How do I get the bearings out of this?

Just out of interest.

Did you note at what 'pressure' it broke free ?

Unfortunately not. I was concentrating hard on part in case it didn't move.

It felt fairly high. It was a large press in a car workshop and I had to pump a few times.

Not looking forward to putting the bearings back.

Put the bearings in the freezer before putting them back, works for me!

Cheers Martin

I used to do that when replacing bearings in R/C model engines.

Hi pgrbff, you will probably need the use of a press again, I wouldn't bother about freezing the bearings because if anything that will make them tighter to fit onto the shaft. First of all, press the fixed end bearing onto the shaft using a suitable tube or a clearance hole in a piece of thickish plate, then mount the shaft and bearing into the housing and put it on the press with the tube or plate on the bars of the press. Then lower the other bearing onto the shaft squarely and get the outer race to start into the housing, you will need another piece of tube and a plate if you wish, which is a clearance fit over the bearing journal and the plate a clearance fit inside the housing and the tube will have to be long enough to extend past the shaft end to allow the bearing to be pressed up the the shoulder on the shaft.

I've always found when pressing the second bearing in, is to press it a little way then release and turn the housing a quarter or a half turn and press a little further and then give it anther small turn and then press it home, this just helps to make things square and all lined up.

Regards Nick.

Someone suggested I should use the old bearings to press in the new?

Edited By pgrbff on 21/03/2021 13:14:05

Good Idea! It may be worth stripping the old bearing. A quick grind round the OD of the outer race will prevent it sticking should it enter the housing.

The old bearing will put the load onto the outer race, avoiding damage to the balls and the inner race.

The old inner race can then be used to support the new inner race while the shaft is pressed in, avoiding loading the outer.

Howard

You need a suitably sized spacer to press against, and the old bearing is already close to being the right size. Once you've reduced the outside diameter so it's no longer a press fit, it will be the right size.

Hi pgrbff, yes yon can use your old bearings, but just make sure the inner race isn't press onto a little bit on the bearing journal that may be sticking out past your new bearings. Of course you could use a die grinder ( or a Dremel type tool) just to make your old inner race a bit bigger a little way in on the side used next to new bearing, just make sure every thing is clean, as you don't want grinding dust in your new bearing.

Regards Nick.

I always keep old bearing cases, inner and outer on the press for use as spacers Etc. Noel.

As your bearings seat 1/8"? inside the casting, grind the old case so it has some clearance

If this spindle is greasable, you should not use sealed bearings! There is no sign of any grease contamination, and I am assuming there is a grease nipple. If you fit sealed bearings you will not be able to grease them (you will note that these bearings are absolutely full, and have not failed! If you have already bought sealed bearings, take the seals out on the inside so that grease from the grease nipple (if fitted) goes into the bearings. You will be shocked as to how little grease the manufacturers put in.

Incidentally, the "seals" are not seals in the sense of a lip seal, they are merely dust covers, and do not keep fine dust out of the bearings anyway. There are a couple of videos on the tube showing garden tractor grass decks (Toro i think) which have been suffering premature bearing failure despite having grease nipples and being regularly greased. When stripped it was revealed that the manufacturers had fitted sealed bearings to a greasable spindle, and all the greasing was a waste of time!

Pedants, I am not interested in what the manufacturers say, they are in the business of selling bearings, or the "half full, or third full" arguments. I have been in hands on engineering all my working life,I have fitted many thousands of bearings, I have always filled bearings full both sides, and the only time bearings I have fitted have failed was when I started to fit "sealed for life" bearings. Any bearing supplied with a grease nipple will be full all the time, provided it is greased at the recomended intervals, and proper greasing replaces the grease by forcing the old grease out! It is noticable that modern bearings are not going anywhere near to outlasting the old tech bearings I was taught to fit in 1967!

Phil