Bearings...when to replace???

[Big Rig]

Just wondering what are the tell tail signs of bad wheel bearings???

How difficult are the to replace??? Any pearls???

[Larry]

Squealing and crunching noises are sure fire signs! I've only experienced a left rear bearing failure about 500 miles from home on the way home from holidays. Squealed bad for a bit before the innards of the bearing piled up, thats when the crunching happened. Limped on for a couple hundred till I could jack it up and check it out at a friends place. Not hard to replace with the right tools.  WD and a lighter load got me home. Most of whats come up on the board is multiple left rear failures and a couple timeing belt tensioner bearing failures.

[KY,Dave (AKA Misunderstood)]

^^^^ as stated above, I knew when it was time for the rear wheel bearings and not a big deal if you have a bearing removal tool. http://pitposse.com/whbereset.html

[98valk]

are the wheel bearings of this type?
http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=50430

I have done this on a few subarus, never had a problem after doing it.

[Michvalk]

I just changed my rear bearings tonight. The bike felt a little squirrley in the rear and at first I thought low tire pressure. Felt some vibration in the pegs and noise but not much.
Took off the next morning and thats when I heard a squeeking from the back. After dissassembly I was surprised just how bad the bearing was. Not too bad to change,but wish I had the proper bearing puller. Next time I will!

[98valk]

at how many miles do the bearings usally go bad?
Thanks

[MP]

There is no set mileage.

I think one should start changing them out when removed now, as a precaution.

Seals get old and hard.  Grease also hardens over time.  My 97 will be 13 years old soon.  I plan on replacing all bearings as I remove any wheel for anything.  Also the U joint.

Time is as bad a problem as mileage.

MP

[Larry]

at how many miles do the bearings usally go bad?
Thanks

Mine went bad at about 80k. Did the maintenance thing and noticed some scaring on the spacer from the seal/dirt on the left rear. Cleaned and regreased etc and we'll see how it looks next year.

[Relax]

 I believe load and weight is an issue here too,,
I do two up mostly and often lots of luggage,,,,and my left rear bearing went at about 40 000 miles;)
It started as a swiiisjjjj,,swiisssjjjj sound that grew stronger and at least i heard metal against metal sounds,,
I rode about 800 miles from sviisjjj, sviisjjj until it as totally blown ...i was on a long ride.

Now i plan to replace bearings every 25-30 000 miles and bring a set as spares on long rides.
Any workshop anywhere can reaplace the bearing( and i can help them if needed) when i am on long rides, but they probably dont have the bearings I want , so I bring them

[LadyDraco]

Bearings are very strange both front and rears...
Always check them at each tire change...
They should feel nice n smooth
Check them together....Plus one at a time ...Just to be sure..
If you do one then the other sometimes you can miss the feel...

 

Some rears will last 100k ... And some will go out every 30k ??? - 60k  ??? .....
We have learned to change both sides at the same time....
Even if only one side was bad.... Also if your spacer is showing signs of pinging
it's a good idea to replace it once in the life of the Valk....
  We fixed a problem rear bearing woe this way...


Front bearings ...They seem to last way longer....
I have a 144+k on front bearings...And are still nice n smooth...
Go figure... My bike puts a lot friction on a front wheel..

The "AllBalls" gives you all that you need ,seals and bearing set..
It's a full kit....


Tracy

[Larry]

Bearings are very strange both front and rears...
Always check them at each tire change...
They should feel nice n smooth
Check them together....Plus one at a time ...Just to be sure..
If you do one then the other sometimes you can miss the feel...

 

Some rears will last 100k ... And some will go out every 30k ??? - 60k  ??? .....
We have learned to change both sides at the same time....
Even if only one side was bad.... Also if your spacer is showing signs of pinging
it's a good idea to replace it once in the life of the Valk....
  We fixed a problem rear bearing woe this way...


Front bearings ...They seem to last way longer....
I have a 144+k on front bearings...And are still nice n smooth...
Go figure... My bike puts a lot friction on a front wheel..

The "AllBalls" gives you all that you need ,seals and bearing set..
It's a full kit....


Tracy

That is an execelent kit/price. Thanks.

[Bob E.]

There is no typical mileage life for bearings as far as I can tell.

My left rear bearing went bad at just 14,000 miles.  I replaced it and now it has another 25,000 miles on it and still going strong.  My front bearings...I replaced them after hitting a deer at around 21,000 miles.  I don't know if they were going bad from wear or if it was from the impact, but they felt a little "gritty" when I spun them on my finger.  So I replaced them both. I also had to replace the triple tree from the deer hit, so it got new steering stem bearings at that time as well. My bike is now just shy of 39,000 miles and still has the original right rear bearing and swingarm bearings.