At 04:19 AM 6/1/2011, Stephen E. Belter wrote:

I have an Yaesu GS-050 thrust bearing that has been installed for about 15 years. The thrust bearing turns, but requires a lot of force.

I disassembled the thrust bearing to find that the grease is very sticky (think candy apple sticky), and not lubricative (if that is a word).

Should I take it to an auto repair shop and ask them to degrease and then lubricate similar to repacking a wheel bearing?

What kind of grease should be used?

Thanks and 73, Steve N9IP

Steve Belter

Steve,

When I was building my tower#2 in 2008, I considered buying a Rohn TH-3 thrust bearing (about $200+) and was advised to look in ebay. I found a nice 3-inch ball-bearing radial-thrust bearing for about $35 (brand new). It has a zerk fitting for a grease gun to maintain the lubrication (which at the slow rotation of antennas is almost never). Ebay might be cheaper than a re-build.

73, Ed - KL7UW

73, Ed - KL7UW, WD2XSH/45 ====================================== BP40IQ 500 KHz - 10-GHz www.kl7uw.com EME: 50-1.1kw?, 144-1.4kw, 432-100w, 1296-testing*, 3400-? DUBUS Magazine USA Rep dubususa@hotmail.com ======================================