[sanddrag]

Originally Posted by Travis Covington

These are the ball bearing S4 encoders. This will not work with the bushing ones. We do not use the bushing ones anywhere. We typically hot glue the connector and add additional strain relief to the wire to prevent damage to the wire/connector. If done properly there is no "wiggle" as the bearing drag is the only friction that exists and is quite minimal. We have done this (on 254/968) for as long as I can remember using encoders (nearly 10 years now).

I thought it was rather bizarre as well until I learned it while on 968. It really works a treat, and ensures that there is no binding or misalignment anywhere. As Travis mentioned, the bearing friction is very minimal, so there is no real load on the wires.