[Roadsidejobshop]

Hello All,

so I was being a stupid idiot and managed to drop the carriage while the plastic slidey retainer was middle way out of the bearing. After that the balls spread out like wildfire and went into all the floor cracks possible. So I decided to take the carriage apart to find what kind of balls I would need to replace the lost ones. As best as I could tell, the balls are either 3.16 or 3.165mm in diameter. This is actually very close to an imperial size - 1/8th of an inch or 3.175mm.

So i guess my main question is can I substitute all the balls from 3.16(5) mm to 3.175mm and just have a bit more preload or will it not fit? Or will it fit and just wear everything out much faster?

Thanks and video below

[Andreiir]

There must be a ball space between balls on all rail tracks .

[Big S]

What about wrapping a strong magnet in a plastic bag and brushing it over the floor to get any balls hiding in cracks anywhere? The plastic bag makes it easy to get the metal balls off the magnet afterwards.

[Mike Everman]

The short answer is yes, go ahead with 1/8 balls. You may get a little more preload. Keep everything clean. If they've sat out, I would irrigate profusely with kerosene and always keep them covered.
BTW, most bearings from everywhere usually use English size balls. Asian balls are too small. (huh huh) Seriously, it was the English that created the industry.

[handlewanker]

LOL.....we are the champions....LOL.......joking....I'm more Aussie now.
Ian.

[RCaffin]

Next time do it in a plastic bag over a large cotton sheet while sitting on the floor - or similar. I used a large flat tub with the bits IN the tub before I pulled anything apart.

You can get balls above and below the nominal sizes. This is done so you can compensate for wear and to reduce slop and backlash.
You may need to experiment to see what size you need right now. If the whole thing feels every so slightly loose, go up 0.005 mm and try again. But I would not go for too much preload as that could cause too fast wear. And do NOT jam too many balls back in.
Fortunately, balls are not expensive.

Cheers
Roger