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Defeated by wheel bearings........

  • Thread starter Thread starter olddaddy
  • Start date Start date
O

olddaddy

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I am so ashamed......I am a pretty damn good mechanic, but today was not my day. I was trying to get the bearings out of my spare front and rear rims for the GS 450 so I could install the center spacer tubes in my other set of freshly powder coated rims. Try as I might, nothing worked. After some swearing, sweating, etc I gave up. Can anyone enlighten me as the way to get this done?
 
They make an expanding mandrel tool that grabs tight onto the inner bearing race so you can hammer out the bearing, pounding on the mandrel itself. You can make a tool by taking a piece of soft steel the same ID as the bearing and then cutting a slit in the end, going up an inch or so. Then stick the cut end though the bearing, and taking a wedge of some sort and cram it into the slit you just cut to flare the end so to speak. Once the mandrel is anchored, pound out the bearing.

You can also take a long screwdriver and pound on the inner race of the bearing, working a little at a time, until you get the bearing out. At first it will be hard to get to the lip on the inner race, particularly if the bearing tube is wedged in tight, but just force the tube over to the side until you catch an edge. Pound, or rather tap, on one side of the inner race, move 180 degrees away, and tap again. Work your way around the bearing until it comes loose.
 
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The inner races of the bearings will pinch the spacer tube hard enough to hold it in place sometimes. I put a long 3/8" socket extension through one bearing and use that to push the spacer of center. Once the inner race of the bearing on the far side is exposed, you can get the extension on it and use it as a punch to loosen the far side bearing. I have a 3lb driving hammer I use, but it's overkill by a large margin. Once it's moved far enough to free the spacer tube, keep working from side to side as you drive it the rest of the way out. Make sure it comes out evenly, or it will jam in the bore and you may ruin the wheel.

That's my basic procedure anyway. If you've done all that, let us know what the specific problem is.
 
+1. Get that spacer to move. The only thing I don't agree with here is the 3lb. hammer being overkill. You're only going to be able to get a small lip at first. Once you get it started it gets much easier. I use a larger sledge, but little swing.

Dogma said:
The inner races of the bearings will pinch the spacer tube hard enough to hold it in place sometimes. I put a long 3/8" socket extension through one bearing and use that to push the spacer of center. Once the inner race of the bearing on the far side is exposed, you can get the extension on it and use it as a punch to loosen the far side bearing. I have a 3lb driving hammer I use, but it's overkill by a large margin.
Click to expand...
 
Pit posse. $40. You'll wonder why you didn't do it earlier! Takes all the frustration out. It's the tool Ness is describing as he's borrowed mine before...

Those bearing would last less than a minute if you had it!!
 
Well, I'm happy to hear I was doing what other folks do, even though I wasn't successful. I tried the extension and screwdriver attack without success. This morning, after reading the posts I did what I should have done at the beginning. I applied very precise heat, very quickly, and the bearings literally fell out of the housing. Old dogs remembering old tricks can be a religious experience! My bike will be a roller again by tomorrow!!! Thanks guys for your patience and advice!
 
Good stuff! I need to tackle this myself once I get to the new tyre part of the project so I suspect some or all of these tricks will come in handy...

Now shouldn't you be updating your project thread? ;)
 
salty_monk said:
Pit posse. $40. You'll wonder why you didn't do it earlier! Takes all the frustration out. It's the tool Ness is describing as he's borrowed mine before...

Those bearing would last less than a minute if you had it!!
Click to expand...


Linked, shows as $49.95 today. Shop eBay and you can find it for $45 shipped.
 
olddaddy said:
Well, I'm happy to hear I was doing what other folks do, even though I wasn't successful. I tried the extension and screwdriver attack without success. This morning, after reading the posts I did what I should have done at the beginning. I applied very precise heat, very quickly, and the bearings literally fell out of the housing. Old dogs remembering old tricks can be a religious experience! My bike will be a roller again by tomorrow!!! Thanks guys for your patience and advice!
Click to expand...
Care to expand on how you applied the heat? Have a front wheel looking for new bearings.
 
I used a small rosebud tip on my oxy-acetylene torches. I dialed in the flame real tight and small and quickly worked my way around the part of the rim that holds the bearing and the bearing fell out onto the floor in about 15 seconds.

The tools are probably a smarter way to do it, but I didn't have the money to buy one.
 
olddaddy said:
I used a small rosebud tip on my oxy-acetylene torches. I dialed in the flame real tight and small and quickly worked my way around the part of the rim that holds the bearing and the bearing fell out onto the floor in about 15 seconds.

The tools are probably a smarter way to do it, but I didn't have the money to buy one.
Click to expand...
Whatever works.
 
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