hi rick, only now have i spotted the photo's,

i too noticed a rusty film on the crank surface when i had mine stripped recently to replace a broken gear, it appeared to be a slimy brown coating not unlike rust, thought fortunately no corrosion/ deterioration had taken place so i wiped it off and never really gave it much thought

i'm not convinced it could be water related, low lying parts like the gear drum selector etc would be at least stained, even the crank face looks nice and shiny. i would not be supprised if it was somekind of metalurgy thing going on

hopefully the new bearing will be a more snug fit, though i have seen locktite [bearing spec] working wonders on gearboxes and the like where the next resort was replacement. edit. http://www.loctite.com.au/cps/rde/xc...ID=10000009RLA

all the best and keep us posted! b