Overheard a master mechanic say "grease is cheap, bearings are not"

Was helping out at a shop in Portland last Tuesday and an old timer said that to a new guy while rebuilding a hub. It hit me hard because I've definitely been too stingy with grease on some jobs, thinking more would attract dirt. Made me rethink how I pack bearings, especially on customer bikes where I should be overkill on protection. Anyone else ever get called out by a simple line like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

richardrodriguez8d ago

Man, that line hits different when you've been there. I remember this one time I was helping a buddy rebuild a lawn mower engine and he kept telling me "tight is tight, but too tight is broke." I thought I was being careful, you know, being all precise with the torque wrench. Turns out I was just being stubborn and nearly cracked the crankcase. It's funny how those old sayings just stick with you, especially when you realize the hard way they were right all along. Now I'm the guy that overdoes the grease and double checks every bolt, even on my own stuff.

anthony8837d ago

Tight is tight, but too tight is broke? That's actually not quite how the saying goes. The real version is "tight is tight, but too tight is stripped." Broke can mean a lot of things, but stripped threads are the specific nightmare we all learned the hard way. The torque wrench bit is key though. People think a torque wrench makes you bulletproof, but it really just keeps you from guessing wrong if you use it right. Greasing everything up and double checking is just smart practice now, beats having to drill out a snapped bolt any day. Ever had to extract a broken bolt from an aluminum block? That's a whole other level of pain.