Bearing Stuck in Front Wheel

lragan · January 30, 2016, 07:09:24 PM

When I undertook to re-mount the front wheel after overhaul of the struts, I discovered the right wheel bearing was coming apart. The bearing race, which was left in the wheel, was stuck really hard. One cannot press it out from the opposite side because the opening in the wheel is not large enough.

I did a Google search on the problem, and there were suggestions to cut through the old bearing race with a Dremel tool. I made a couple of cuts, but it remained stuck. Anther suggestion was to weld a bead on the inside of the bearing race. The idea is that when the weld cools, it will shrink, and the bearing race can be removed. I saw this method as a last resort, being afraid the welding heat would damage the aluminum wheel.

Finally bit my lip and welded the bead on the inside of the bearing race, then waited for it to cool. Still no luck. OK, I thought, may as well try another bead, which I did, but it was still stuck. With one bead on top of the other, it was easy to sacrifice a hex nut from my junk box, and weld it into the center of the beads. This gave me a way to drive it out from the left side, which I did.

Inspecting the mounting surface in the wheel, the only damage appears where I cut through the bearing race a little deep at one point. I suppose the aluminum conducted the heat away from the hot weld, as it's thermal conductivity is somewhat higher than steel. In any case this worked like a charm.

So my advice, should you encounter the same problem, is to go straight for the welder. All one has to do is be careful to draw arc only to the bearing race.

I think mine was an extreme case. It had obviously sat for some time with water in it, and I hypothesize that the dissimilar metals, in the presence of water, caused a really effective bond between the steel bearing race and the aluminum wheel. I suspect that, in most cases, the first bead will cool, cause the bearing race to shrink just a bit, and it will drop out. But if it does not, don't despair, just weld a bridge, like the nut I used, in place in the center of the bearing race, and BAM! -- knock it out from the other side.

MagnaMan · January 30, 2016, 09:20:29 PM

I had a bearing in stuck in a Ninja 250 wheel. To get it out we ended up beating the heck out of it with a motion pro bearing puller. It worked but it took a lot more hits than it should have.

Just out of curiosity, how many miles were on that bearing?

hootmon · January 31, 2016, 06:49:15 PM

When I bought the yellow Magna, the first time I went to replace the front wheel, the bearings were not very smooth...
I seem to remember just beating them out with a rod from the other side, but it's been years and I know I didn't weld on them, because I don't have a welder...

I know at work we have crank end caps on two stroke motors and they put a mapp gas torch on the aluminum bearing housing with the bearing hanging downward, and eventually, the bearing just falls out..
Not sure what that would do to a wheels integrity.. Just another suggested technique..

lragan · January 31, 2016, 07:39:58 PM

Jesse, this is the bike I bought at a "bargain" price that had been parked in the man's garage for some time. I made a lot of repairs, paint, etc. to it, but the engine runs and sounds golden.

There is 27K+ miles on the odometer, but I am not sure how many miles are on this wheel. I have confidence the man I bought it from believed this mileage was correct, but he may have been misinformed himself. This is the same bike with the oil lock installed upside down at the bottom of the piston in one strut, so who knows?

It was clearly corroded, so it probably sat wet for an extended period at some point -- not since I have owned it, for sure.

I have cleaned up the wheel, ready for the new bearings I have on order. I will bring the old bearing, ugly welds and nut tomorrow. It ain't pretty, but it is out of the wheel.

Hoot, aluminum has a higher thermal coefficient of expansion than steel, so one would think that heating the wheel would free the bearing. If the hole in the middle of a wheel is large enough, compared to the outer diameter of the hub/wheel, then the metal expansion will expand the hole. With a small hole in the middle of a large hub, it will tighten. I don't know where the dividing line is, but I do not have heating capacity to heat the hub anyway.

I used a flux wire welder, which can operate at low current and lay a small bead. I could not attack this problem with my stick welder, as my hands are not steady enough.

hootmon · February 01, 2016, 05:44:49 AM

When I replaced the bearings on the Yellow Magna, it only had like 10K miles on it.. But it did sit out in the rain some, so that may have contributed..

lragan · February 01, 2016, 09:21:29 AM

There is no way to avoid the dissimilar metals issue in an aluminum wheel. The only defense is to exclude the water, and the only way I know to do this on the Magna is to keep the bearing housing area well greased. Yes, I know the bearings are "sealed" and do not need to be hand packed with grease to function, but perhaps if grease fills the available space, water will not have as much room to accumulate. Perhaps we need "hub warmers" to keep the whole area elevated a few degrees in temperature when parked in moist conditions.

This morning, we were blanketed in fog, and everything was wet or damp. I think there is enough residual heat in my closed trailer in my closed barn to prevent condensation, but I have not provided even a light bulb to keep the temperature elevated a bit. I hope the trickle chargers I use are sufficient.

hootmon · February 01, 2016, 08:17:02 PM

If bearings have rubber seals, I always try to sneak a little synthetic grease into them before I'm done, keeps water down and takes longer to run out of grease if a seal should fail..

lragan · February 05, 2016, 05:44:08 PM

With the arrival yesterday of the new bearings and dust seals for the front wheel, I got it all back together today. Following advice I found elsewhere on steel bearings in aluminum wheels, I left the bearings in the freezer overnight, then warmed the wheel with a space heater in my shop. Was not difficult to drive them home. Bike is back together, and I took a test ride this afternoon.

The whole procedure was initiated to replace the fork seals, as I posted in "Marketplace". (Poor choice of posting place, as the discussion diverged rapidly.) Interesting how slow deterioration slips up on a person, until you finally repair it. The difference is rather amazing.

hop along · February 08, 2016, 10:40:17 AM

Quote from: lragan on February 05, 2016, 05:44:08 PM
Interesting how slow deterioration slips up on a person, until you finally repair it. The difference is rather amazing.

Wait-Are you talking about yourself, or the bike? Both me and my bike could use some repairs....

Hop Along

lragan · February 08, 2016, 02:42:03 PM

Hoppy, I am beyond repair..

Smoked U · February 12, 2016, 02:08:23 PM

I had an outer race stuck in the rear wheel of the Valkyrie. I used a small cut off wheel on the Dremel to cut most of the way through it without nicking up the aluminum wheel. I then heated the wheel hub with a propane torch and using a small straight blade screw driver and a brass drift punch, worked the race out of the wheel. Major P.I.A. but it did come out.

I put a thin film of Marvel Mystery oil inside the hub, froze the bear assemblies overnight and pressed them in with the old ball peen hammer and oak wood block method.