putting my bike back together but the swingarm bearings are a total biatch to get back in and have already destroyed one bearing. anyone know anywhere that has a bearing press so I can pay someone else to do it? cheers
Did you freeze the bearing for a few hours and warm the swinger?
Freeze the bearing and take a hair dryer to the swing arm. Then get a socket the same size as the bearing (this spreads the force and makes sure its a straight fit) and place it over the bearing and knock it into place with a RUBBER mallet.
Thanks for the suggestions. Yep, I froze the bearing but don’t want to heat the swingarm cos its just had a nice new coat of powder and I don’t want to damage it. (I used the freezing/heating/socket trick to get them out in the first place)
Ideally I just want to take it somewhere that has a proper hydraulic press, so if anyone knows somewhere that would be great.
I have a 60 ton hydraulic bearing press at work. But without being able to heat the swingarm I would be a bit nervous of squashing it rather than pushing the bearing in. If it wont go in by tapping chances are the press will squash the alloy before the bearing goes in.
large long threaded bar … two nuts for bar … large washers and use the old bearings to squeeze them in to the correct setting …
as far as I know, TimR’s suggestion is the usual home workshop way of doing it
plus far less aggresive to bearings …
remember unless you have spent good money on a good brand ( avoid cheap bearings ( you get what you pay for ) even the heat difference trick can damage the races or introduce water through ice crystals into the pre packed grease or that promotes rust and quicker bearing failure …
Ooh now that’s an interesting method you have there TimR… What size threaded rod did you use?
Cheers Tim, yeah that’s the first method I tried when removing the bearings and I just ended up stripping the thread on the bar! Will try and get a bar with a thicker thread or might even buy a proper internal puller.
Thanks NumNum, think I’ll try and internal puller.