| Author | Message | ||
     Stevenknapp |
What is required to remove and install the wheel bearings? I see special tools in both Al's catalog and the service manual. I'm not opposed to using PVC and the like to install, but how to remove without damaging? | ||
| M_singer |
some have used the blind hole bearing puller from harbor freight | ||
| Stevenknapp |
This one? http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem. taf?Itemnumber=95987 | ||
| Etennuly |
Heating the wheel hub with a hi temp heat gun would help too. | ||
| Jackbequick |
Anyone got a bearing race handy to measure the O.D.? On my Dyna the races seat in a 1.5" bore so you need a puller that is a little under that diameter. The races are about 1.4" I.D. on that and the puller needs to have about a 1.480" gripping range. If you take a heavy washer that is just under 1-1/2" and grind flats on two opposing sides, you can make a puller that will slide in and then pull up flat against the bottom of the race. At that point you can use a threaded rod and a sliding weight/hammer or you could use that HF puller with it pulling on the washer to lift the race. Or if you can get a piece of larger O.D. pipe or tube to rest around the outside of the bore, you could work out a threaded puller. But be warned, the service life of alloy wheels is measured in terms of just a few bearing replacement cycles. If you don't warm the wheel hub up, use a lube, and do good and careful work, you can ruin the bearing race bores on the first attempt at replacement. Put the races in the freezer overnight before putting them in and warm the hub again. That may let you get away with using a piece of PVC tube for a driver. All things considered, if you don't have the tools to do it well, it might be worth the money to have the races done by a dealer or independent shop. Jack | ||
| Stevenknapp |
But be warned, the service life of alloy wheels is measured in terms of just a few bearing replacement cycles...All things considered, if you don't have the tools to do it well, it might be worth the money to have the races done by a dealer or independent shop. I don't mind buying the tools, but in this case I think dealer replacement sounds like the way to fly. No guarantee that they won't botch it up, but at least it's not the first time they've done it. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
What makes you think the dealer isn't going to just pound them out? There's a reason they usually don't allow you in the service area and that is so you don't see what is going on. Some of you guys think dealers do things better then you could do it yourself because they are the "dealer". If that were the truth then you wouldn't read all the horror stories we've read on this site. Last time I had my ULY at the dealer was for warranty work, replacing part of the front fairing because of flaking paint. Later, I found they had put the front plastic back on without the rubber washers and left the bolts loose that attach the metal brace that the horn is attached to. I never said anything to them about it but figured that it was a sample of the care ( lack of ) that was to be expected. Why that mechanic thought I wouldn't eventually notice that the rubber washers were not there is a mystery to me. I replaced them with those black rubber faucet washers. I can just imagine what parts they might think unnecessary when rebuilding an engine. | ||
| Stevenknapp |
I don't argue. I prefer to do stuff myself. I do almost all my own work. And I'm not opposed to buying the needed tools. Just looking for someone who's been there and done that successfully. And how they did it. I've searched and found plenty of people worried about the bearings, others who have replaced them. But very little about the how to replace them. | ||
| Stevenknapp |
Is this pretty much it? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArFC3xPHhGA&feature =related Or this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1IYqiKJgpY&feature =related Some guy wacking at the bearing with a hammer... Seems precise.. :-P | ||
| Hughlysses |
Jack- that's a pretty clever idea about using the washers; wish I had thought of that. I'm not sure it would be stout enough to work, but it would certainly be worth trying. I know I couldn't budge my bearings using the pull hammer on the Harbor Freight tool. I ended up using a dead-blow hammer and a metal rod through the wheel center driving against the HF tool. IIRC the pulley side bearing was VERY hard to get out; the brake rotor side was much easier. I chilled the new bearings in the freezer for about an hour, warmed the hub with a hair dryer (I probably didn't accomplish much with that) and applied a little grease to the wheel bores and the new ones went in with a few easy taps. | ||
| Arcticktm |
Yes, the link above is the Harbor freight puller that is the right size. I bought this, but found the slide hammer to be not enough to pop out the rear bearing. SO, I took the wheel and tool to my local indy shop, and he got it out by using the tool, but pressing it out from the opposite side (using a pipe from the opposite side as the tool is on). He said it came out easy that way, though I was not there. Shop only had normal H-D size tools (smaller ID) and that is why I originally bought the tool myself. Shop installed new SKF bearings that I provided using his press, which should have kept the wheel and bearings nice and straight going in (vs a hammer). Cost me $15 to have him do this, and now I have the $35 Harbor Freight tool for the future. | ||
| Gowindward |
I just replaced my rear wheel bearings and used the Harbor Freight tool to remove the old bearings. It worked fine. To install I used a piece of 1 1/8" all-thread with a nut and washer on each end to pull the bearings into the wheel. Installed one bearing, then did the opposite side. It worked really well at pulling the bearings in nice and straight. | ||
| Jackbequick |
My description was more for the unsealed Timken tapered roller bearings used on many of the H-D's. On those, you pop the seal out, lift the bearing out, and then have to pull the race. The sealed bearings used on the Buells and many other bikes just don't seem as good or durable as the open Timken roller bearings. I don't know if it comes down to the smaller supply of lube or that the lube seems to get water contaminated and break down easier or what. I have to set the end play on my with a spacer, step washer, and loose shims but it is not rocket science and easy enough to do. If you use the washer as I describe, you can start with a large, heavy washer and then add a thick spacer or one or two smaller heavy washers when you apply the puller (either collet style or threaded rod). But, like Craig says, you do have to know and trust your shop to do the work right. I've found a local guy, a one man shop, who I like and trust. He spent 15 years in service at a H-D dealer and has been in business for himself for another 15 years. Knows, the bikes, does good work, and is worth the money. He'll talk you through a lot of the do it yourself things when you're buying lubes and parts, a real gentleman. You can save a loose fitting race or sealed bearing with LocTite Bearing and Seal Retainer, even when they are loose enough to drop right in. But it will require heating to 700F or so for the next removal. Jack |
