'85 ATC70 rear bearings

[Hair Bear Bunch]

Hi Guys,
Back end of the 70 is starting to get wobbly so time to do the bearings.
I've had a look at the manual and appears to be fairly straight forward but I'm looking for some experienced advice before I tear into it.
How I'm reading the manual is that the hubnuts effectively clamp the whole assembly together?
If I remove all the parts on the right side of the axle, should it slide out to the left?
The axle appears to be firmly attached to bearings, is this just age/corrosion?
Is there a tube inside the frame between the bearings like the front of a BigRed?

Thanks in advance for any help.
Rob.

[jensenracing77]

the good thing about the 78 to 85 ATC 70 is that the axle will slide out both sides. if the brake hub or sprocket hub is stuck you just take it out the other side and leave that hub on. i do recommend taking the stuck hub off after it is out of the bike but when it is out it makes it much easier. just DO NOT beat on the brake drum. they bend and dent very easy.

[Hair Bear Bunch]

Ok, thanks for that, the exhaust shells and gasket arrived today so I'll reassemble that end first before I dismember the back, but I managed to break the Br at the weekend and unfortunately that will have to take priority.
Cheers, Rob.

[Hair Bear Bunch]

So 3 months later it's got to the stage where the brake drum is starting to rub the frame so it's got to be done.
Took the rh wheel off, hub, spacer drum ect., axle wouldn't budge. Got the oil seal out and could see the bearing, yes it was a bit loose but nothing drastic. Can't shift the hub off the lh side, but the bearing is seriously loose. Finished up breaking the bearing on the rh side which released the axle from the frame, but then had to physicaly break all 4 bearing housings to remove them from their seats. When I finally got the axle out, it was clear that the lh bearing had lost all it's balls a while ago (no wonder I couldn't keep the chain tight!). I still have yet to get the lh hub, spacer and drive hub off the axle, but at least it'll fit in the press now! And the cush-drive rubbers? What rubbers?! Gone. Deceased. Kaput.
Now the question is, when I reassemble this all the parts will be copper greased, and the bearings themselves will be packed with LM, but should I put something like copper grease on the bearing seats so they are easier to deal with next time, or fit them dry?

[Dirtcrasher]

I always grease both the OD and ID of all my pressed in bearings to prevent corrosion.

Thats why so many axles are junk, water gets in and wears the journals.......

[Hair Bear Bunch]

Thanks Dc. Should I consider packing the whole axle housing with grease as well? I'm thinking that apart from keeping water out it would hold the tube in place while I fit second bearing and the axle.

[Hair Bear Bunch]

Now I've got this all cleaned up I've found very slight wear marks on the axle where the bearings sit. How loose can the bearings be on the axle before I consider either 'building up and turning back' or buying new?
The other problem I have is when I went to get the new bearings the shed had been 'tidied' and I can't find the old ones so... Does anyone have the size/spec for the bearings and seals please?
Thanks, Rob.

[greenhuman]

With the worn axle area, you can run a series of centre pops around this area. This has the effect of building up the metal slightly and will make the bearing nice and tight on the axle.

[Hair Bear Bunch]

Thanks, I like your idea. We'll look into the issue once I have the new bearings to see how much play there is.

[Hair Bear Bunch]

It's a good job you guys work faster than I do! Here we are six months (!) later and I've just finished rebuilding, I can't belive it's taken me this long to get round to finishing it. Worth the wait though.
I know it was a fairly straightforward job, but thanks for the help and advice, having the manual is one thing but having an interactive helpline on hand really is the 'cats meeow'!
Cheers, Rob.:beer
ps. Gotta do a rebuild on the BR engine next. How difficult can it be?:wondering