Author Topic: Removing a stuck outer bearing race  (Read 15068 times)

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Removing a stuck outer bearing race
« on: 10 August, 2012, 05:31:41 pm »
Trying to remove an old sealed bearing cartridge from my fixed wheel, I managed to remove the inner race and bearings but the outer race is stuck firmly inside the hub.

I had the same problem when trying to remove the bearings from my Brompton rear wheel but was able to knock it out from the other side with a long screwdriver and hammer. Unfortunately, there isn't enough of a lip on the bearing race to do the same on my fixed wheel.

I thought of using an expanding bolt - wedge it into the race then whack it out - but couldn't get one big enough, so I packed it out with wood screws. No joy.

I also tried drilling the race but it's really hard chromed steel and I can't even make a dent in it. Though I did manage to gouge the edges of the hub.

Any other suggestions? I know there are professional tools designed for this job, but AFAICS, they are very expensive.

d.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Removing a stuck outer bearing race
« Reply #1 on: 10 August, 2012, 05:37:31 pm »
Actually, just done a bit more searching for tools - would this be appropriate for the job?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-5PCS-BLIND-INNER-BEARING-PULLER-SET-SLIDE-HAMMER-INTERNAL-KIT-/300729545370?pt=UK_Hand_Tools_Equipment&hash=item4604e0b29a

(Description says it has four collets, 10-32mm; I measured the internal diameter of the bearing race as 21mm.)

d.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Tim Hall

  • Victoria is my queen
Re: Removing a stuck outer bearing race
« Reply #2 on: 10 August, 2012, 08:07:27 pm »
Disclaimer: all my current bikes have cup n cone bearings. I once owned a tandem with sealed bearings.

Anyhoo..Don't you use the axle as a drift and thwack it gently? The shoulder on the axle hits the bearing and out it flies.  Or is it More Complicated Than That?
There are two ways you can get exercise out of a bicycle: you can
"overhaul" it, or you can ride it.  (Jerome K Jerome)

Re: Removing a stuck outer bearing race
« Reply #3 on: 10 August, 2012, 08:19:17 pm »
Actually, just done a bit more searching for tools - would this be appropriate for the job?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-5PCS-BLIND-INNER-BEARING-PULLER-SET-SLIDE-HAMMER-INTERNAL-KIT-/300729545370?pt=UK_Hand_Tools_Equipment&hash=item4604e0b29a

(Description says it has four collets, 10-32mm; I measured the internal diameter of the bearing race as 21mm.)

d.

Even with that I think you need some amount of lip or edge to grip. There might be enough with the chamfer on the race. I have removed similarly broken bearings by holding the hub firmly and using a pin punch and hammer. Requires patience.

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Removing a stuck outer bearing race
« Reply #4 on: 10 August, 2012, 08:23:43 pm »
Anyhoo..Don't you use the axle as a drift and thwack it gently? The shoulder on the axle hits the bearing and out it flies.  Or is it More Complicated Than That?

That's what I did with the Brompton wheel but there's not enough of the bearing showing to do the same with this wheel. It's "blind", as they say.

d.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Removing a stuck outer bearing race
« Reply #5 on: 10 August, 2012, 08:25:38 pm »
I have removed similarly broken bearings by holding the hub firmly and using a pin punch and hammer. Requires patience.

I'm trying to envisage how that works. Can you go into more detail?

d.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Re: Removing a stuck outer bearing race
« Reply #6 on: 10 August, 2012, 10:00:19 pm »
I have removed similarly broken bearings by holding the hub firmly and using a pin punch and hammer. Requires patience.

I'm trying to envisage how that works. Can you go into more detail?

d.
If you can wedge a pin punch diagonally so that it catches in whatever gap or edge there is, then hit it firmly and repeat around the diameter until it drops out.

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Removing a stuck outer bearing race
« Reply #7 on: 10 August, 2012, 10:54:55 pm »
Hmmm, I see... might be worth a try - still relies on finding enough of an edge on the bearing race though.

I had a look at a youtube video on how to use a bearing puller. It doesn't seem to require a lip to catch on but the narrow internal diameter of the hub may still be a problem... Could be my best bet though.

Mind you, even that cheap tool is more expensive than the hub was, so maybe it would be best just to buy a new hub and rebuild the wheel from scratch.  :facepalm:

Btw, I've done just over 10,000km on that wheel, according to myclinglog.com - does that sound like a reasonable lifespan for a set of sealed bearings?

d.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Re: Removing a stuck outer bearing race
« Reply #8 on: 11 August, 2012, 01:26:51 pm »
21mm ID with a small lip? Can you fit a 22mm copper pipe in from the other side? It should give better purchase than a pointy tool, and if there's room you can make a couple of cuts in the pipe and splay it out a bit.

10,000 km is neither good or bad in my experience - I got 35,000 out of a Miche rear and less than the life of a tyre out of the brompton 2-speed, both of which were considerably more expensive than £20.
Quote from: tiermat
that's not science, it's semantics.

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Removing a stuck outer bearing race
« Reply #9 on: 11 August, 2012, 02:01:22 pm »
21mm ID with a small lip? Can you fit a 22mm copper pipe in from the other side?

Sounds like a good idea, though the "lip" is less than 1mm so it may not work. I'll give it a try later - sure I've got a bit of copper pipe laying around somewhere in the garage...

d.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Removing a stuck outer bearing race
« Reply #10 on: 13 August, 2012, 12:26:46 pm »
I've read something on the interwebs about removing stuck bearing races by applying a layer of weld - apparently, as it cools, it shrinks and the bearing race just drops out.

Sounds intriguing. Unfortunately, I have neither the equipment or the expertise for that method. Ho hum.

Would it be worth having a go with bog standard tin-lead solder wire and a soldering iron? I suspect probably not.  ;D

d.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Removing a stuck outer bearing race
« Reply #11 on: 13 August, 2012, 12:38:45 pm »
Here's another thing - the bearing race is steel, the hub is aluminium, so it's probably seized. When/if I eventually get it out, what should I do to ensure the replacement part doesn't suffer the same fate - will regular bike grease do the trick?

d.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

zigzag

  • unfuckwithable
Re: Removing a stuck outer bearing race
« Reply #12 on: 13 August, 2012, 01:23:45 pm »
I've read something on the interwebs about removing stuck bearing races by applying a layer of weld - apparently, as it cools, it shrinks and the bearing race just drops out.

i'd take it to a garage and ask to weld a metal rod (about a foot long) to the bearing race. then weld a small rod on the other end to make it T-shaped and knock the bearing race outwards with a hammer.

Re: Removing a stuck outer bearing race
« Reply #13 on: 13 August, 2012, 03:59:52 pm »
Here's another thing - the bearing race is steel, the hub is aluminium, so it's probably seized. When/if I eventually get it out, what should I do to ensure the replacement part doesn't suffer the same fate - will regular bike grease do the trick?

d.

It probably isn't. At least I've never seen a bearing corroded into a hub. Having solved similar problems in the past, I'd still recommend the the pin punch method.

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Removing a stuck outer bearing race
« Reply #14 on: 13 August, 2012, 04:10:14 pm »
Tried it. No good. Just ended up with a bent pin punch.  :(

d.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Re: Removing a stuck outer bearing race
« Reply #15 on: 13 August, 2012, 04:14:13 pm »
Tried it. No good. Just ended up with a bent pin punch.  :(

d.

Cheap punch or too small. Use one at least 4mm diameter and with a good square end.

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Removing a stuck outer bearing race
« Reply #16 on: 13 August, 2012, 04:22:35 pm »
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Re: Removing a stuck outer bearing race
« Reply #17 on: 13 August, 2012, 04:46:35 pm »
When/if I eventually get it out, what should I do to ensure the replacement part doesn't suffer the same fate - will regular bike grease do the trick?

d.

If I have understood your dilemma correctly this is the same problem as I get with the sealed bearings in the cassette carrier of my Hope rear hub.  And I don't generally get notice of the failure until it's too late, and the bearings have collapsed leading to this difficulty of extraction.  Trying to push against a curved surface (all you can see of the remaining bit of the bearing because of the shoulder it sits against) is not easy.  Several times I've returned the assembly to Hope and they have replaced the bearings for me.  Not cheap, but not outrageously expensive either; certainly not enough to justify my buying one of those extractors mentioned above.  And they are always very quick.

Re: Removing a stuck outer bearing race
« Reply #18 on: 17 August, 2012, 05:50:32 pm »
Here's another thing - the bearing race is steel, the hub is aluminium, so it's probably seized. When/if I eventually get it out, what should I do to ensure the replacement part doesn't suffer the same fate - will regular bike grease do the trick?

d.

You could try getting some heat into it and letting the differential thermal expansion loosen the hub's grip on the race.

rogerzilla

  • When n+1 gets out of hand
Re: Removing a stuck outer bearing race
« Reply #19 on: 17 August, 2012, 05:52:45 pm »
Take it to a motorbike repair shop.
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

Re: Removing a stuck outer bearing race
« Reply #20 on: 09 February, 2020, 03:50:00 pm »
After spending considerable time with a punch trying to purchase the bearing lip through the wheel (nearly impossible) I was about to buy a new hub and have an evening of wheel building. In the end the solution was easy.

Very carefully place the 5 remaining bearings I could find back in the race, carefully place the old inner on them and then using a bit of rod (or matchstick) slowly space them around the race roughly evenly. Keep some side pressure on the bearing and refit the old axle, start tapping with hammer. Shocked to say it all stayed together and the outer easily slid out, no harder than the full bearing on the other side. Total time less than half of one side of a vinyl album.

Similar to this link http://www.808.dk/?outer-bearing-race-removal except I found it wasn't even necessary to pack out the bearing assuming you keep enough side loading to stop balls dropping to bottom of race.

Re: Removing a stuck outer bearing race
« Reply #21 on: 10 February, 2020, 01:14:32 pm »
I was just about to suggest that exact course of action; I would have suggested it before now but I've not looked at the forum for a few days.

Surprisingly often the commonest cartridge bearings in hubs etc use standard (inch dimensioned) sized ball bearings so even if the old balls are no good or missing, you can often build up something which will work well enough to drive the bearing out.

The other thing which helps is to warm the hub up before trying to drive the old bearings out; a kettle full of boiling water over the hub ( immediately before hammering) won't do any harm and might do some good.

cheers