You may have noticed that this is an old thread.
I did replace the bearings and made several other changes to the lathe at the same time.
That was all over two years ago.
I have some other things to do and I may post a summary of all the changes in my shop at some point.
Life got in the way and I have slowed down my shop time and my posting, although I read the forums most days and make comments if I think I have something to add to a discussion.
Back to the lathe: The bearing upgrade was well worth it. I examined the old bearings and was able to tell by eye that they were in sad shape. As they say, the 7x Chinese Mini-Lathe can be a useful machine if you consider it a kit that needs to be completed by the user.
ShopShoe