Rear wheel bearings

[sylblk]

rear wheel bearings

thanks for the info. i'd like to post my amazement of this forum, the talent and knoledge found here is truly unmatched!

 

[truck 85]

Are the bearings being warranted or are they calling it a ware part and if it hurts the hub is that under warranty?

 

[SpyderGirl]

Excuse my ignorance, but how can you tell if a bearing is bad or is going bad other than taking it apart and looking at it? Are there tell-tale signs?

I have 23K on my main rear wheel bearings (the inner ones I think). The other two were replaced at 15K only because they had the rear wheel apart anyway and I figured "why not?" I am thinking about having the others replaced when it goes in to have the warranty work done on the rear fender brackets.

Thoughts????

 

[sabunim5]

Excuse my ignorance, but how can you tell if a bearing is bad or is going bad other than taking it apart and looking at it? Are there tell-tale signs?

I have 23K on my main rear wheel bearings (the inner ones I think). The other two were replaced at 15K only because they had the rear wheel apart anyway and I figured "why not?" I am thinking about having the others replaced when it goes in to have the warranty work done on the rear fender brackets.
Thoughts????

You must remove the wheel. There are basically two ways to tell if the bearing is developing problems ie. less than perfectly smooth surfaces. 1) is by feel - You insert your finger into the bearing and turn it to try and feel any points of friction in the rotation. 2) is by sound - Mechanics have stethoscopes with a metal probe on the end. You touch the metal probe to the bearing as you turn it. Any rough surfaces on the bearing surface will make a noise when the bearing is being turned. Basically, a bearing is a housing for multiple steel balls. If any of those steel balls have less than a perfectly smooth surface, the bearing is on it's way to failure. I believe there is a bearing on each side of the rear wheel and a bearing for the rear sprocket. I think, but am not sure without consulting the shop manual, that it is the sprocket bearing that BRP has on the maintenance list to replace periodically. I found one of my rear wheel bearings needed replacement at my 12k miles service. My dealer did not agree, feeling the roughness that I felt and heard was too minor to warrant replacement. I had already replaced the bearing myself, but was hoping for a replacement under warranty.

 

[SpyderGirl]

You must remove the wheel. There are basically two ways to tell if the bearing is developing problems ie. less than perfectly smooth surfaces. 1) is by feel - You insert your finger into the bearing and turn it to try and feel any points of friction in the rotation. 2) is by sound - Mechanics have stethoscopes with a metal probe on the end. You touch the metal probe to the bearing as you turn it. Any rough surfaces on the bearing surface will make a noise when the bearing is being turned. Basically, a bearing is a housing for multiple steel balls. If any of those steel balls have less than a perfectly smooth surface, the bearing is on it's way to failure. I believe there is a bearing on each side of the rear wheel and a bearing for the rear sprocket. I think, but am not sure without consulting the shop manual, that it is the sprocket bearing that BRP has on the maintenance list to replace periodically. I found one of my rear wheel bearings needed replacement at my 12k miles service. My dealer did not agree, feeling the roughness that I felt and heard was too minor to warrant replacement. I had already replaced the bearing myself, but was hoping for a replacement under warranty.

That's what I was afraid of. I'll just go ahead and get it done when I take it in for the warranty work on the rear fender support. Chances are they are going to have to take the wheel off anyway and I can save on the extra labor that way. I'd rather be safe than sorry. And the bearings cost so little, it's worth the peace of mind.

I would say then that it's probably a good idea to just go ahead and have those bearings replaced every time you have to change the tires. Why pay for the labor, or do the work, twice.

Thanks for the info. :thumbup:

 

[Firefly]

I'm planning on changing the bearings with every other rear tire change regardless of if they seem 'bad'.

 

[sylblk]

i discovered my bad bearings by checking the rear wheel free play. raise rear of spyder and rock rear wheel while looking at the hub at the swing axle. there should be no visible play. you can also run the spyder in first gear off the ground and listen to the axle bolt with mechanic stethoscope. there should be no grinding noise. i'm now checking every 3k miles...

 

[SpyderGirl]

i discovered my bad bearings by checking the rear wheel free play. raise rear of spyder and rock rear wheel while looking at the hub at the swing axle. there should be no visible play. you can also run the spyder in first gear off the ground and listen to the axle bolt with mechanic stethoscope. there should be no grinding noise. i'm now checking every 3k miles...

Good information. Thanks.