Cat water pump bearing

moisheh wrote:
NEVER replace that bearing with a sealed bearing. Contrary to some posts the C7 has a sealed bearing and a short life. Probably due to all the heat in that area. If that bearing lets go you will have a huge repair bill!

Moisheh

Let me expand a little, since Caterpillar has both sealed and greasable hubs available.

From BEST to WORST:

Greasable bearing that YOU DO GREASE.

Sealed bearing

Greasable bearing that YOU DO NOT GREASE.

NEVER replace that bearing with a sealed bearing. Contrary to some posts the C7 has a sealed bearing and a short life. Probably due to all the heat in that area. If that bearing lets go you will have a huge repair bill!

Moisheh

haddy1 wrote:
When I owned a 3126, I added an extension hose to that fitting and secured it to the breather pipe so I could lube from the bottom.

An extension done properly is OK. But make sure you have purged all the air from the extension before installing it. Said another way, fill the extension with grease before installing.

That is the only way you will know that that small squirt of grease is a small squirt of grease getting to the bearing instead of a couple feet of AIR. The air has no lubrication properties and if trying to purge the air from a long hose could blow the seals.

Since access to to the bearing/zirk depends on coach layout and how much attention the builder paid to "top of engine" access, there is no "one way is better than the other".

for those of you who have the CAT, that bearing is 2 inches wide, and is heavy duty. Even if the bearing let go, it does not go though the CAC. Yes you can pay upto 3000, but most of the $$ goes to the service shop labor.
And there are not as many failure as told by people Vs CAT engines on the market. For $60 you can go to any CAT and purchase a new bearing to keep on hand.
However to remove it, the bearing has to be pressed out and back in. A good electric motor rebuild show can do the pressing.
Freightliner Gaffney, usually only like to change the complete housing assembly. But for me,, they removed the housing and I went in search of a place to press out and back in of the bearing. That is where the electric motor shop came in.

And while you are at the CAT shop, need your engine serial number, ask for the image showing the assembly.
And NO, I did not have a failure, I was having the fan replace do to some nicks. I figured, while they were doing that, FL could remove the housing.

When I owned a 3126, I added an extension hose to that fitting and secured it to the breather pipe so I could lube from the bottom.

tinkerer wrote:
Just wondering how many hours are recommended to run before greasing? A lot of bearings are ruined by over greasing and blowing out the seal. Not sure on this one though.

Correct. Just a couple of half-pumps every year is what I do. You can tell if you over-greased it when you open the bed and there's flung grease all over the bottom.

Just wondering how many hours are recommended to run before greasing? A lot of bearings are ruined by over greasing and blowing out the seal. Not sure on this one though.

I just lifted the bed and straddled the engine walking on the frame rails until I could reach the fan hub. I can also get a flex hosed grease pump onto the zirc from the driver's side, but that's probably an artifact of the Safari design.

The consequences of not greasing the fan hub will make the contortions getting to it a minor inconvenience. When that bearing fails, the fans is driven aft through the CAC and the radiator. Do yourself a favor; figure out a way to grease it.

wolfe10 wrote:
As posted, it is the fan hub that has the grease zirk on all Caterpillar 3126's built before 1/03.

Accessed only from the top-- so bedroom or closet floor. Just locate the fan and come in toward the engine head. It is facing straight up.

the joys of a rear radiator, no thanks

As posted, it is the fan hub that has the grease zirk on all Caterpillar 3126's built before 1/03.

Accessed only from the top-- so bedroom or closet floor. Just locate the fan and come in toward the engine head. It is facing straight up.