100K miles with no problem - summer heat / winter potholes. Airplane wheels are lightly loaded and even fast spin speed is not a problem.

Boat trailers where wheels submerge in water and get contaminated is different scenario...

I have always wondered the same thing. It seems completely unnecessary.
 
Try changing the tires. You'll want to repack the bearings with grease then. Or at least I did, while the bearings were out.
 
I have always wondered the same thing. It seems completely unnecessary.

I recall back when ‘Aviation Maintenance’ was a paperback publication. They called wheel bearing greasing “…the most over-performed maintenance out there”. At least, they said, it was cheap and hard to screw up.
 
My understanding sealed bearing - mean that "sealed". No need to replace the grease and anyway you can't get to it.

The RV-12 main wheel bearings have some sort of rubber shield which makes it hard to add/refresh the grease. But they are not truly sealed meaning the grease still needs to added/maintained.

Robert
 
The rubber seals on the RV-12 main wheels are indeed lip seals. They are removable and not integral with the bearing.

Tapered roller bearings are excellent for radial and axial loads. Also, very good at absorbing static loads such as hard landing. Tapered rollers have large surface area in contact bearing race to distribute force. These bearings do not have integral seals and required either removable lip seal or dust cup like on front wheel of automobile. Tapered roller bearings consist of two separate pieces – inner race with roller/cage and separate outer race.

Ball bearings have point contact between balls and bearing race which is poor for absorbing static loads. Some ball bearings are designed for combined radial and axial loads but don’t approach robust design of tapered roller. Ball bearings can have integral shield or seal. This is possible because the bearing is assembled as a single unit with inner/outer races and ball/cage.
 
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