Help with 250SX swingarm bearings

[Frankencelery]

I've finally gotten to this project. Thanks for all the questions that were answered a couple months ago when I first brought it up. We have the swingarm removed from the trike, and now I'm looking at trying to figure out how to remove the bearing races.

There are conflicting opinions on this. Some say cut it with a dremel and then it will remove easily. Some say use a slide hammer, which we don't have. I can buy one if I have to, but they're expensive. Also, there's a cap of some sort behind the race. I didn't expect to see that. Is that removable? The guy that owned the trike before me put grease fittings in the center of that tube thinking he could grease the bearings, but they're blocked off.

Anyway, I have friends saying to replace the bearings and leave the races if they're not pitted or visibly worn. That makes me nervous. I'd like to hear some thoughts on this.

Thanks in advance!

[crd00]

Yup that cap you said is removable behind the bearing race, all the I did to get it out was I used a drill with a little grinding disk on it. Theres not a lot to it really, but when you put everything back in, make sure the bearings are facing the right way and you have that little cap put back in lol.

[ClayW]

I would leave the races in there if they are not pitted too bad. Get some emory cloth and polish it up. Those bearings and races dont see a lot of movement per say. Wheel bearings are a differnt story. I only replaced the bearings in my old BigRed. Worked fine. The best way to get the races out is with a torch. Heat them up a little, they will buckle and fall out. Just think about it how much movement do those actually have. A few inches up in down if that. Even if they were pitted they would last at least a few years with new bearings.

[Dirtcrasher]

You bought new bearings so use all the pieces. Smash the tin block off cups through and out the other side with a long punch. Then the 2 races will come out. Make sure the new races seat all the way inside. Then either seal the 2 holes in the tube so water can't get in or put grease fittings in them and then fill up some of the inside of that long frame tube with a piece of foam or there will be like 8 oz of grease in there. If the old bearings were bad there has to be some wear on those outer races and I simply wouldn't reuse them, especially on such a pain in the arse repair.

[Trike Dude]

If I remember correctly a 19mm deep well socket and a hammer works real good for removing 85/86 250R swinger bearings :D

[dizasterzrfun69]

If I remember correctly a 19mm deep well socket and a hammer works real good for removing 85/86 250R swinger bearings :D


he has a 250sx........

[ClayW]

Yes he bought new everything. They come with new races, but that doesnt mean you have to use them Especially when you dont necessarily have all the best tools to use handy. Your asking for trouble. What if you gouge the hell out of the race and the seat it sits in? Then the race wont fit in there just right, which will make the bearing fail real early. You have to think about it in a practical sense. A wheel bearing in a car spins at quite a few THOUSAND RPMS the entire time your driving practically. If you drove your car 10 miles, to equal that amount of wear and movement on a swingarm, you wouild have to drive 1000 miles. They just dont move that much. That being said they arent that critical, so just replace the bearing. It will give you tons of life. Likely more life than you will ever get out of the bike.:rolleyes:

My dad works on Industrial motors at plants all the time. He had to esplain this to me too. Once he did it made perfect sense.:D

[Frankencelery]

Thanks for everybody's help. It's done, and I replaced the races as well. When I went out and tried the new bearings in the old races, the left one was fine, and the right one was noticably sloppy. That decided it. Then, once we realized that the blocking cups were just soft metal, we just punched the cups out on each side, and then it was easy to punch out the races from the opposite side. Since the previous owner put grease fittings on the tube, we decided to leave out the blocking cups. Then we filled the tube with grease (yeah, it took a lot!) and put it all back together.

It worked great, and we're up and running for the first time. This is my newest trike, and I'm sure it will edge out my 200s as my daily rider.

[Dirtcrasher]

Yes he bought new everything. They come with new races, but that doesnt mean you have to use them Especially when you dont necessarily have all the best tools to use handy. Your asking for trouble. What if you gouge the hell out of the race and the seat it sits in? Then the race wont fit in there just right, which will make the bearing fail real early. You have to think about it in a practical sense. A wheel bearing in a car spins at quite a few THOUSAND RPMS the entire time your driving practically. If you drove your car 10 miles, to equal that amount of wear and movement on a swingarm, you wouild have to drive 1000 miles. They just dont move that much. That being said they arent that critical, so just replace the bearing. It will give you tons of life. Likely more life than you will ever get out of the bike.:rolleyes:

My dad works on Industrial motors at plants all the time. He had to esplain this to me too. Once he did it made perfect sense.:D

Good for dad when working on your trike, I was an industrial mech for 11 years myself. SX bearings get lots of contamination and that makes for dirt/water paste whick wears on them badly even if they aren't pitted. The needles get tapered as do the races which are perfectly ground to match the inner bearing. No proper tool is needed for this one. Simply tap all around without cocking the race too far and no damage will occur. Yes they probably would have worked fine for this particular application but removing the races is no big dealeo.

I hope you torqued that pivot bolt to the proper spec, it preloads those bearings with just the right amount....

[ClayW]

Never had a problem with mine. Were ok for 3 years +++ Also he was not working on my trike and he has 38yrs experience doing what he does. Those brearings dont get that dirty. They just dont. If they did, they would have to be replaced alot more often than every 20years. But when they hit 20yrs in age, age and moisture takes its toll.

[Frankencelery]

I torqued the pivot bolt to one grunt with the 18MM wrench. Is that enough?

John, what do you mean you can't get behind the left side? Once we pulled the swingarm out, we then punched out those caps behind the bearings, and we were able to get all the way through. It was way easier than I thought it would be.

[mean350]

when i tried to put them bearings in my 350x i had to get them cut out and the new ones pressed in. i tried beating on them for about 2 hrs.