Replacing Front Wheel Bearings

[Bfef]

Hello again everyone! I'm having some trouble with the front wheel bearings on my Raptor 1000 and was hoping for some advice on the removal and fitting of new ones please.

Basically the left hand side bearing is knackered / hard to turn and makes a grinding noise. Right hand side is OK though. The axle and threaded spacer look OK and the spacer between the bearings seems OK too. I've ordered a new pair of bearings from the OEM parts site and am just waiting for them to turn up.

I've never done a wheel bearing replacement before but am reasonably OK with a socket set, what kind of problems do you think I will encounter? First problem is removing the old bearings, manual is not much help simply saying push out by knocking around the inside of the bearing.

Can I tap them out from the "outside" ie, will they push right through the wheel hub? Or do I need a pin to drop through the hub and knock them out from the "inside"? I mean to say is the part of the hub where they sit stepped so they normally sit in a recess without going further in? It looks hard to knock them out this way because the internal spacer hardly reveals any of the back side of the bearing.

Also, what sort of preparation will the new ones need, grease / oil / etc and will the hub need any special preparation apart from being cleaned? I read somewhere that over greasing them can be bad. Will it be easy to "drift" in the new bearings with a socket head or similar?

Do you think I would be better off taking the wheel and new bearings to my friendly local bike repair shop?

Any advice gratefully received, many thanks, Bfef.

[wreckah]

hiya,

no need to worry all that much, it's reasonably simple job, as you described.

knock out both old bearings with a drift. 2 minute job if you are good with hammers

gently tap in the new bearings. (clean the hub thoroughly.)
make sure the bearing goes in perfectly level.
make sure you tap them untill they are truly seated against the stop.

i coat with a little bit of WD40 to get the new bearing in easier. Bearings need not be lubed, they should come pre-lubed and sealed.

[NZraptorgirl]

As above, but knock from the inside out with a drift.

Cheers

[snapdragon]

As above, but knock from the inside out with a drift.

Cheers

nod nod, works better than trying to knock the lot straight through

[Bfef]

That is very helpful - thank you all very much.

[kev]

and dont forget the spacer that goes between the bearings

[Bfef]

Hello, me again

Finally got the new bearings - OEM site is good but delivery seems to take ages!

Put them on today and it was dead easy apart from hitting my thumb instead of the pin

Thanks again to everyone who gave advice, much appreciated.

[wreckah]

and dont forget the spacer that goes between the bearings

damn that's good advice!!! i actually did put on new bearings once without refitting the iner spacer