Topic: York old style non-needle bearing barbell care questions

[John Clutter]

I've taken apart one of our classic model (non-needle bearing) York Barbells, cleaned the dirt off the bar and sprayed wd40 to lube the bar. What i have noticed is that the bar spins for only 4-6 weeks before it starts sticking again.

Has anyone had any experience with other types of lube for the bar?? I was thinking about trying a synthetic axle grease the next time I take the bar apart.

[Scott Safe]

Hi John;

We deal with this alot.  The best way I've found is to clean the inner shaft and inside the sleeve with carburator cleaner(local parts store).  Be very careful with this because it is very strong.  Then, dry the surfaces and apply Tri-Flow.  Tri-Flow is a teflon based spray on lubricant.  You can usually find it at bike shops, gun shops, or better hardware stores.  This stuff is excellent.  You'll be amazed how good a standard York bar can rotate.  Best part is, the older the bar gets, the better they rotate. The bearing surfaces tend to get flatter and smoother with time.  Also, make sure the bearing surfaces are smooth.  If not, some Emory cloth can usually clean up any flaws in the surface.  Best of luck.  Let me know what you think when finished.

Scott

[Scott Safe]

Good Luck, John.  We actually had a 10 year old York standard bar that was close to as smooth as our Eleiko's.  I ended up selling it to a friend of mine (a shotputter that could not afford an Eleiko at the time) for the same price we paid for it.  It really makes it a better bar.  If the results aren't great, go with the Emory cloth again and make sure the metal surfaces are smooth.

Scott

[John Mosca]

Go to a bike shop and get bearing lube made by Finish Line. Don't use WD40 or any lightweight oil. Let me know.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

The tension pin holding the sleeve on our old, classic style, non-needle bearing York barbell is loose and slides partway out thus blocking the easy addition and removal of plates. Eventually, I am sure it will come out all together, although right now we can just push it back in.

Home depot does not have the exact size to match it as it is in metric and they only carry American standard 2" length pins of that diameter. That was too long. Does anyone know where I could get some replacements?   Would pushing the original pin apart a little to expand it slightly work?

Can anyone help?

Thanks!

[Scott Safe]

Hi Chris;

We've taken that same 2" roll pin, push it into the hole, hold a 10kg metal plate underneath the roll pin, so it is flush to the surface, then hit the top of the pin with a hammer. You'll flatten it out just a bit, enough for the plates to clear (even eleiko plates) I just did it last week to one of our bars.

Good luck

Scott

[demirbarlas]

My York training bar, which unfortunately has to be stored outside, has lost some spin. Can anyone give me detailed instructions on how to open the bar and lubricate it so that it spins faster? I don't know anything about bar care.

GoHeavy can't seem to tear itself away from endless USAW debates to answer an actual weightlifting question, so I am hoping someone here can.

Thanks,

Demir Barlas

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

Demir,

You can get the tension pin out of the bar by banging some kind of metal implement (like a small screwdriver) into the tension pin at the end of the bar with a hammer to push it out the other side, or you can use an allen wrench.

Regards and thanks very much for your support.