Replacing a bushing

[Tim GoslingParticipant @timgosling76406]

[Tim GoslingParticipant @timgosling76406]

Hi all,

I'm trying to fix my trusty 10 year old cross trainer. There are some bearings that are quite worn which I think are called bushings. They push fit into a steel tube and a steel shaft runs through them. Because they are so worn on the inside I have measured the shaft diameter instead to get an inside diameter for them. The measurements I've taken are:

Internal diameter (diameter of the shaft) 15.4mm

Outside diameter 24mm

Length 17mm

There's also a flange on one end and a notch cut into the side.

I've googled bushings and found a few websites like BearingShopUK, SimplyBearings, BearingBoys etc. but none of the bushings they sell quite match what I need.

So my questions are, is this a non-standard size or possibly an imperial size or perhaps this isn't called a bushing and I'm googling the wrong thing?

[Paul KempParticipant @paulkemp46892]

Tim,

How accurately did you measure the shaft and bushes? None of those sizes (as you state) seem to correlate with standard flanged oilite bushes. So two possibilities, one is your measurements are off or two the manufacturer of the trainer used odd size bushings. The latter makes little sense in terms of cost – making their own bushes to odd sizes adds cost and complexity to their product, however they may have altered the length and OD of a standard product to suit the other materials they were using (although 15.4mm bore makes little sense either) so maybe it was the former! If so the lack of suitable off the shelf replacements protects their product in some ways by ensuring if you want parts you can only source them from them, or it guarantees obselesence and forces you to buy a new trainer? Probably the only way to match those sizes if your measurement is accurate is to make your own!

Paul.

[noel shelleyParticipant @noelshelley55608]

Are the bushes steel, the picture seems to show rust on the bore ? Noel

[Pete RimmerParticipant @peterimmer30576]

Looks like a 5/8" x 15/16" x 11/16" long bushing to me.

Edit: Looks like you have taken the flange OD as your OD size. If so, it should be OD of the bush itself.

It looks like the part number is made up from the relevant sizes in sixteenths of an inch.

Edited By Pete Rimmer on 03/09/2021 07:11:55

[RedsetterParticipant @redsetter]

Quite possibly an Imperial size, as posted above. There is still a lot of Imperial stuff in use, even in new machinery. I would suggest going to a bearing factor with a trade counter, who can measure it properly and will know the market, rather than trying to do it on line.

[Tim GoslingParticipant @timgosling76406]

All measurements were made with a digital caliper. It's an inexpensive one but I think it's accurate. The OD measurement is the bush not the flange, the flange OD is 28mm.

Not sure what they're made of, I agree that does look like rust.

5/8" x 15/16" sounds close enough to me. It's a cross trainer not a nuclear reactor so I can live with a bit of play. Worst case scenario is I fall off it.

Googling 5/8" x 15/16" Bushing comes back with quite a few suppliers, mostly in the US. I'll email some of the UK suppliers first but if I have no luck I'll buy from abroad.

Paul I like the way your mind works, suppliers balancing cost of production Vs being the only source of spares Vs deliberately making their old products unrepairable. It has a ring of truth. Or maybe spending time reading internet forums has made me a conspiracy theorist

[pgk pgkParticipant @pgkpgk17461]

Have you tried looking for a manual/parts diagram on the web? Some of these gym machines may be rebadged US designs and perhaps a clue if nuts and bolts are non-metric.

pgk

[Pete RimmerParticipant @peterimmer30576]

I would be very tempted to knock up a couple of bushings from Delrin or PTFE.

[bernard towersParticipant @bernardtowers37738]

I would hardly think a cross trainer would have missed imperial fixings by about 30 years.

[Tim GoslingParticipant @timgosling76406]

>Have you tried looking for a manual/parts diagram on the web?

I don't think it's a very well known brand. It's called a Sprint Elite XZ1 and when I google that all I get is someone in Dundee selling one for £50 back in 2014

Edited By Tim Gosling on 05/09/2021 11:41:13

[pgk pgkParticipant @pgkpgk17461]

XZ1 cross trainer finds Hammer https://www.hammer-fitness.co.uk/ and a few hits to hammer xz1 cross trainers in Germany. It may well be the original source of yours – rebadged or renamed. Perhaps a word with the company above to see if they recognise it and have access to manuals or spares?

pgk

[Tim GoslingParticipant @timgosling76406]

Thanks pgk, I completely missed that when I searched before. I'll contact them.

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