Thought I'd change out the front wheel bearings, since I think I've got a slight thump from that area.  But how to remove?  The manual says you need a special tool, and when I take a close look there is a spacer between the bearings that doesn't allow a drift to gain a purchase to knock them out.  Now what?

In each end of the spacer it`s a "washer" of rather thin and weak sheet metal,
this "washer" easily colapse to one side with the use of some amount of force.
Then you have space enough for a drift on one side, straighten the "washer" afterwards.



Inge K.

Thanks for the pic Inge. Still not tracking how I would do this. Also the manual talks about heating/expanding the hub for reassembly. Any thots on that?

dont worry about it club c .....they are not hard to get back in ....just use the right socket as a punch around the circumfrance



what you need to do is get a screwdriver ...just inside the bearing proper where the separation shaft starts ...sometimes it can be just levered a bit to create an edge gap between the beaining and the tube (the more gap you can create is better )

them from the opposite end get a long flat head screwdriver to knock that bearing out ....the shaft will follow ...then its easy to get the other side out .

Haven`t tested this metod myself, since I got the tools needed.
Only seen it mentioned other places, that this is metod used when you ain`t got the tools.
Use a bar from one side, and try to move a bit forth/backwards while pressing.

Heating the hub is not a drawback...but watch the paint, I`m using a threaded bolt and a old outer race and pressing it in without heat, just be very shure that the bolt is exactly centered.

Inge K.

it works inge .....the right tools is a bonus ...



once the tube is removed ...use pliers to straighten the ridge that has been distorted on the spacer tube ..

No doubt this is the original bearing so I don't expect this to be super easy. So Charlie you're saying try to pry the target bearing back a bit from thr outside to create a gap between the bearing and spacer the go in from the opposite side and try and catch an inner race edge via the small gap between the bearing and spacer and whack it?

Inge I agree using the old bearing to help install the new one works well. I'll probably try to find a bolt/washer/nut assy to crank together to pull the new bearing back in.

Btw, used the bearing cross reference guide in the download section to source non-BMW bearings. It pays to do the homework. FAG bearing: $7 each.

Have straightened a few of them which have been bent by accident....
It seems like staring to hard at them while they laying at the workbench is enough....

Inge K.

yes club c some gap is good .....but the intention is to colapse the suport ring around the spacer so that you can get some purchase on the bearing to knock out ....of corse ...work that gap around the bearing so that you are not just hitting in the one spot .

I also grind a small gap in one end of the spacer so that next time it is easier.

OK, some tips on front wheel bearings - firstly, BMW recommend to heat the hub, this is to expand the hole for the bearing. You also need to freeze the bearings, this gives the greatest amont of clearance to aid installation. The reason for this method as opposed to pressing/driving the bearings in with all components at the same temperature is that the alloy of the hub is particularly susceptible to "picking up" and if this happens you can end up with brake shudder for ever and a day ! Reason - discs are rigidly fixed to the hub and any runout due to imperfect bearing mounting will cause the disc(s) to have runout.

Issue 2 - never try to pull/push the bearings into position by pressing on the inner raceway as you are transmitting the forces through the balls to the outer raceway and the result will be a damaged bearing before it even gets to do a turn. Press only on the outer raceway, or press on both raceways simultaneously using an accurately machined mandril only. Hope this helps.

Dennis I can assure that I have club-cs word that he will not use force on the bearing and that if things do get a bit sticky he will use a bigger hammer and only strike as hard as before.

Inge K. wrote:Have straightened a few of them which have been bent by accident....
It seems like staring to hard at them while they laying at the workbench is enough....

Inge K.

Ah I see you also have completed the uri geller course of advanced spoon bending.

I intend to get a chair on advance course next year.
Then I can use it on the spanners used in thight places.

Inge K.

Inge K. wrote:I intend to get a chair on advance course next year.
Then I can use it on the spanners used in thight places.

Inge K.

oh yeah inge !!!! im there too

it just seems rediculous when balencing underneeth and your right hand is stuck under you for suport ...that you cant bend that little bit further with that left hand to that rotten nut that will strip if you dont get it right !!!!

Whilst tending to my centre stand swappo this evening I thought I'd grab the forks for a little rock back and forth to check the steering head bearings for excess play...what should I feel as I bumped the front wheel with my knee but a relatively significant amount of freeplay. I spun the wheel hard only to hear the low down rumble of self-destroying bearings sounding like gravel under a tyre on a country road. I'll be onto this job quick smart! I'll use FAG 6005 for about ten dollars each instead of BMW's OEM bearings for nearly $30 a piece.

http://www.largiader.com/parts/crossref.html

I didn't want to have to do this particular job right now as I've located a 3 spoke wheel which is coming from America for use with the 3 spoke back wheel I've recently obtained. But this is my daily rider and I need it....

Thanks, gents, for the tips.

I'll use FAG 6005 for about ten dollars each instead

Nothing wrong with FAG bearings, we have used them for many years in machinery refurbs.
All the agents do is whack huge markups and repack into their brand packaging.

Hey Inge,
Did you end up purchasing the actual BMW tools or are there aftermarket equivalents? Oh, and why I'm asking is it still to purchase BMW special tools new?
Thanks,
OG

I bought the new 6005 sealed bearings from a local bearing supplier this arvo for $12 a piece. First thing this morning I checked their availability and price with BMW. BMW Australia doesn't stock this part number despite the fact that they fit from '83 through '06 on some models. I suspect it's because people like me don't buy them from BMW and instead get them from the aftermarket. BMW has sold just five of this OEM part number in the past two years in OZ. For over $40 per bearing who would!?

I had the old, tired bearings out and the new bearings knocked back in in about 45 minutes' time. What a difference. It was a cinch with the right tools, but any decent punch and something to centre the bearings with will do. Here's a few pictures of the process:

A hammer and a long enough punch with an edge to it to catch the inner race from the opposite side. The old bearings came out very easily and the new went in like a hot knife through butter. I didn't need to whack 'em into the fridge but it's not a bad idea to 'shrink' them a bit compared against a warmed up hub to enlarge its opening a bit. I didn't have to touch the centre axle sleeve except to get it out of the way after the first bearing was out.

Notice the punch I used has a step at its end? That step was enough to catch the bearing's edge and start it moving. Of course, I'd whack it then move it round a quarter of the way and whack it again to make it come out evenly. Crooked is for politicians and lawyers.

The hub's bore cleaned out and ready for the new rollers.
One of the new bearings ready to be whacked gently in with a bearing tool which seats evenly against the bearing's outer race.


Seating the bearing against the hub, the limits of the tool. The next step remedies this bottoming out.

Stacking the old bearings on top of the new to allow the tool to seat the new bearing against the step.

Driven Home. The finished product.

OG, the factory tools are a generic brand (green box) of some quality, and the price to match. Use what Inge has shown, or a simple punch and Judy will work.

Oldgoat wrote:Hey Inge,
Did you end up purchasing the actual BMW tools or are there aftermarket equivalents? Oh, and why I'm asking is it still to purchase BMW special tools new?
Thanks,
OG

Universal blind hole bearing puller with slide hammer and expanding collets.

Inge K.

I didn't find I needed a slide hammer to remove these bearings, since it was so easy with a few good whacks onto a well-placed punch. But if you do, be sure it has the expander that fits into a 25mm centre hole, which is the ID of a K75/K100's inner race and OD of the axle.

Great. Thanks for the details and pics guys! Time to put in an order for a bunch of bearings...


OG

Inge K. wrote: Universal blind hole bearing puller with slide hammer and expanding collets.

Here is the very cheap version

Click here for the Web site (I already posted this as a solution to remove the bearings in the clutch controlling arm.

Bert

Nice CF. I forgot about this little gem!

Oldgoat wrote:Nice CF. I forgot about this little gem!

You must be getting old(er) as I forget a lot too! My memory is full and I need a couple of Gigabytes upgrade!

Crazy Frog wrote:

You must be getting old(er) as I forget a lot too! My memory is full and I need a couple of Gigabytes upgrade!

"Upgrade" I just desperately need a defrag and get rid of all the crap that is using up valuable space to no end.

Oh Dear....

We are a bunch of old gezzers!
Defrag will only re-arrange the data in a contiguous area. but it still doesn't make any sense to us!

Sense! SENSE! when has that ever had anything to do with it, I didn't think it ever needed to make sense.



I have a bike in the shed that needs to be finished and it's pissin rain then at the back of that is a snowy blast right of the antarctic makes me cold just thinking about it. Thats why I am here talking garbage.

Crazy Frog wrote:

You must be getting old(er) as I forget a lot too! My memory is full and I need a couple of Gigabytes upgrade!

Lol, wouldn't that be awesome if you could just go down to the Neuro-tech store for a few new high speed Gigs for the old gray matter!

Well, back to bearings... Finally got this done yesterday with Inge's method, about 20 minutes re and re once the wheel was off.

I’ve done them with a slide hammer quite some time ago. Without the tool, I’m wondering if you snipped away the cage holding the balls in place such that you could remove the inner race, you could then have access to the spacer and drift against it to remove the opposite side bearing? I guess success depends on whether the remaining outer race has enough edge exposed to drift against?

I found the slide hammer almost as bad as the 'official' way - if you want to read the BMW way of removing the wheel bearings, just make sure you're not about to sup tea/coffee/whatever.

Anyway, the bit that Inge and Charlie missed....

- Look down inside the wheel - you should just see the a tiny lip between the spacer and the bearing
- Find/grind/make a nice long bar that just grips onto the lip - I used 13mm round bar
- Now beat the top of the bar sideways, not down, using the 'other' bearing as a pivot point. What you're trying to do is crush the tin ring to expose the inner race of the bearing
- Punch the bearings out (easy now) and throw away the tin rings. Use a finger to line up the spacer when fitting the spindle back in.

You may find that you leave a few gouges in the inside of the spacer - a half-round file and some wet'n'dry soon fixes that problem. Done four front wheels like this now with no problems and it's a lot easier next time round.

I made one up at the Trades Guild. A bit of pipe and a large washer is missing from the picture. A bit of heat with a hot air gun helps. Freezing the bearing and heating the wheel helps with the installation.
Regards Martin.

I have the following technique for removal of these 2 bearings:
1. Start with the 6005 RSR (or 2RS) bearing which is 25 x 47 x 12 because it is narrower (12mm -v- 20.6mm) and therefore be easier to drive out because of less surface area.
2. Using a Blind Bearing Puller remove the slide hammer shaft from the collet then fit and tighten the collet so that it grips in the gap between the inner end of the bearing and the outer end of the spacer shaft inside the wheel hub. 
3. Mount the wheel on supports (I use 2 short lengths of 100 x 100 (4" x 4") timber to prevent damage and aid access.
4. Apply heat (I use a Propane gas torch) to the wheel hub. Keep the heat moving around the hub so as not to damage the paintwork. Make sure you apply enough heat without causing damage.
5. When the hub is sufficiently hot, turn the wheel over to the other side and using a suitable drift (I use a 20mm thick brass rod) hammer the bottom end of the bearing puller collet which provides a solid, stable and flat surface to drive against. A further advantage of this technique is that you are not hitting the bearing at an angle which potentially could cause a bearing to get stuck or damage the side of the wheel casting. If your bearing is not moving, heat is the answer.
6. Using this method you can remove the spacer shaft with no damage to it.
7. The second bearing (25 x 47 x 20.6) is then easier to remove because you have full and level access to it. 
I would still apply heat (see 4 above) if it is resistant to being driven out.  

Incidentally the K1100RS spacer shaft (part #: 36 31 1 458 419 - BMW calls it a "Pipe") is 72mm long. I have on order some solid aluminium rod and solid Delrin rod (machinable plastic) and intend once my larger lathe chuck is working to machine a "Pipe" as an alternative to the factory pipe. One option would be to cut a groove in each of the 2 spacer metal washers on the "Pipe" to allow a drift to be inserted without damaging the washer.