Lower Steering Head Bearing Race Removal

[jwoell]

Well I've been rebuilding my front end. It was pretty easy to remove everything so far but I'm having a tough time with the steering head bearing races. The top one was easy to remove, I just grabbed the right size socket and tapped it out, no problem. I'm having a bugger of a time with the lower race however. There doesn't seem to be anything to 'grab on to' as far as removing it. I mean, I see the two notches on either side of the race housing where one would think you could latch on, but on closer inspection there seems to be maybe only 0.020" to play around with and I'm not able to latch onto it with anything.

So aside from buying a welder (which I really need to do anyway). Are there any other methods of removing this thing??

All help is much appreciated! Thanks.

[John]

You can use a dremmel tool with a cutoff wheel and cut through the race or, use a deburring bit and grind through it that way. That is how I did mine. Once you have it out, grind on the notches that you saw, and make them deeper, so if you should ever have to do the job again, it won't be so difficult. You may be able to grind a good sharp, beveled edge on your drift punch, and catch enough of the race to drive it out.

[prometheus578]

"Along with what John stated..."

Put the drift pin standin' up in a vise and whack it sideways a few times mit der hammer. This puts a little bend on the lower part and it'll angle itself better against the race.

[AlanB]

Hi Jwoell,

There should be just enough "edge" to catch it with a good, square-edged punch; as prom suggests, a bend in it may make it easier, but I have not usually bothered.

AlanB

[Dragonrider]

I just grind nearly through them with a grinder, then whack 'em with a cold chisel. "Crack" they come right off!

(good for stubborn races everywhere)

[79XS11F]

A small pointed steel drift will get it out. In a pinch use a large flat bladed screw driver. If you shine a light down into the neck from the top you will even see 2 slots down there (one in front and one in back) to provide the drift with better striking surface. tap at front then at back to remove the race as squarely as possible. heating up the neck is also helpful if it proves to be real stubborn.
Rob

[Dragonrider]

Originally posted by Dragonrider
I just grind nearly through them with a grinder, then whack 'em with a cold chisel. "Crack" they come right off!

(good for stubborn races everywhere)

Hmmm...urrr...yeeessh...I may have misunderstood the question. I figured you were talking about the race left on the triple "T" when you get it out. (it's a bugger to remove too).

[jwoell]

So far I was just talking about the lower race that is pressed into the steering head. I have a feeling that removing the bearing from the steering shaft is going to be tough too, I haven't gotten that far yet though. I'm still working on this son of a b!itch. i've gotten on it with chisels and drifts, screwdrivers, punches, everything I can find. I'm gonna go get a dremmel tool this evening and just start carving on the two small notches until I can get a good edge to get some force on. We'll see how it goes...

[jwoell]

Thanks for the all the suggestions on this. I ended up using the dremmel trick to carve out some metal and make it much easier to get on the race with a punch. Anyway, the steering head is all fixed up with brand new smooth races

Now I'm off to try and remove that bearing from the actual steering shaft itself. It's been in the freezer overnight, hopefully that will help a little.

Thanks again.

[AlanB]

Hi Jwoell,

Freezing the whole lot shouldn't make any difference to how easily it all comes apart; the stem will have shrunk....... but so will the race!

for reassembly, cooling the stem and warming the race might help, but you don't want to get the bearing too hot.

AlanB

[jwoell]

I suspected the same thing. The coefficient of thermal expansion would be very for both metals, but I figured I might be able to cool the whole thing down and then apply a bit of heat just to the bearing race. I figured it might make it a slight bit easier, we'll see.

As far as reassembly I was thinking the same thing, heat up the bearing and cool down the shaft before assembly. Hope it helps!

[79XS11F]

Cut that bearing off the lower steering neck with you dremmel. That's the thing to do.
Rob

[AlanB]

Hi Jwoell,

Cutting the race off the post is not a bad way to go, but don't cut all the way through; put a good groove in it, place a sharp chisel in there, and give it a sharp crack to split it.

It is very hard to cut all the way through without damaging the post.

I have usually managed to knock them off with careful use of a hammer and punch; a lot quicker than cutting, If you are confident of not damaging anything......

AlanB

[skids]

I used to get races out of heavy machinery by running a welding bead around the middle. It cools and then drops right out!

[jwoell]

I'm currently saddened...I don't own a welder yet...

This project would have been super easy if I owned one, but for now I'm making due. Thanks for the info though. Damn dude, I need a welder....bearing replacement--30 minutes rather than a week...son of a....