Bottom bearing inner race won't slide onto the steering stem

[Guest]

well, i chickened out on heating the bearing in the kitchen oven and went to the local engineering shop and they fit it on a press in like 3 seconds flat. just seeing how "easily" it went on was worth the 20 bucks i paid

i take your point though about using the steel pipe (next time)

thanks gsr

I go for heat rather than force . Works every time . The bearing will drop straight on . Don't forget to force heaps of grease through it no matter how you install it though .

Cheers , Simon .

[ChicagoBob]

Try a bigger hammer

I had the same problem. No amount of finesse with oven/freezer could make those parts fit (this was an All Balls tapered roller bearing on a '78 GS550), and once you have the bearing on a little bit, it's impossible to remove it again without damaging it. I finally used a length of 1.5" PVC drain pipe, a piece of plywood on my garage floor and a 10 lb sledge (one-handed). It took about 50 whacks, but the bearing eventually moved all the way down. It moved so incrementally, I couldn't even see progress, but perseverance paid off.

[Guest]

just a thought with regards to heating the bearing - there is a rubber/plastic seal on one side, so I guess this would complicate the matter a bit

[madjack57754]

If memory serves me correctly these are around a .004" interference fit

[Guest]

just a thought with regards to heating the bearing - there is a rubber/plastic seal on one side, so I guess this would complicate the matter a bit

I do a lot of bearings at work . We use an induction heater and warm the bearings to 110 C . Many of them have 2 rubber seals and aren't affected at this temp . SKF recommend not going higher than this .

Cheers , Simon .

[GEE-S]

If memory serves me correctly these are around a .004" interference fit

2 types of bearings, interference fit and slip fit. On the steering stem the lower inner race is an interference fit and WILL require some form of force to seat it home. I don't recommend bashing with a drift made of steel pipe, rather brass etc. That will at least absorb some of the impact shock (remember they are made of hardened steel). Ultimately the way you achieved it I feel is the correct method (shop press) although we don't have all the garage luxuries of life, so the next method which I use is the drift and hammer option...

PVC will never do for an interference fit bearing......