[hypoxia]

Driver side forward slide stopped while retracting the slide when it was 12" out.  Newell had me push on the slide while it was closing & I was able to break the forward outboard bearing loose and close the slide.  At the next stop I opened the slide and greased the bearing.  It closed with no resistance after that.  The bearing rail that I could access was smooth, hopefully it didn't incur any damage.  Newell sent a bearing, I'll wait & do that job later when at my shop unless I'm forced to earlier.  I greased all of the other slides outboard bearings while I was at it.  I carry a suction cup tool for removing the outside panel which is velcro'd on.

The slides on 1482 are the "Integrated End Wall Slide Drive" which I have the manual for.  I have read the posts from others that replaced the bearing.  Today I replaced the bearing, it took around 1.5 hours and is a very easy job using two hydraulic tables as per the Valid instructions.  As you can see from the last photos there were some bearings with rust, indicating a water intrusion problem.

The linear bearings are more sophisticated than expected.  The exposed bearing balls are in a "race".  At each end of the race there is a channel which directs the balls into the bearing body.  As the bearing slides along its rail the bearings continually move and when a ball gets to the end it goes through the channel and then into the body.  If the rail was long enough that ball would come out the other end of the body and then on to the rail at the other end in a never ending loop.  There are 4 rows of balls.

                               

Bearing Data.pdf Size: 7.68 MB  Downloads: 4

KWVE Bearing Datasheet.pdf Size: 1,004.1 KB  Downloads: 4

Monorail Guidance System page 324.pdf Size: 86.82 MB  Downloads: 7

                       

[hypoxia]

Updated to include photos of the new linear bearing

[bikestuff]

Jim,

653 was one of the first coaches with Valid slides. Those bearing look identical to what they used. Over the years Newell replaced several bearings. My problem was mostly water intrusion. If there is *ANY* water, the ball bearings will adhere to the rail. It does not take much for the bearing to rust and then fall out.

Earlier versions of those linear bearings were grey in color and *some* of those had a grease zerk fitting on the end. (The green versions are the newer ones) From your pictures it looks like there is a hole for a zerk fitting on one end. I asked Newell about greasing the bearings and they said it was not needed…but they may have said that because of the physical difficulty of getting to the bearings to grease them.

I just wanted to add background to this discussion. Good luck with the replacement.

[RobSC]

Jim,

Is there a specific type of grease recommended on the bearings?  I may inspect mine and apply if needed.

[hypoxia]

The current bearings are green with a grease zerk in the end.  They were greased at some point with a red grease although that was not original.  The only lubrication I found mentioned in the manual was a general purpose premium grease on the floor torque bearings.  I used NLG2 grease on the linear bearings.  There was some old grease that was dirty and had some debris in it which did not look like any of the bearing material.  I wiped that off as much as I could reach.  There is a possibility that some of that debris caused the bearing to lock up.  Anxious to remove and inspect it.

[hypoxia]

Jim,

653 was one of the first coaches with Valid slides.  Those bearing look identical to what they used.  Over the years Newell replaced several bearings.  My problem was mostly water intrusion.  If there is *ANY* water, the ball bearings will adhere to the rail.  It does not take much for the bearing to rust and then fall out.

Earlier versions of those linear bearings were grey in color and *some* of those had a grease zerk fitting on the end.  (The green versions are the newer ones)  From your pictures it looks like there is a hole for a zerk fitting on one end.  I asked Newell about greasing the bearings and they said it was not needed…but they may have said that because of the physical difficulty of getting to the bearings to grease them.   

I just wanted to add background to this discussion.  Good luck with the replacement.

Thanks Bill.  The specs call for an M6 X 1 grease zerk on one of the data sheets I just posted.  Also specify 8,6 Grams initial grease when installed.  No specific grease seems to be mentioned.  When I do a search on linear bearing lubrication it seems that NLGI 1 or 2 is probably correct.  I used Lucas Red & Tacky NLGI2 which has water washout and rust inhibiters.
Linear Bearing and Guide Lubrication

[hypoxia]

I replaced the linear bearing today and added the information and photos to the first post keeping the information in one place so you don't have to search.  As Bill suggested, some ball bearings were rusty indicating water intrusion. Perhaps they make stainless bearings???

[hypoxia]

Thinking about water intrusion so I checked the salon slide roof for sagging .  The center is the same as the ends and halfway between each end and the center is 1/8" or less "sag", that seems reasonable.  This was measured with the slide fully extended.  Where the slide sidewall meets the top it looks very well sealed also.  I need to check the slide wipers although I don't see how a slide wiper can possibly clear off all of that water when retracting.  Then the issue is how to keep it off of the bearings?  The W rail and the bearings need an umbrella although a bearing with stainless balls would probably resolve the problem, methinks.

[Jack Houpe]

Jim those look just like the bearing on my cnc machine but probably much larger I used lithium grease but thats in a enclosed building environment, the red grease you mentioned might be synthetic grease mobil 1 pure synthetic is red and good stuff. There is a wiper on the bearing but I don't think made for water. Stainless is a great idea but I think a bit to soft of metal but maybe a ceramic bearing if it could handle the load. Are the rails rusting?

[hypoxia]

Jack, I wondered if stainless would be hard enough. The thing about slide bearings is the lack of use. I counted about 50 slide cycles in the last year. I edited the post to specify the slide wiper which clears water & debris off of the slide when retracted.

I couldn't reach far enough to feel the full length of the rails, the part I could feel was smooth. Didn't think to use the borescope.