guns_usn_20 Posted June 10, 2019 #1 Posted June 10, 2019 My front wheel bearings are bad. I've never replaced them. What is the easiest way to do them. I won't have,any help.
cowpuc Posted June 10, 2019 #2 Posted June 10, 2019 Just another Puc IMHO's but this has worked for me thru the years,, Remove the front wheel. Lay an old couch cushion on a good solid work bench and lay the wheel on its side on top of it. Take a long punch with a good flat surface ground on its face so the edges of the surface are ground so flat that it is sharp along the perimeter of the edges. Use a punch that will lay at a slight angle (loosely fitting inside the bearing ID's). Slide the punch thru the bearing ID that is facing upward and is on top of the wheel (hub facing upward) and put pressure against the long shim/tube that lies between the bearings (that shim tube is there to capture the bearing inner races as you tighten the axle nut against the fork and will have a slight amount of movement to it sideways as you press against it with the punch). When the punch face meets the inside edge of the bearing race laying at the bottom hub (the one facing downward) you will feel it snag. Once it snags, continue holding the punch at an angle and pressing downward to hold it against the bearing race face and smack it with a beater (old gearhead term for a +2 pound hammer). As the bearing moves outwardly in its hub journal the punch will begin to hold on the edge easier. When this happens move the punch around the edge of the inner race and hit er again. As the bearing moves out of its journal be careful that you are not moving the punch edge outwardly toward the journal = you want to keep the punch edge/face hitting on the ID race of the bearing you are driving out. She'll pop right out. Once that bottom bearing comes free and is laying on the cushion the shim/tube between the two bearings will fall out. Flip the wheel over and knock the other bearing out with the punch by beating on the bearings ID race outwardly. Take one of the two old bearings and grind the OD race surface down so the bearing will fit loosley back into the hubs, now grind the surface of the inner race, where the shim/tube would meet it, down so it cannot contact the surface of the new bearing(s) when you use the old bearing as a driver . Clean up the hub journals with carb cleaner, if there is any visible high spots (DO NOT HIT THOSE JOURNALS WITH YOUR PUNCH but if you accidently do, be sure and clean em up with a little sand paper/emery cloth) clean it up. Take a new bearing and with the wheel back on the cushion, place a new bearing into its mounting journal and press it in a little with your finger. Bump the outer race on its edges with a light hammer to get it started and continuing hitting in a circular way to drive the bearing squarely into the journal of the hub so it starts squarely and is not going sideways. It will go in somewhat hard but if you listen while your tapping you can actually tell by sound that it is moving as you rap on it. Once you get the bearing driven down to the edge of the hub where you are in danger of hitting the hub with the hammer, take the old bearing and place it on top of the new bearing and use the old bearing as a driver to knock the new bearing to the bottom (you can also use the old bearing as a driver before getting near the hub if you are concerned hitting a new bearing surface - either way though MAKE SURE YOU ARE FACING THE INNER RACE THAT HAS HAD MATERIAL REMOVED ON IT TOWARD THE NEW BEARING SO YOU ARE NOT BANGING ON THE ID RACE OF THE NEW BEARING = THIS IS IMPORTANT) of its journal = keep driving it until the new bearing bottoms out in the hub and has that distinct "thud" when you hit it. The bearings/hubs are designed to be mated both on the circumference of the outer race of the bearing AND along the face of the bearings outer race. Flip the wheel over = DROP THE SHIM/TUBE BACK IN!!! = now drive in the new bearing on the other side just like you did the first one.. Other then reinstalling the front wheel,, that should get ya back out CTFW! ** all this is for replacing SEALED bearings = not wheel bearings like a car would have (Timpkens) = those are a whole different animal with a whole different method of removal and install..
luvmy40 Posted June 11, 2019 #3 Posted June 11, 2019 WOWZY WOW WOWZERS Puc! I would have said " Knock the old bearings out with a drift and beat the new bearings in with a socket with the correct OD". You said it better:big-grin-emoticon::stickinouttounge:
cowpuc Posted June 11, 2019 #4 Posted June 11, 2019 WOWZY WOW WOWZERS Puc! I would have said " Knock the old bearings out with a drift and beat the new bearings in with a socket with the correct OD". You said it better:big-grin-emoticon::stickinouttounge: Hearing ya 40,, = sometimes these wild eyed fingers of mine just gotta bounce off the rev limiter,,,, sometimes The OP will probably just shake his head, skip what I wrote and go directly to your advice but that's ok,, my fingers and I still had a pretty good time writing that disertation :big-grin-emoticon::rasberry:
Patch Posted June 11, 2019 #5 Posted June 11, 2019 GOOD One! lol I'm going to laugh this off for a while, writing thru teary eyes! Poor OP trailered bike to a shop.. Puc you sure can bring life to a party!
cowpuc Posted June 11, 2019 #6 Posted June 11, 2019 GOOD One! lol I'm going to laugh this off for a while, writing thru teary eyes! Poor OP trailered bike to a shop.. Puc you sure can bring life to a party! It's just another on the longggg list of flaw's in my Character Patch ,, wouldn't it be interesting if the mechanic at bike shop the OP went to had never swapped out a set of wheel bearings on a scoot, googled the process for accomplishing the task and ended up following my off beat suggestion, miraculously was successful in swapping in new bearings and charged the guy 200 bucks for labor LOL... CRAZY world we live in brother LOL P.S. = how would YOU have done the project with minimal tools?
Recommended Posts