Topic: What's the best way to clean stock wheel bearings while still in the hub?

[Tugboat]

These bearings feel fine with no "notches" so I'd like to just clean them and re-pack them with grease. What's the best way to clean them without removing them from the wheel?

[flybox1]

If i wasnt going to replace them, id try kerosene.  might be tough tho.
find a way to soak them so the grease melts away.  spray dry and then repack.

[Whaleman]

Pressure washer, brush and kerosene, brush and degresser followed by compressed air and allowed to dry before packing. Kinda hard to pack correctly from only one side. Keep turning and packing. Still way better than way old grease. Now if the bearings have been replaced with a seal on both sides the pressure washer is a no go. Also if your bearings have the metal seal on the outside it is way harder to remove and replace compared to the plastic ones. Dan

[NobleHops]

There's a pretty big cavity behind those bearings, and any goo you force in there with solvents or air is likely to end up in there. I was previously cautioned about spinning a dry bearing with compressed air, was told it can damage it. If you do this, it will spin at pretty high speed.

You don't pack wheel bearings, half full only. If they are full the grease can churn and break down. If you get them pretty well cleaned out then use a clean popsicle stick to fill the half you can access, turn the bearing some to distribute the grease and call it good. Pack steering head bearings for sure, but not wheels.

I might try flushing them from below over a pan so the spooge runs back down and not into the wheel, if you're set on trying this. But if it were me I'd just replace them with new.

[Bodi]

This is just about impossible. You have no access to the rear of the bearing which probably has no seal. You can try removing the seal from the outside race... for me that rarely leaves an undamaged seal that can be reinstalled.
Removing the bearings is the only good way to get at them to clean and re-lube. Once you go that far it makes more sense to just install new bearings.

[Markcb750]

+1 on Bodi

Save the time & buy new bearings.  Safer. 

All Balls kits are fully sealed bearings as opposed to the Stock bearing which had only a shield on one side. Much better, will last virtually for ever if installed correctly.

Mark

[BobbyR]

The time and effort to try and repack your bearing while in the hub is probably as time intensive as replacing them. You have to take off everything you would to replace the bearings.

The bearings are not anything special and can probably be gotten from a bearing distributor and lower cost than a Motorcycle parts supplier. A few times you people have posted the part # of the bearings and they are pretty cheap.

I never scrimp on safety items like bearings where you can get a lockup and that may not end well.  I am also lazy and want to do the job only once. 

 

[seanbarney41]

Tugboat, I am guessing you are asking this in regards to your $500 challenge bike, and that you do not want to buy bearings because it will use some of your budget that you will need for more important things?...if that is the case, and your wheel bearings are still relatively sound (no excessive play and quiet) than you are probably best just leaving them alone.  I have never found a bad wheel bearing on a Honda.  The only one I have seen that was bad to the point of being unsafe was on a Yamaha XJ550 Seca with over 100,000 miles on the clock.  Just be careful.  Once a bearing starts to go really bad, it may deteriorate to unsafe levels very quickly.

[Tugboat]

Thanks for the replies fellas. We'll see where we're at budget-wise and will replace them if we have the $$

[Dunk]

Yep, replace. If you leave any water/moisture/solvent in that large hub cavity it'll ruin the bearings when they either rust or the grease washes out. Bearings are cheap and not a great area to skimp. If you've done the labor to get to them it's worth a little extra to be good for another 30 years or whatever.

[Bodi]

If you really want to avoid new bearings... just pop out the floating bearing without damaging it (this is the only challenging part), then you can remove the spacer and get at the retained bearing from the inside and wash/regrease it. You can get a collet type bearing puller but it will cost more than new bearings. Tapping it out very carefully with a long drift on the inner race works, the collar will shift enough to get at the race. If you damage that bearing, you can keep the original retained one and just buy one replacement...?