# What is happening to my bearings?

**URL:** <https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/what-is-happening-to-my-bearings/75486>\
**Category:** Yo-Yo Mods and Maintenance\
**Created:** [June 27, 2015, 11:28pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/what-is-happening-to-my-bearings/75486 "2015-06-27T23:28:47Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Poupou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8baadc/32.png) [@Poupou](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Poupou)\
**Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 11:28pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/what-is-happening-to-my-bearings/75486/1 "2015-06-27T23:28:47Z")

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I’ve been using several yoyos for about two years now. I’ve never lubed them or cleaned the bearings. My Surge and my ONE bot got a little responsive, but my Shutter, Echo, Protostar and Equilateral have been quite functionable for those two years (approximatly). Recently, I have cleaned all the bearings with lighter fluid and by scrubing the inside with a small piece of paper and lubed them with YoyoJam Thin Lube. After doing this the yoyos became very responsive. I already played with them for a while, but they still are as responsive. Before they were lubed they were playing almost perfectly.

What is happening the bearings? What should I do to make them unresponsive again?

Thanks!

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**Author:** ![FoolsGoldDigger](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/foolsgolddigger/32/7928_2.png) [@FoolsGoldDigger](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/FoolsGoldDigger)\
**Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 11:30pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/what-is-happening-to-my-bearings/75486/2 "2015-06-27T23:30:46Z")

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you probably added too much lube. Even though it is thin lube, you only need half a drop for an entire bearing. you can either throw it really hard a bunch of times and break in the lube or clean it again and start over.

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**Author:** ![Poupou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8baadc/32.png) [@Poupou](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Poupou)\
**Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 11:32pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/what-is-happening-to-my-bearings/75486/3 "2015-06-27T23:32:32Z")

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Even though they are old?

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**Author:** ![AngryGumball](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/angrygumball/32/683872_2.png) [@AngryGumball](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/AngryGumball)\
**Post date:** [June 28, 2015, 3:54am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/what-is-happening-to-my-bearings/75486/4 "2015-06-28T03:54:05Z")

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The paper method, you gotta be careful with that. Wondering if a chunk of your thin paper strip got stuck in the bearing. I’d reclean it from scratch, spin dry it, then give it some thin lube (just a single droplet). I did the paper cleaning method the other day and found that a small piece got stuck in there. I usually flick the bearing before I reassemble the yoyo to see if it feels smooth or not.

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**Author:** ![ThinkH2o](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ba0ec/32.png) [@ThinkH2o](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/ThinkH2o)\
**Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 10:57pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/what-is-happening-to-my-bearings/75486/5 "2015-07-06T22:57:53Z")

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I use a sewing needle to lube my bearings. You only really need to put the tiniest drop in your bearing and using a sewing needle is a good way to make sure you don’t put to much.