Time for new BS Wheel Bearings?

[Jason Hanko]

Hey everyone,
Well I just got my new (to me) Grizz G0555 bandsaw last weekend - and on Friday my Timberwolf blades came in from Suffolk. What a difference a nice blade makes!!!
Anyways, while I was changing out the blades I did some tune-up work and general exploring, as this is the first bandsaw Ive owned. While doing this I noticed that my top wheel really isnt spinning all that great.
I took the nut off and removed the wheel, cleaned off all the dust and debri that might be causing binding, and re-installed it. Still isnt spinning very nicely - you can tell by how quickly and how the wheel stops suddenly when the speed falls to a certain point that its not spinning freely.
Now when I just put the wheel on the axel and tighten the nut finger tight it will spin for about 5 minutes on a single push! But the instant I tighten the nut down with a wrench, the wheel doesnt spin for more than 10 seconds.
As best I can tell theres no play in the bearing, and I cant hear any grinding or anything. But the wheel isnt binding on anything else, and I think it should be spinning nicer than this. Is it time for new bearings?

[Grant Vanbokklen]

is there a bearing washer in the very center of the bearing to keep the nut away from the part of the bearing that spins? Also you can soak a little lube like Tri-flow into the bearing when you have it off.

[george wilson]

That sounds like a mechanical problem as noted above.Make sure nothing is touching the outer race of the bearing.