1977 R100 /7 Stubborn Wheel Bearings

[GodOmelet]

Never mind. I was hitting the wrong side!

[groop]

Originally Posted by GodOmelet

Never mind. I was hitting the wrong side!

Best post ever

[disston]

I think it's a rear wheel bearing. I find that more heat usually works. Lotsa heat, I like playing with fire.

[GodOmelet]

I had followed the whole bit about using the spacer tool made from a length of steel nipple, and so having never done airhead bearings before, I didn't know hub from spacer from inner spacer to outer spacer. Per Ausherman's page, he kept referencing the hub as a cast unit, and to tap from the cast side, so that's what I did. What he failed to make clear was that the hub is actually a machined aluminum part, not a cast aluminum part, so I mistook the hub for the outer spacer. Once I realized exactly which part the hub was, I knew to tap from the drum side. Lot's of heat required, of course, but the stack came out with just a few taps.

I still don't see why you need the spacer to get the bearings out though, or why it's important to take it all out as a unit. I can see it being essential for pre-load and reinserting the bearings, but for getting out the captive side, you could just flip the axle, put it in from the drum side, and heat the hub and tap out the captive bearings, outer races, and spacers without all the messing about with the steel pipe. That's what confused me in the first place! Neophyte/idiot notwithstanding.