Lifted up the kids bike today and felt a whole lot of play in the rear suspension. After investigating I found the rear triangle's upper bearings are shot. Took the drive side bolt off and the rest just fell apart. This will be a challenge to get the outer race out. Not sure if there is space for a blind puller. Flush at the backside. The other side is intact but totally loose. I'm certain it too will leave me with the outer race in the triangle. Crap! Furthermore, who's got theses bearings in stock? 2005(?) Trance.
If you measure the diameter, you could also use a proper bearing puller. Make sure you heat the assembly to 200 f to get a good chance at getting it out, install the extractor and hammer it out with a punch. http://wheelsmfg.com/products/presses-tools/bearing-extractors.html Aluminum expands with heat about twice as much as steel does If you have a heat gun, there is a chance it will drop out with just heat. I suggest using a temp gun. Someone on here said to weld a line around the race. As the weld cools, it will pull the race and compress it. The bearing will possibly just drop out.
Had best luck for bearing here. http://www.enduroforkseals.com/id239.html As for getting it out I got nothing.
Bummer. It looks pretty mangled, so it might prove a challenge to get behind the bearing with any kind of puller. In similar situations, I've used a little cut-off wheel in a Dremel tool. It's not fast. It's tedious. Cut at an angle, not straight across. Don't cut too deep. As you cut all the way through toward the front, it will become hard to cut through the backside without goofing up the swing arm. At this point, take a tiny chisel and see if you can "crack" the bearing the rest of the way through. Once you do that, she should come out easily.
A puller won't work. I don't weld (other than copper pipe) and don't have a heat gun. But I do know Duke! Also was thinking the opposite, freezing the steel race but not quite sure how I'd do that. Awesome. Funny on that page they picture the exact frame I'm working on. I agree. Was also thinking of dremeling a slot on each side so a screwdriver could grip and hammer it out. Just as I thought, the other bearing fell apart too. Here's more carnage. I've never seen ball bearings split in two. Vincent has got to stop throwing those whips.
The weld trick may work. And if it doesn't, the bead will give you something to tapout from the back.
I would have been happy to help Greg - I even had the welder at home this weekend. I had the same issue with both bearings in our washing machine. They were larger (6207 & 6205) so it was easy to weld a pass on the ID. Let 'em cool and I pulled one out with my fingers. Like 9er said, I used a small aluminum drift to knock the second one out in three easy taps. I've used the Dremel method before and it works well to. Good idea Mr. Rust.
Hold on. Before u do anything drastic. Take another bearing that popped out intact. use the inner race and 5-6 balls. Assemble it back in the stuck outer race and try to press it out. Before you do that, spray outer race with pb penetrant or kroil and leave overnight. Ive had decent luck doing that for stuck outer races.
If you're in a rush, I'll be home today waiting for a package to arrive. I've never done the OTH welding trick, but it sounds pretty easy.
Thanks for all the advise and offers guys. The bearing races are out. First I tried using the dremel but no luck. The cutting blade won't fit inside the bearing. This bearing is small, just a little over 1/2" (0.650") in the ID of the outer race. Then I tried grinding a grove so a screwdriver could get a grip and punch out from behind. Just toasted the bit. Turns out I do have a heat gun , er um, wife has a heat gun. Worked like a charm. Heated it up and was able to work it out with the screwdriver in the very shallow bearing grove. Didn't take much effort. Sorry for the crappy pic but you get the idea lol.
Dude... for your sake, I sure hope Mrs. Grego doesn't see the picture with her Revlon blow drier. You might want to vacuum the house or do the dishes now, just to be safe.
Wasn't that his bday bike(frame) from last year? You better start finding a way to keep Sir Vincent in bikes every year, he sure as hell isn't gonna stop his "whips"!!
I won't say there's no chance, but unless you're laying a huge bead at 300 amps you will find only minor heat transfer. When I MIG races here at the shop I monitor the inner pass temps and back off when it reaches 200°F. To be really safe, just hit the weld with some compressed air. Not much heat will transfer to the housing. Come back in ten minutes and lay another bead if it is needed. We work on larger bearings, typically Ø2.5" - Ø14". On a tiny bearing like Grego had, I would probably just put down a few tack welds and use them to smack the punch against if none of the other methods worked. On the flip side, Grego's hair dryer idea was pretty safe. Our industrial heat gun will easily pump out 1000°F and I've marred more parts ( blistered paint, discoloration, warping) than with low-heat welding. Lots of good ideas today. Thanks to all.
I'll add that aluminum will conduct the heat away really fast, with thermal conductivity about 5x that of steel. If the bearing race was stuck in an aluminum insert in a carbon frame, then I'd want to see it done on someone else's bike before I'd try it on my own.
