4203 bearing in 2010 M8 update

newtrout · Jan 7, 2011

Just pulled my diamond drive cover for another 500 mile checkup. The 4203 bearing is still smooth as butter. Pulled the seals and all looks perfect. About 1000 miles on it now, and I packed it with Maxima waterproof grease when I installed it.

I did discover something interesting. The bearing had shifted out 1-2 mm on the transfer gear shaft (now flush with the end of the shaft). I've heard some of you say that the bearings are coming from the factory without being pressed all the way on the shaft. I suspect that they are shifting out like mine has.

I pressed it back on in the vise. It was still very snug on the shaft. No evidence that the race has spun on the shaft. I doubt it was hurting anything. If I had much of a side load, I don't see how the bearing could have shifted out like that.

Coldfinger · Jan 7, 2011

Good to hear. Thanks for the update.

When I pressed my new 6203 SKF on the shaft it went on pretty easy. 2010 M8 with OEM Peer which was easy to remove but still below flush.

When pressing a 5203 Peer onto a 2009 M1000 it was a very tight fit, and the OEM Nachi was also much more difficult to remove.

CO 2.0 · Jan 7, 2011

Not sure if you remember when I told you one of my 4203 bearings felt pretty rough after a few hundred miles? Well since then I put in another one and this time packed it with a high quality grease. Checked it at 500 miles and it's still as smooth as butter. I recall someone saying on here to not pack them with grease blah blah blah. Well by personal experience, the 4203 I packed with grease is staying much smoother than the one I didn't pack with grease.

seth25 · Jan 7, 2011

Thank you for the update, Dragon12 and I were just talking yesterday about we haven't seen any follow ups on the 4203.

newtrout · Jan 7, 2011

CO 2.0 said:
Not sure if you remember when I told you one of my 4203 bearings felt pretty rough after a few hundred miles? Well since then I put in another one and this time packed it with a high quality grease. Checked it at 500 miles and it's still as smooth as butter. I recall someone saying on here to not pack them with grease blah blah blah. Well by personal experience, the 4203 I packed with grease is staying much smoother than the one I didn't pack with grease.

My thoughts exactly. Glad that seems to have worked for you. People have been doing it for years in MX applications. I can't see what it could harm, as long as you don't pack it completely full. There is already some grease in there, so the argument that the ball bearings will slide, rather than spin, just doesn't fly.

HiWaYman92 · Jan 7, 2011

Where are you guys getting this bearing at? My Napa store said they handn't heard of the 4203?

Stack · Jan 7, 2011

I have access to these bearings, just PM me for more info.

Thanks,

John

newtrout · Jan 7, 2011

None of the 4203-2rs seem to be angular contact. This is the same bearing that I'm running:

http://cgi.ebay.com/4203-2RS-SHIELDED-DOUBLE-ROW-BALL-BEARING-17X40X16MM-/320330722508?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item4a9532eccc

knoba · Jan 7, 2011

bearing

So if the 4203 had moved 1-2mm, the 5203 bearing that is 1.5mm wider would be a better option correct?

dragon12 · Jan 7, 2011

I didn't pack mine with grease prior to installing it so we will see what it looks like once I get some miles on it. Right now I only have about 150 miles on mine at best. Might make a couple of more rides and then take a peek to make sure I don't have a nuke in the gearbox.

newtrout · Jan 7, 2011

knoba said:
So if the 4203 had moved 1-2mm, the 5203 bearing that is 1.5mm wider would be a better option correct?

Hard to say. When I tried the 5203 bearing in my case, I could not get the cover on without pulling it in place with the bolts. With the 4203, the cover snapped into place. But, based on the movement of the bearing, it would sure seem like I've got room for the 5203 in mine. BDX sure seems confident that you can squeeze the 5203 into place in the 2010 drive without worry.

knoba · Jan 7, 2011

DD

It looks like some DD would have room for the 5203 and some will be too tight so it seems like the DD vary in tolerance.

Coldfinger · Jan 7, 2011

Yeah, it was probably me who expressed concern about repacking/filling with grease because the bearing house told me not to and the SKF site also states the same........

http://www.skf.com/files/151315.pdf

from page 16 of the above document.........

• Angular contact ball bearings usually
operate at high speeds. Therefore,
grease should fill only about 30 % of
the free space in the bearing cavity.

BigAir · Jan 7, 2011

I pulled the seal on my 5203 in my Diamond Lite and it appeared to not have any grease in it. Everything was just oily inside. Drive has about 600 miles on it.

Should the bearing cage pop right out? It looked like there was an o-ring under the seal, so I stuck my screwdriver under it and poped it out. Turned out to be the bearing cage. I repacked it and got the cage back in. Definitely spins harder now than before I repacked it, but it is nice and smooth.

FrostBite2010 · Jan 7, 2011

I put the 5203 bearing from BDX in my 2010 m8 without issues. I did pull the DD instead of just the cover just to make my job a bit easier. The cover fell right on with no tolerance issues/side pressure....oh and the stock bearing was still intact but felt a bit rough after 1000 miles.

dragon12 · Feb 4, 2011

So I put around 200 - 250 miles on my new 4203-2rs bearing in my 2010 M8 diamond drive. Today I decided to crack it open and see what was up inside. I am very happy to report that my diamond drive is happy and the bearing is still completely intact. :cheer2:

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Superduty348 · Feb 4, 2011

they did change the transfer gear and input shaft in the dd in 2010 from the 2009 model I think that is why the 5203 bearing fits on some dd's

TalkAK · Feb 5, 2011

4203 "non-angular contact" on mine was getting rough after a few hundred miles, looked great but when you put it on your finger and spin it, it was not smooth. It did fit in perfect. I went back to a high end stock bearing (6203) until I can turn the shaft down to fit a 5203. The 5203 angular contact will not currently fit on my 2010m8 LE. And yes, you remove the spacer when switching to either the 4203 or the 5203.

triple650 · Feb 5, 2011

so i guess the stock bearings are poop? how long do they usualy last? cause i got 600 miles on my 2010 crossfire and its feels like somthing is vibrating on the left lower side!

how hard is it to take cover off?

TalkAK · Feb 6, 2011

Do a advanced search on here for removing the DD. Take it slow the first time and its a piece of cake. I would check the stock, my original was shot in 500 miles. You can lay it up on its side and remove the cover.....but if the bearing is shot you are going to want to flush it all out and now you have a mess to get back to removing the whole DD. There are some tricks to learn, removing the bolt from the brake side before you roll it up, rolling it up about to a 45 degree angle puts forward tension on the track and you do not have to loosen the track. Also when reassembling, remember rubber vibration dampener, also put grease on it, makes assembly much easier. Lastly remember the bolt you took out from the brake side. Sometimes it does not fall out of the shaft, don't forget about it.

4203 bearing in 2010 M8 update

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