Bicycle Mechanics - Removing bearings in Formula front RD-68 Hub

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tschmidty
01-20-12, 03:33 PM
I just got a wheel with this hub and the 'ceramic' bearings don't turn well at all. Thought I'd pop the end caps off and take a look but I cannot get those things out to save my life. I am guessing they press hard into the inside race of the bearing and the outer race is pressed hard into the shell but dang those things are in there. Is there some kind of trick or just brute force needed? Hate to trash the bearings but it is bad enough I will look at rebuilding it if I can't get those bearings to loosen up.

bikeman715
01-20-12, 03:40 PM
have you try hammering them out?
fietsbob
01-20-12, 03:47 PM
got a bearing puller ? the bike ones look like tweezers,
with halved pieces of steel, like a knob.

typically,they spring out and engage the edge inside of the inner race,
and you arbor press push on the other side with a long machinist's drift punch.

over a hole to let the bearing fall into.

ceramic bearing, might not like sharp hammer blows,
and chip like the edge of a teacup,
so the steady increasing of pressure from a proper press
is what i'd suggest..

tschmidty
01-20-12, 03:49 PM
have you try hammering them out?

Definitely, whacked it pretty good with a rubber mallet and then switched to a regular hammer and beat it pretty darn good.
tschmidty
01-20-12, 03:53 PM
I actually have a bearing puller but I cannot get the end caps out of the bearings to use it!
tschmidty
01-21-12, 07:09 AM
No suggestions? Is it just a case of needing to apply more force?
fietsbob
01-21-12, 10:17 AM
time to pay someone, like a proper shop, with more tools..

Or, as you, say rebuild the wheel with a better hub.
tschmidty
01-21-12, 03:46 PM
It turns out the end caps are threaded into an axle that sits in between the bearings it was just so tight it was that hard to turn the end caps out. Both sides were threaded in, one side was so tight on the baring that pushing the end cap/axle out actually pulled the bearing out of the shell. After getting the bearing off the end cap and pressing it back in (with the 'axle' just floating between the bearings and threading the caps back on with a reasonable bit of preload the bearings spin very nicely at this point.

Thanks for all the replies and help.