wheel bearing replacement

[Lowcountry Joe]

If an installer beats a new bearing into place, he is screwing-up. The tolerances inside these bearings are very close. There is not much room between the balls and the race. Beating and banging compromises ball/race tolerances and will result in premature bearing failure. Always better to use the correct tools for the job. Shortcuts on wheel bearing replacement is not a good idea. And for goodness sake, use ample amounts of assembly lube.

 

[dmsantam]

If an installer beats a new bearing into place, he is screwing-up. The tolerances inside these bearings are very close. There is not much room between the balls and the race. Beating and banging compromises ball/race tolerances and will result in premature bearing failure. Always better to use the correct tools for the job. Shortcuts on wheel bearing replacement is not a good idea. And for goodness sake, use ample amounts of assembly lube.

if you hit the outer part of the bearing, it's fine. i've always used a socket on the outer part of the wheel bearing (never the inner), and gently tapped it into place. never had a problem.

 

[TripperMike]

I just received a full set of replacement wheel bearings (stock Yamaha)- both front & rear. I was expecting two front and three rear.
Surprise, there are four bearings in the rear. One on the right, one in the middle and not one but two on the left.

Canadian FJR

That's kinda funny, when I took my rear bearings out I only had three in there.

[...I replaced my front bearings earlier this year (130,000 mi) but still have the original rear bearings. When I checked them, they didn't feel notchy like the front ones. I was debating whether I should do the rear ones this winter or not.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

I actually didn't know mine were broke until I went to replace them. The fronts weren't too bad but I felt they were a tad bit notchy, so as a preventative measure I changed them. The rears didn't seem all that bad either. But for awhile it just didn't feel quite right in turns so I figured why not change both ends while I was in the mood. So as Bust mentioned I was in for a little surprise when I tore into the rear wheel at his tech day. The center bearings had basically ground itself into non-existance. Prior to tearing into it, you couldn't tell it was so bad. Even Ray thought it at first it wasn't necessary. But the bike at the time was well north of 100K then.

By the way, how does one go about checking what state of condition that center bearing is in anyways? There's no way to get to it unless you remove the outer bearing.

 

[RaYzerman19]

The main bearings seemed OK, but that center needle bearing had obviously no lube and ground away at the spacer.... so we all learned to pay attention to that from now on. Keep 'er greased.

 

[mcatrophy]

Is it possible for a careless mechanic to get grit into that bearing by having dirt on the spindle when replacing the wheel? I'm always paranoidally clean when I refit the wheel.

 

[Salish1300]

Is it possible for a careless mechanic to get grit into that bearing by having dirt on the spindle when replacing the wheel? I'm always paranoidally clean when I refit the wheel.

You get a point for coining the word "paranoidically". A word that surely should exist that doesn't.

 

[mcatrophy]

Is it possible for a careless mechanic to get grit into that bearing by having dirt on the spindle when replacing the wheel? I'm always paranoidally clean when I refit the wheel.

You get a point for coining the word "paranoidically". A word that surely should exist that doesn't.

Come on, there's no need to add extra syllables when you castigate me for making up words. It's enough to make me 'ic

. Which doesn't answer my question, could that centre bearing have been compromised by a dirty wheel change?

 

[RaYzerman19]

It seemed pretty clear the center bearing simply had not had any lube treatment, and simply overheated. The message is, when you have your rear wheel off, get a little grease in there, and of course, avoid any extraneous grit.

 

[TomInPA]

It seemed pretty clear the center bearing simply had not had any lube treatment, and simply overheated. The message is, when you have your rear wheel off, get a little grease in there, and of course, avoid any extraneous grit.

How would you get grease to that center bearing in a way that would make any difference? There is no way to pack the bearing.

 

[RaYzerman19]

I always finger a bit of grease in there and put a coating on the axle shaft, hoping it will get onto that center bearing, but you're right, there isn't a good way to grease it. On the problem bike, we don't think the axle shaft was greased much in its previous life. It was very dry.

 

[TomInPA]

Well, I keep the axle clean and lightly lubed. I'll have to give it a try.

 

[HotRodZilla]

Man, I'm super careful about keeping that axle shaft clean and we'll lubed before putting things back together.

Tip: When I had OEM pipes, I would store the lose shafts in the pipe. I pulled that **** with my open 2 Brothers pipes, and it took me a half hour to fish that shaft out of my pipe. I was pissed because there's no way I should be that stupid. DO NOT do that with aftermarket pipes.

Now I just stand it up out of the way, where it can't get kicked over. I would never install a dirty axle. That's asking for problems.

I also tried very hard to avoid all the sexual innuendo associated with "shaft," "lube," and "hole."

 

[TripperMike]

Ray, I'd like to think you weren't talking about my "problem bike" and it's axle which seemed dry, and everything that implied.

I'll overlook comments about shoddy mechanic and allowing grit on the axle.

I am sure there are a few possibilities why that bearing went bad. First and foremost in mind is the time I laid the bike down in MO. A simple low side might not do the trick, but when a bike slides on one side then does a perroette (sp?) on it's nose (both mirrors broke but only one side case damaged) and then the back end slamming back to the ground. That might be enough force to either jam the spacer that's within the axle area against the bearing (slightly damaging it), or to bend the axle itself (which has since been replaced).

 

[mcatrophy]

Ray, I'd like to think you weren't talking about my "problem bike" and it's axle which seemed dry, and everything that implied.
I'll overlook comments about shoddy mechanic and allowing grit on the axle.

I am sure there are a few possibilities why that bearing went bad. First and foremost in mind is the time I laid the bike down in MO. A simple low side might not do the trick, but when a bike slides on one side then does a perroette (sp?) on it's nose (both mirrors broke but only one side case damaged) and then the back end slamming back to the ground. That might be enough force to either jam the spacer that's within the axle area against the bearing (slightly damaging it), or to bend the axle itself (which has since been replaced).

My comment about the gritty mechanic; I'm not trying to insult you, I simply don't know the bike's history.

If it was ridden at all with a bent axle, that would put severe stress on the bearings, could easily lead to premature failure. Maybe even without riding it.

 

[Canadian FJR]

Any idea on how to check the center bearing. The outer are pretty straight forward.

Canadian FJR

 

[Canadian FJR]

Bump

 

[TripperMike]

Any idea on how to check the center bearing. The outer are pretty straight forward.





Canadian FJR

If you remove the cover, plate (#13 on typical parts fiche) and remove the clutch, hub (#9 also on the fiche), you should have clear acces to the middle bearing. Those parts are pretty easy to remove. It's just not something a person would normally remove when changing a tire. But not a bad idea to do so.