Sherman MAX - stainless steel bearings?

[Xeranos]

Since the Sherman MAX has the same axle mount as the infamous Abrams, and how many times I've heard about bearing problems in that wheel, I'm considering replacing the bearings in my Sherman right off the bat. My distributor told me that in his opinion there is no need to do so, as there should be no problems with these bearings on the MAX. What do you think about this? Have you had any problems with the bearings in your Sherman MAX?

 

Edited May 15, 2022 by Xeranos

[Denny Paul]

If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Bearings go bad progressively typically: first they’ll make noise, then after a long time of that will they sap power.

[Alexutlang]

On 5/15/2022 at 6:41 PM, Xeranos said:

Since the Sherman MAX has the same axle mount as the infamous Abrams, and how many times I've heard about bearing problems in that wheel, I'm considering replacing the bearings in my Sherman right off the bat. My distributor told me that in his opinion there is no need to do so, as there should be no problems with these bearings on the MAX. What do you think about this? Have you had any problems with the bearings in your Sherman MAX?

 

I have over 2300km now on my max. So far no problem with the bearings. They may have the same axle design with the Abrams but shell design is different 

[Xeranos]

On 5/16/2022 at 7:47 PM, Alexutlang said:

I have over 2300km now on my max. So far no problem with the bearings. They may have the same axle design with the Abrams but shell design is different 

And  when it comes to rain or snow? I intend to ride in all weather conditions.

[DjPanJan]

21 hours ago, Xeranos said:

And  when it comes to rain or snow? I intend to ride in all weather conditions.

Snow is relatively ok but with salt mix like use in Europe no way ride in this salt/snow/ice mix.

 

In every EUC manual is no puddles no water no rain riding recomended try respect this as mutch is possible to achieve.

 

Personaly i try avoid water in all cost. I have sherman V2 if rain on trip i use this like condom on top of EUC.

 

And ride slowly becasue more speed = more wather pressure against internal shell.

 

[Xeranos]

6 hours ago, DjPanJan said:

Snow is relatively ok but with salt mix like use in Europe no way ride in this salt/snow/ice mix.

 

In every EUC manual is no puddles no water no rain riding recomended try respect this as mutch is possible to achieve.

 

Personaly i try avoid water in all cost. I have sherman V2 if rain on trip i use this like condom on top of EUC.

 

And ride slowly becasue more speed = more wather pressure against internal shell.

 

I know what it says in the manual. But I also know how my Sherman v2 worked. I've put over 10,000 km on my Sherman OG, driven in all conditions - even in a salt mixture. I never had any problems. I'm just wondering how reliable the MAX is compared to its predecessor. These failures on Abrams worries me. 

Edited May 19, 2022 by Xeranos

[Rawnei]

You could buy the bearings and keep them in reserve, change them when the original ones start to act up.

[Kutvis]

I just watched video of changing bearings to Sherman. You would need a press to change them I think?

My MAX bearings start to noise after a two thousand.. I think I can add one more casualty into my signature.

Edited January 2, 2023 by Kutvelo

[techyiam]

10 minutes ago, Kutvelo said:

My MAX bearings start to noise after a two thousand..

Did you seal the area where the motor wires come out the axle, and repacked the bearings with marine grease?

[Kutvis]

5 minutes ago, techyiam said:

Did you seal the area where the motor wires come out the axle, and repacked the bearings with marine grease?

Hmm. not 100% certain what you mean by this. The Sherman wire is properly sealed on the pedal hanger, I did look this first thing as it was known to have the issue of incorrect sealing, mine was 100% properly done. I was under impression if the original sealing is done properly it isn't necessary to remove pedalhanger to improve it.

I even have liquid moly here.. But how one repack the bearings? The motor cover needs to be removed to open the RS cover or am I incorrect? If the bearing can be repacked with marine grease without popping motor lid I will do this, perhaps it will let me ride past the winter. A thank you!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaaykA7q9XI

[techyiam]

On 1/2/2023 at 5:47 AM, Kutvelo said:

I even have liquid moly here.. But how one repack the bearings? The motor cover needs to be removed to open the RS cover or am I incorrect? If the bearing can be repacked with marine grease without popping motor lid I will do this, perhaps it will let me ride past the winter.

What I did on my T3 was to remove the wheel, and both pedal hangers.

I remove the outboard dust seals, and use PB Blaster as solvent to remove the old grease. If there is rust, you need to keep the bearings and races wet with the PB Blaster and rotate the bearings. If the bearings are still not smooth and noisy, you would need to continue the process, from time to time over a couple days. Note the the bearing noise may get reduced, but the noise most likely won't go away. Over time with usage, the noise can get reduced by quite a bit. A better way to get rid of the bearing noise is to press out the bearings altogether and with both dust seals removed, submerge the whole thing in PB Blaster for about 6 months. But that is not quite practical. 

Even with the bearing noise, the wheel bearings can still function normally, with good wear rate. At least, that has been my experience. 

Once cleaned, repacked bearings with Marine axle grease. I brush on the grease with an artist brush from a dollar store. Don't fill the grease cavity with grease. Replace dust seals. On the seal outside, you also need to apply some marine grease. But here is the tricky part. It can get messy. You need enough grease, but don't overdo it.

To remove the dust seals, I just use sewing needles I bought from a dollar store. I use two on the same spot on the inner diameter. Outer diameter can work too.

Edited April 21, 2023 by techyiam

[Kutvis]

Got a few good tips from my shop, bought FAG bearings with steel cover. Will swap these after my other wheel is back on the road, I'll take a few photos on the way perhaps.

[uppuddle]

my max started making squeaky sounds after about 1k miles. I’ve tried blowing it out/cleaning it as best I can without disassembly. It seems to be getting worse. 

[Milordas]

Sad but true. Every Sherman Max should be reassembled before first use, as it have sealed pedal hangers where wires comming out, but not motor axle where wires comming out. As you start to riding unsealed, you could potentialy sand, mud inside your motor