Idler bearing damaging substance ingress shielding facility and shielded idler

摘要

A shielding facility for shielding a shaft and rotor assembly 10 comprises a shaft mountable cover providing formation (12) and a rotor engageable cover providing formation (14). The formation (12) presents a sealed socket (16) and a flange portion (20) formed to overlap substance ingress counteracting fashion with respect to a convolution contributing portion in the form of a formation (14.1) of the cover providing formation (14) once the facility (10) is operatively fitted. The formation (14) presents a central bearing cage (24). The formations (12) and (14.1) are formed to overlap in both the axial and transverse directions with respect to their common axis of operative fitting (34), once operatively fitted, by defining a convoluted radial passage (36) extending between circumferential sets of matchingly ribs (38, 40) as extending integrally from the flange portions (20, 22) of the respective formations (12, 14.1).