Wheel Bearings

[GA_Wolf]

I'm going to do my front wheel bearings in the morning.  The Yamaha manual says drive them out and drive the new ones in.

Haynes says don't.  They say heat the hub to get the old ones to drop out and heat the hub and freeze the bearings to get the new ones in.

Which is the best method, the easiest method, safest for the new bearings method.  

On cars in the past, I have always just driven them out carefully and used a socket or drift on the outer race only to drive the new ones in.

[GA_Wolf]

any preferences out there?  method recommendations?
Bueller....Bueller....Bueller....

[Rick G]

The way it was done on old Brit bikes was to heat the  hub and chill the beaing , and this is really the correct way, but I have done it cold too and there seemed to be no evil consiquences .

[Bruce]

I put an aluminum plate on my stove and heated the rim till the bearing fell out.. ( A light tap finished the job, watch out for the burning grease when you cook it out.)

Then I froze the new bearing which help to tap it in.

Pretty easy, just don't forget the spacer between the bearing.

Bruce.

[GA_Wolf]

Thanks guys... I ended up heating it on our electric stove.  I did go thru the bearing on top and tap on the spacer to help the one on the bottom out...then flipped the wheel and usint the spacer again, lightly tapped the other out.  Froze the new bearings and kept the hub on the heat...slipped the new ones right in...make sure you pay attention to the side you put the spacer flange on.  Then tapped the outer races, lightly with a soft punch to make sure they were fully seated.  The guy who did the last bearing job had put the old bearings in backwards with the open side out, instead of the sealed side out.

[scootertramp]

so are ye' s'posed to grease them bearings? and what with ?
mine feels like the spacer is gone on both wheels. it clicks back and forth slightly.. I hope I can fix that.
. What's the ballpark price on those bearings? are they both the same price?

[GA_Wolf]

The bearings are the same for each side..I can't remeber the price..think it was under $20 each.  Use medium lithium based (as per the manual) grease and pack it in via the unsealed side..make sure you buy new seals as you'll probably damage the old ones getting them out..they were like $6 each and the are diferent from each other.  When you install your bearings, make sure they have the seales side out..this helps keep dirt and crap out of the bearings. Te space may have a little play...too much means one of your bearings isn't seated all the way...make sure the spacer's flange is facing towards the side of your hub that the speedo is on (left side).

[Rick G]

Vision wheel bearings from JC Whitney  are around 3.00  + shipping

[jasonm.]

Mr. Wolf, There was no other guy. Those were the original bearings from '82. These are suppose to be greased at every tire change. Most New OEM bearings are totally sealed. And if not, you actually put them in backwards. Eventually that grease will just end up in the middle of the wheel by the spacer and not be replaced. Now what are you going to do Mr. Wolf?

[GA_Wolf]

Well, just following the instructions...said to place the open side of the bearings in. Which if you think about it, it makes sense as you are more likely to get crap trying to sneak into your bearings from the outside of the wheel than the inside.  By the way my bike is an 83.  As far as what will I do, When I change the tire, I will simply pull the bearings and inspect and repack or replace them.  Even if you regrease your bearings, you should still pull them, clean them thoroughly and pack with new clean grease..otherwise you are just cramming more grease on top of old grease that may or may not have bearing destroying particles in it. I have never before seen bearings in a car or motorcycle installed with the open side out.