Have been playing with a manatee for a while now, recently it has started turning bearings responsive. For some reason, after 5-10 minutes of play, a bearing goes responsive in it until i clean it out. Have tried changing strings & pads to no avail, looking for insight on how to deal with this issue.
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Is it the same bearing or has it been doing it to multiple different bearings?
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Both. On several occasions I have cleaned out the standard concave bearing I got it with, but the problem has always come back swiftly. I have also tried switching its bearing out for others in my collection, and those bearings have also become responsive within minutes of play.
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clean the bearings and also clean the bearing seat area where the bearing sits
Are these bearings still responsive if you put them in other yo-yos?
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how would you recommend cleaning the bearing seat?
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yes - they were fully unresponsive before, I play them in the manatee a bit, they go responsive after. Both in the manatee and the host of other throws i put them in afterwards.
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If it is turning these bearings persistently responsive, I agree with @GTDropKnot’s point about the bearing seats. Wiping out any crud that has accumulated could help.
Are you using/adding lubricant?
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I use a Q-tip with a tiny bit of alcohol (this is what I also clean my bearings with) and sometimes a paper towel with alcohol bc then I can use my finger nails to get into the corners.
alcohol = 91% isopropyl not like tequila
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haha yeah i gotcha, i use 99% rubbing alc to clean my bearings so that won’t be a problem anyways. I used a toothpick to scratch out a lot of gunk earlier and that didn’t help though, so crossing my fingers that alcohol will work
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i add a bit of lube once a cleaned bearing has dried, or when i get a brand new bearing. i use it pretty sparingly, though.
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I think it is worth a try using none at all.
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will do, but i will also say that i only have this problem with this specific throw despite using the same amount of lube on all.
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The only theory I have is that some kind of debris from this specific yo-yo is making its way into the bearing and lubricant is causing it to stick and accumulate.
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I am just scanning through this particular thread on my lunch break where I work second shift in Los Angeles. So I may have missed something in the conversation but if I haven’t let me ask you something.
It seems like at least at this point nobody has mentioned whether This bearing or these bearings that you using have the shields on them or not?
Because if you’re using unshielded bearings, the dialogue relating to a cure for your situation may change somewhat.
Because shielded bearings and unshielded bearings…… can definitely confront you with different results.
I’m certainly no genius on this kind of thing. But that being said I have fiddled with a few thousand bearings in the last 26 years.
One thing I have found is suggesting possible solutions to a problem can sometimes be more straightforward If the people doing the suggestions know as many things about your equipment as you can tell them.
So are the bearings shielded or have you removed the shields?
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None of this makes any sense. Are you pulling our collective leg?
solvent on a qtip, rub the bearing seat/post good then let it dry
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have removed the shields for cleaning on every set of bearings I have cleaned. To be honest, I have been too lazy to reattach.
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yes, i get off on logging on to a hobby forum and making up maintenance issues for other people to solve, you got me (?) 
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will do, will update if this works
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