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Rear wheel bearings

3K views 10 replies 4 participants last post by  BillV 
#1 ·
So Last weekend I had the rear wheel bearings go out while I was ridding it back. So I ordered new ones OEM installed them almost exactly how the service manual said to except the tools. Went 4 miles down the road and they went out again :gaah. I just rode it back to the shop and shut the doors and left but I am 99% sure its the right bearing what am I doing wrong?
 
#3 ·
+1 on spacers. For the right bearing to fail that quickly I'd think that the long spacer inside the wheel was left out. I'd look very carefully at all three bearings before continuing to use any of them. This would be more effective with the chain off but something to check is whether the wheel spins less easily as the axle nut is tightened more and more. You're missing a spacer if it does.
 
#5 ·
"the middle spacer in the wheel was brand new"

Why? Spacers ought to last as long as the wheel. I show the correct spacer is 64731-35F10. Did you compare the lengths of the new and old?

How does that driver work? Do you insert the driver handle into a suitably sized driver and beat on it? I'm now wondering if you didn't drive one outer race deep enough. This would make the axle pull it inwards by the inner race and leave the bearing under tension.
 
#6 ·
That is how that driver kit works

I replaced it because it had damage from riding it when they went out the last time I had to driver about 30 miles in the emergency lane due to it being the middle of the night and any wrecker wanted 200 buck to come and get me and take me to my shop
 
#7 ·
Note that the right side bearing gets installed all the way to the bottom of its recess. But the left bearing gets pulled in until its inner race contacts the spacer. It's important that the installing tool contacts both the inner and outer races, particularly when installing the left bearing. You're probably better off replacing your driver handle with a threaded rod & nuts as is done in the service manual so as to pull the bearings in. Driving in the left bearing instead of pulling it in sounds like the wrong thing to do. Note that you'll need the same size driver on both sides when you pull the left bearing in.
 
#9 ·
^That's excellent, though in a quick search I couldn't find anybody near me likely to do it that cheap. Also, it may be unnecessary but I'd be inclined to use 10 mm or 3/8" thick steel just to ensure that the inner and outer races are being pressed the same amount. Thousandths of an inch might be important here.

The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that his installation method led to the second/left bearing being installed deeper than it should be. The bearing installation has a bit of gotcha in it that probably deserves a warning in the service manual.
 
#10 ·
When you press a bearing, you only want to press on the outer race. The inner race will have no pressure on it what so ever. You just have to watch for it to make contact with the spacer. An old tech told me "only push on what's pushing back". That's why presses are far better than a driver. You can move things in very small and very controlled movements.
 
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