Steering head bearing removal made easy!

[mr blackstock]

G'day,

I am not sure if this tip has been posted before, I did a quick search with no results...
For removing the lower bearing cup from inside the steering head can often be very difficult without the exact correct tool.  As there is no part of the bearing cup that you can place a driver against, you are left with few options.

An engineer I sought help from with another matter suggested I weld a bead on the inside of the bearing, he reckoned it would then shrink and just drop out of the steering head.  I gave it a try with my arc welder, and although it did not "fall out" all I had to do was tap the welds with a driver and she popped right out, no bruises, no blood, and very little swearing!
Try not to poke too much fun at the welding, could'nt get the temp right.

[ribbert]

G'day,

Try not to poke too much fun at the welding, could'nt get the temp right.

Good tip Garth.

After 20 years of arc welding, I poke fun at no one. 15 years ago I got a 200 amp gas mig and never looked back.

I can't recall a single arc welding job that I could take any pride in. Mig on the other hand lets idiots weld like professionals. That's me!

Mind, the mig did coincide with a self darkening helmet. With the old helmet I found that by the time I struck an arc I had wandered inches away from the job. Not wanting to lose the arc, I would trace a line back to the job, or you could look over the shield to see where the rod was, just as the arc struck, blinding you for the next ten minutes.

I 'dip me lid' to anyone who is a neat arc welder. If that had been me I would have welded the race to the frame permanently (if not the handlebars)

Good job Garth, I have long employed heat for getting things apart without force. Forget propane torches though, they don't get hot enough.

Noel

[Steve_in_Florida]

Mr. B,
I've heard of this method before, and may be using it soon myself.

Steve

[Bones]

That welding looks twice as good as what I'm capable of Gareth, at least it's sticking to the metal. I tried to make a Puller once to get the flywheel off my Suzuki by welding a nut to a flat plate of steel.

One rod later I had the biggest pile of birdshit you've ever seen, but thought it'd be super strong. bolted it together, started tightening the bolt and everything just pulled apart like it was held together with bubblegum.

My old man was/is still a good welder but that's one gene he didn't pass on to me. 

[Urban_Legend]

I wish I had a welder when trying to remove my head steam bearing. Would have been better the flogging the crappyRolls out of the housing, and creating a"special tool from a large screwdriver.

[movenon]

Congratulations !  You have just completed one of the harder tasks in the FJ maintenance world !    Everything else on an FJ is easy after you have done a lower head bearing change.   
George

[fj1289]

another welding solution I've seen is welding a piece of stock across the race and using that to drive out the race.  May require a bit less welding in a difficult position

[mr blackstock]

G'day,

Thats a good tip, probably easier than running a bead around the inside.  Just have to adjust the temp for the harder steel i guess.

cheers, Gareth

[yamaha fj rider]

Gareth, it got the job gone. Looks are second to that. Two tips on arc welding. Use smaller rod. Most use too large diameter and 6013 is your friend to start with. Yes there is stronger but a good weld with proper penetration will hold. Hope this helps.

Kurt 

[motogp52]

That's a good tip for those with a welder. I took my steering head stem to my local Yamaha dealer and for $30.00 bucks they removed the old lower bearing and mounted the new one. It took about 10 minutes for them to do. It saved me a lot of hassle.