I bought a Good Life Valley off of BST a few months ago and I use it a ton. Because of the humidity here, the bearing has started to lock up, and I also haven’t cleaned it since I got it. My issue is since I’ve got it I’ve been scared to open it because of how tight the axle feels. I may have opened it two or three times since I got it, and it’s always made me nervous to do so. When I try to unscrew the yoyo, it’s like super tight to the point where I basically have to use a ton of force, almost like one of them rubber jar openers or my t-shirt. I was just about to, but it felt so tight every turn that I decided to just wait and see what you guys think. I remember someone telling me it’s normal and that it’s due to the way the bearing seat is. Has anyone else ever dealt with this on a yoyo? I think I’ve seen a Kowalski video review where he had a yoyo do something similar. Should I even bother trying to clean the bearing, or should I just leave it alone? Is there anything I can do to make it not so tight if I do open it and screw it back together? Thanks guys
ive never had a yoyo that was tough to unscrew but i have seen people put some thin yoyo lube on the axle. I think it was for OneDrop side effects but I don’t see why you couldn’t apply a little on a normal axle to help lubricate the axle threads.
I think it’s a bearing post to bearing seat interaction and not an axle issue. Some bearings are pretty tight on the post and can make you think you will hurt it. If you apply outward pressure when unscrewing and inward pressure when tightening it, that will help lessening the tension between the axle threads. I have found that if the bearing is too loose it tends to have a little more finger nail vibe. So I wouldn’t worry about it
Happens in some of my yo-yos and they’re playing like champs still I get super nervous tho and I agree that it’s probably just a tight bearing seat. I feel like it’s good that you noticed it on unscrew bc then it won’t be a surprise when you put it together again if it’s tight again
Go ahead and take it apart. You can’t hurt anything. Some bearing seats are just tight. Some super tight.
I would be more careful putting it back together. If you can, make sure that the bearing is fully seated on one side before screwing the halves together. You may have to press it on some then flip it over, bearing side down on a flat hard surface and press down to help it onto the post. When the halves come together you may hear a good metal on metal squeak. This is normal too.
I don’t bother with any lube on the axle or elsewhere because it just gets into the bearing eventually making it more responsive.
Good luck!
Ps. Eventually it gets easier but you’ll notice ano ware on the post.
Thanks for all the responses! I noticed the same thing where I gotta twist it super tight or the yoyo gets a little vibey. Anyways, a couple hours after I posted this message my response pad fell out on one side. It gave me no choice but to open it. It all worked out though. The axle and threads were both completely fine. My best guess is the ano on the bearing seat post is causing it to be so tight as I noticed the ano worn down some there.
I’m glad I got a spare set of response pads laying around. I think I might end up using gasket maker or flow able silicone in the future cause I’m so cheap/broke.
Thanks again everyone, you all made me feel a lot more comfortable opening it.
Excellent
Got a small update to add to this. I finally decided to stop being lazy and cleaned a bunch of bearings tonight. This particular yoyo, man, the bearing was so hard to get off. I was scared I was going to damage it using pliers, and I don’t have a bearing removal tool. After about 10 minutes, maybe longer, of rocking back and forth with pliers through an old wife beater, I finally got it off. The noises it was making as it came off were kind of scary. Then, this bearing gave me the hardest time I ever had deshielding. After it was all said and done, it seemed to no longer be so tight. It screwed together like the rest of my yoyos without any squeaks or super tight turns. The wildest part is that it’s now super smooth. I’m not sure if it has to do with how it’s not so tightly seated anymore or if the bearing just needed cleaning. It might be my smoothest yoyo and it was getting pretty vibey before hand. It feels good to have a bunch of fresh yoyos again.