Bosch Colt bearings

[MikeDe1025]

Well, no doubt my bearing is shot. It's not screaming yet but it's grumbling pretty well. In the booklet that comes with the router it tells us to change the bearing with every second brush change but then it says to take it to a service center to have it done. Before I tear into my router can anyone tell me if changing these bearings is something we can all do in the shop or is it going to require things like a puller and/or a press to get it back on? What's the verdict on this?

Thanks,
Mike

[GARYR6]

Unless you like that sort of work, go buy a new router for a 100 bucks.

[rungemach]

The issue with the Colts is that their lower bearing is held in the aluminum bottom section of the router with a polymer like material, not metal. The fit to the bearing can get loose, especially if the router is plunge cutting a lot. (as the cnc does.) Because the lower bearing does not press against a physical stop when plunging, the shaft can move into the router body a bit and then get pressed back by a wave spring on the other end of the shaft. The larger Bosch routers are not made this way, but the Colt is a trim router and not meant to be a plunge router.

So I will agree with GaryR6 and suggest just getting a new Colt. A lower bearing and the housing puts you almost halfway towards a new router.

An "extended warrenty" on the new one may help you out if you use your shark frequently. Also, don't run at full rpms as it is very hard on bearing life. Back down to 80% and the bearing will live longer.

[MikeDe1025]

I really don't mind opening up the router to replace the bearings. I get a satisfaction from fixing things but I do know that others would rather toss it and buy new and get on with their lives. In my initial post I was looking to see who had done it before and was it even possible. I've learned since that lots of guys do replace their bearings. I even found somewhat of a tutorial on it which helped as well as some old posts that I found here on our site as well.
I looked very closely at that area of the housing which surrounds the collet end bearing on account of what you said but I don't see it being any sort of fibrous material at all. I can't say exactly what it is either. Phenolic? I do see though, that it is extremely hard and durable. I feel no flex or movement in the shaft at all either up and down or side to side. A set of OEM bearings is a mere 15 dollars and free shipping from EBAY and that's for both the top and bottom bearings. Most guys I've see so far writing about doing the replacement all want to say it's about a 30 minute job. For me, 15 bucks and 30 minutes is worth the effort. I really don't want to go and buy a new 100 dollar router every 300 hours of operation. Now I suppose that if things got a bit more serious with the router then I'd consider it differently but for the ease and the minor cost of the bearings, I'm a fixer.

Mike

[rungemach]

If your current bearing is still tight in the housing, all you have to lose is the cost of a lower bearing. I would suggest being careful about the quality of the bearing you buy and stay away from the cheap chinese bearings. The upper bearing seldom goes bad, the lower takes all the abuse. It will be helpful if you have a puller and a press, but many folks do without the tools and improvise. When pushing a new bearing on a shaft, do not push the outer race, use a suitable sleeve to press only on the inner race.

Many of the Colts I have worked on had the bottom housing beginning to get loose, so that's why it gets more expensive when you add up a good bearing, a new lower housing, and a set of brushes. Overheating the bottom bearing has a big effect on this, and if your bearing is just beginning to get loose, you may still have a tight lower housing. If you take yours apart to see how difficult the replacement will be, you can always choose to replace the whole thing depending on what you find.

[MikeDe1025]

Thanks for that info, Rungemach. I find no movement in the shaft whatsoever so that's a good thing. After reading so much controversy about the bearings themselves, ceramic, stainless steel, this, that and all the rest, my head was spinning and in everything I did read it seemed nobody could ever agree on which bearing was THE bearing to get. So, I quit all of that worrying and bought the original OEM bearings. For the low price I bought two sets. On ereplacementparts.com they have a short video of how to get the bearings off. For the ease of getting them off and the cheapness of new bearings, I guess as long as everything stays nice and tight after the bearings go out again I'll just continue to replace them until the proverbial cows find their way back home. I would say for sure that taking the colt out of service as soon as you start to notice the bearing making noise might be the key to the longevity of the housing.

Thanks for everyone's help.
Mike