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Wheel Bearing race (cup) install

Rick_A

Rick_A

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I had to buy a new Grove main wheel but I forgot to ask them to install the Bearing cup in the wheel. I’ve got the bearing cup on order and should get it soon. I’ve ordered a Vevor Bearing Press kit from Home Depot which I will use to install the bearing.

I have a pretty good idea about how to install the bearing but I have a couple of questions:
1. Is the Bearing pressed in Dry? If not, what is the correct lubricant?
2. Is there anything in particular that I need to do to protect inner wheel half (where to 2 wheel halves mate) ? I was just going to put one layer of a towel on the workbench.

I’ve seen suggestions to heat the wheel and freeze the bearings. I was thinking I would just put the bearing in the freezer overnight and heat the wheel a little with a heat gun.

Any other suggestions?
 
An old race can usually be pushed out easily with the press. The press is the preferred method over using a BFH. The race can be pushed into the wheel using the press as well, no lubricant needed, and chilling the inner race is a very good idea. Move quickly and have all the proper tools ready, as that wheel will transfer heat to the race very quickly. Like flying a taildragger, KEEP IT STRAIGHT. If you try to push it in crooked, things will go south quickly. The tools Walt suggested are certainly a good thing to use and the right tool for the job, but people have sometimes used sockets and similar items with success. It has to be the right diameter, and be sure to press on the race only, not the assembled bearing. You risk damaging the bearing by pushing on the roller element. I remember seeing a good video years ago about this, but I can't remember if it was Vic Syracuse, Paul Dye's Kitplanes series, or an EAA Hints for Homebuilders. Maybe you can find it. Or this may help:

 
Walt said:
Bolt the wheel together.
Big hammer and a set of these:
And stop calling the race a bearing!

https://www.harborfreight.com/beari..._lSJcIEW25m5WQBEYLKDFWUhNuB7qcxsaAvAnEALw_wcB
Click to expand...
The tool is very similar to the one I ordered from HD but about $10 less. As far as terminology, I screwed up my order from Grove because the person that took my order called it bearing. If she had called it a race I probably would have ordered the wheel with the race installed.

Thanks for the tip on bolting the wheel halves together.
 
We tried freezing the race, that didn't do much good. What worked is to bake the wheel half at 250 in the oven for 20 minutes. The race will drop in.
It wasn't hot enough to damage the wheel paint. Your wife will wonder what you are cooking.
 
A 1/2 inch brass drift punch will remove and install the bearing race.
Tap it out evenly.... and install the same.

The brass drift has many uses. The 10pc race driver has only one purpose...
Unless you are in the business of installing bearing races.
 
D-Dubya said:
An old race can usually be pushed out easily with the press. The press is the preferred method over using a BFH. The race can be pushed into the wheel using the press as well, no lubricant needed, and chilling the inner race is a very good idea. Move quickly and have all the proper tools ready, as that wheel will transfer heat to the race very quickly. Like flying a taildragger, KEEP IT STRAIGHT. If you try to push it in crooked, things will go south quickly. The tools Walt suggested are certainly a good thing to use and the right tool for the job, but people have sometimes used sockets and similar items with success. It has to be the right diameter, and be sure to press on the race only, not the assembled bearing. You risk damaging the bearing by pushing on the roller element. I remember seeing a good video years ago about this, but I can't remember if it was Vic Syracuse, Paul Dye's Kitplanes series, or an EAA Hints for Homebuilders. Maybe you can find it. Or this may help:

Click to expand...
I don’t agree.. I feel the press has a bigger chance of cocking the race and cracking the wheel.. I’ve had excellent luck using an old race, sand it down so it doesn’t have any pressure fit, and using it as an installation tool, along with a hammer to gently tap (and steer) the new race in..
 
Way back in the day we had to pull the races off rotors to have then turned. As a young kid, it was done with hammers and screwdrivers and makeshift steel punches or various things laying around the garage.

It is not really that hard and would avoid a press if not used to using one. Definitely not necessary. Today, i have the seal tool listed above and those a great for a task likw this. In the end, it is a-bit of art to see how it is going in and concentrating blows on the high side until it gets started.
 
Grove provides instructions in document 40-208ica.pdf - "INSTRUCTIONS FOR CONTINUED AIRWORTHINESS for GROVE MODEL 40-108 & 40-208 MAIN WHEELS". Try a different search if the wheel is a different part number.

I have always heated an alloy part before dropping in a chilled bearing but Grove says "NOTE: Heating the wheel and/or cooling the bearing race is of minimal benefit in the installation process."
 
lr172 said:
Way back in the day we had to pull the races off rotors to have then turned. As a young kid, it was done with hammers and screwdrivers and makeshift steel punches or various things laying around the garage.

It is not really that hard and would avoid a press if not used to using one. Definitely not necessary. Today, i have the seal tool listed above and those a great for a task likw this. In the end, it is a-bit of art to see how it is going in and concentrating blows on the high side until it gets started.
Click to expand...
I agree with Gasman and lr72. I used a hard wood dowel and a hammer to remove and install the races on one of my Cleveland wheels. I did the job with the wheel halves directly on my plywood topped workbench. Took about 10 minutes per wheel half for removal and installation.
 
This thread takes me back, changing out wheel bearings were probably the first mechanical task my dad ever had me do while ‘helping’ him out in the shop.
He taught me the same process I use today, a long wide punch & light hammer for race (cup) removal. Appropriate sized socket & heavier hammer to install the race again. Light but firm taps with the hammer.
 
AZ Cactus said:
Grove provides instructions in document 40-208ica.pdf - "INSTRUCTIONS FOR CONTINUED AIRWORTHINESS for GROVE MODEL 40-108 & 40-208 MAIN WHEELS". Try a different search if the wheel is a different part number.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reference to the Grove manual. I couldn’t find it on the Grove website but I find it by googling the title.

BTW. Grove is now owned by Game Aero. If you look at Game Aero website, Grove stuff is hidden under the Metalworks tab. It is not an easy website to navigate.
 
Okay, maybe I'm letting my industrial maintenance experience skew my earlier statement. The factory bearing reps would tell us to never, ever use a hammer to install a bearing, unless you were using it on a hammer wrench to take up the clearance in a bearing. But that example is of a totally different kind of bearing with tapered shafts and different installation methods. Yes, a hammer can be used to remove or install races on our RV wheel bearings, and I've done it, too. There's just a higher likelihood of damaging the surface or getting the race wedged in the wheel. If you have a press, it can make it easier. If you don't have one, you don't have to go out and buy one. Brass tools will help to mitigate the risk of damage.
 
Yes, a press or large vice would be ideal, but if done carefully, that appropriately sized socket & hammer gets that simple job done quickly.
Note too, these bearings are readily available from any industrial bearing supply house. You don’t have to go to Grove/Cleveland/Matco/ACS etc. to get ‘aviation’ inflated priced parts.
 
The race/bearing for my Grove is wheel is a Timken LM 67010. ACS has them but I found some at NAPA also for a better price. I already ordered the Bearing install tool. It was cheap enough and I’m a bit of a tool junkie.🙂
 
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