Front wheel bearings

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Glenn

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Wallingford, CT
Well, looks like mine are on their way out. The right side front wheel has a lot of play when you wiggle the wheel. The left side isn't as bad, but has some slop.

Anyone done front wheel bearings before? Difficult? I'm assuming I'll have to bring is somewhere to have the old races removed and pressed in. Other than that, the rest can be done at home?
 
wheel bearings

all u really need i a vice and a piece of pipe to bang out the bearings and a large socket to get the new ones in. if they are the factory bearings they take some force to get out. u must pop them out from the inside out, meaning place the spindle in the vice and get your piece of pipe and hit the bottom bearing down. its kinda hard to explain but the bearings slide out away from eachother, u will get a better idea when u get it apart. there is also spacer in between the bearings. if u have a press u can press the new bearings and seals in or use the large socket and tap evenly with a hammer. i had to go buy a socket since it was so big but it was only a couple bucks and u have it for next time. there will proly be some rusty, nasty water in there, so clean everything up real well. i got my bearings and seals on ebay allin one package for very cheap and they lasted longer than the expensive ones form the dealer.
 
Cool. So it sounds like the hardest part is the removal and installation. I may bring the spindles to the local dealer and just have them do that part. While I do have a lot of tools, the one thing I don't have is a vice on a workbench.
 
I ordered the parts from RockyMountainATV yesterday....$40 and change for the bearings and seals...not to shabby. (That's for both sides)
 
bearings

that sounds like a good deal to me!!! did u price them at the yamaha dealer?
 
Never buy anythign from dealers....

They wanted almost $400 for a warn 424.... went home and ordered one for $220.
 
After looking at the manual, and talking to a guy I ride with, I see what wolvyrider is talking about. There's a "ridge" on the inside of the spindle that keeps the bearings from being pressed out. It looks like I'll have to use a punch to get them out.

I wonder if putting the spindles in the oven will help? I've heard of people doing this for crank bearings that are pressed into the cases.
 
bearings

the first time i changed mine i could not figure out how the heck they came out!!! i took the whole spindle up the the yamaha dealer and the guy showed me how they get them out, he set it on the work bench and took a piece of pipe and started pounding with a sledge hammer. he said thats really the only way u can get them out. they go in a whole lot easier than they come out. u need a 1-9/16'' socket to get them in, u can get it from autozone pretty cheap.
 
Since each bearing has to come from the inside out (and opposite sides even), you need to take a punch that is smaller than the spindle diameter and put it through the bearing's inner race - the pry the internal spacer to the side which exposes the opposite bearing's inner race. Using the punch, you can drive it out using that inner race and it WILL ruin the bearing you are removing. Walking side to side or even in 4 steps around the bearing will get it to come out - holding the hub in a vice is much much easier.

Once the first bearing is out, flip the hub over and drive out the second one in the same fashion. This is much easier as you won't be driving at an angle due to the spacer or the first bearing being in your way - you can hit 'er straight on.

I always take one of the old bearings I just drove out and take it to the grinder - I grind the outer race all the way around so it just drops into the hub - this becomes my new driver for driving in the new bearings - no socket to buy and it's almost an exact fit - as close as you care to grind it. They go in pretty easy this way - but again, I've only done it with a vice.

As for the oven idea, I'm not sure - I've never done it to the hub. I have however used a hotplate to heat up a case half while the crank (with bearing already installed) spent time in the freezer - this makes them go together so much easier. I'd assume if you put the hub in the oven and the bearings in the freezer that they will almost drop right in. - Don't forget the spacer between the bearings.

Also take note to the seals on the hubs - they are of an interesting design and if you aren't paying attention, easy to install backwards. The manual actually does a good job of showing you the proper orientation.
 
I'm starting to wonder if I should pull off the spindles, bring them to the dealer and have them take out the old bearings and install the new ones.

$40/$50 could save me 1/2 a Saturday. :lol:
 
It could save you 1/2 a saturday and if you drop them off at the dealer maybe they could do them during the week and then you can ride on saturday. :D
 
Hey Glenn... not to branch off topic here, but I'm in your neck of the woods this weekend - I'm in Mystic, CT right now and will be here until Sunday. We're here on a Pre-Decision trip to determine if we'll be moving here so my wife can work for Pfizer......?

Anyway.. moving from a state with 3100 miles of quad usable trails to a state of 0 miles of quad trails seems to really suck. Where on earth do you go to ride?

I like ctateusa1's course of thinking - riding on Saturday is much better than quad repair. But if you can't ride, working on a quad is a great second best choice.
 
That's what I'm thinking guys. Like I said, I messed with a U joint on my middle drive for hours. I finally brought it to the dealer. $30 and a few hours later it was done. I think I'm getting a little smarter as I get older. I have to look at what my time is worth. $40-50 is worth me not sitting on the garage floor for 3 hours pounding the you know what out of those bearings. :lol:

95Wolverine,
We ride up in Massachusetts for now. For me, it's a 1-2 hour ride...one way. The price you have to pay to ride.

I'm currently the president of this group: http://www.cttrailusers.com/ We're trying very hard to get some legal riding in CT. It's been tough, but we're making progress.
 
This went pretty well today. I pulled everything apart and took out the seals. Yikes! They don't use much grease at the factory! I think there was more grit in there than grease. I put the spindles in a box, along with the new bearings and brought them to my local dealer. If all goes well, I'll have them back Monday or Tuesday.
 
I forgot to update this. They were done yesterday before lunch. Ran me $77....but hey, I spent part of Saturday installing new brake pads and not swinging the hammer and swearing. :lol:

What's on the inside of the spindle hub that keeps the bearings from being pressed out? Is it a ridge that's cast into the center?
 
Yep, it's a ridge that's machined into the hub (the bearing surfaces are machined to be larger than the original inner diameter thus, your "ridge".

sheesh... $77 sounds like it must have taken them an entire hour to do something that should have taken only half an hour as you had all the rest of the work done for them.
 
Interesting. One thing I don't like bout having something like this done is I miss out on what gets done.

Yeah, 45 minutes of labor, plus a little for grease. Gotta pay to play sometimes I guess. I'm just leary of doing certain things when I don't have the propper tools.
 
I just had to change a set on my '06.. Read about the hammer and punch, tried it, got tired.

Then I got an idea. Use my air chisel!!!

5 minutes later, both were out..

Easiest way to do it if you ask me!


and the idea of grinding the old bearing down to hit the new one in with, used it and loved it...
 
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