Oh NO! How do I fix this????

So I bought the tapered roller bearing kit for my steering head from chacal. I got a little ahead of myself and pressed the wrong chases in the wrong spot (upper in lower, lower in upper). normally this wouldn't be too much of a problem cause i could just use a puller to get them out. unfortunately, there isn't enough meat on the chase extending over the lip inside the neck to grab onto. How can I get these out? I'm worried that I may have screwed myself here. I've got to be careful because the frame was just powder coated and I don't want to ruin it. Any ideas?

 

You are going to have to Drive them out. It's tricky. During manufacture Yamaha didn't put a relief notch to give you purchase on the Race for driving them out with a suitable drift.

The solution is to "Point-up" a drift to be able to catch the very limited surface of the edge which protrudes only a small fraction of a millimeter around the seat.

Grind the drift with a clean edge. If the drifts end os rounded-off you'll not get them out. The drift needs a squared-off, sharp, right angle on the business end.

You may have to make several trips to the grinder to keep the drift pointed-up, but once the Race moves you can get under it and drive it out.

 

agree with rick here. There's not much you can do if ya want to save and reuse those races. One suggestion though, if you can, use a brass drift if handy, less abuse on the race even though she is case hardened.......good luck

 

I don't (currently) own a drift. What size should I be looking to go pick up? Any brand you'd recommend? Also, once I get them out, would it be wise to file a couple small relief notches into the lip inside the neck incase they ever have to come out again?

 

getting it started is the battle, heres what i did on some old races that were getting replaced
abrasive cutting wheel on a dremmel tool (safety glasses) try to go in on the seam then another to widen it, like the width of the blade on the frame side
only go deep enough to get a lip for something catch on (1/16 is a lot)
do left and right side and just tap easy if you dent it, it'll get tighter
use some oil and go easy and the races should still be good
i hope you didn't have to beat them in

 

Since most Drifts are sold in a set ... you might consider buying yourself a set.
But, the largest Drift in a set is a 6-Inch Drift. It may be too short.

I use a "Line-up Tool" as a Drift for pulling-off the stunt of getting the Races out.
I grind an end on to the Lineup and have no problem reaching the edge of the Race.

If you want to grind a extraction relief in the seat when you get the Races out ... It's always a good idea to be prepared for the worst.

Lineup tool:
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00942902000P

 

don't tell anyone i said this but i just used a long screwdriver, think tap, tap not bang bang

 

Chacal just sent me this in a PM...

"Hmmmmm.....right now I don't know what to tell you. My first thought is that you need to heat up the steering neck tube area immediately outside of where the race is (using a heat gun), while at the same time packing a bunch of ice onto the race, and perhaps the differential created will allow the race to pop out somewhat easily.

You can attempt the same thing with a product called Freeze-Off penetrant and chilling fluid (made by CRC), I can get it at WalMart in the automotive section in my area. You would spray the bearing races with it, trying to chill them down enough to get them to contract just slightly enough to be able to gently pry/pop them out.

Along a similar vein, you could just use a can of "spary air" (like for computer keyboard "dusting") and spray it while holding the can upside down.....it's super-cooled, and don't get it on your skin or you will get a frostbite immediately!

One other thing....I noticed that you had your frame powder coated (nice!)....I sure hope your coater plugged up EVERY hole in the frame before applying the powdercoat, or otherwise the hole will have a coating of baked-on powder that is next to impossible to remove. Threaded holes will no longer accept their screws if the threads were exposed to the powdercoat. I learned all of this the hard way..........

Good luck, let me know what happens."

 

I've tried that but it didn't have the edge that i need.

When you use the dremel, are you cutting into the race at all?
I'm not sure how to angle the wheel to only take a little off of the lip that the race is against without either cutting into the race (wheel perpendicular to the race) or taking more than a 1/16th out of the lip (parallel to the race).

 

the one i did the race was below the seat in the frame, there was nothing at all to catch on
try to hold the dremmel at the same angle as the steering stem that should keep the blade square to the shoulder of the frame and bottom of the race
try to take as little of the race as possible, you'll know when you hit it, the sparks will change, it's easy to tell
the part of the race your hitting isn't critical, unless you get carried away, or slip
go slow
do what you think will work and try it, you can always take more

 

You should look at bricklayer's tools, 1/2 inch wide, long cold chisel, cheap as chips, grind to suit.

 

We use to run a bead around the race bearing surface with a wire feed. It would shrink the race just enough to pop it out with a slight tap. It worked on aluminum heavy truck hubs (wheel bearings). It may work here, too.

 

WELDING DOES WORK REALLY GOOD, BUT IF YOU WAN TO REUSE THE RACE, I WOULDN'T RECOMMEND IT. THERE HAS TO BE SOME KINDA LIP YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO CATCH, HOWEVER SMALL. ONCE YOU GOT A GOOD GRIP ON HER, DON'T MAKE LOVE TO IT, BEAT IT (JUST TO GET IT STARTED) THEN RELAX A BIT.

SRY FOR CAPS, KEY STUCK AGAIN

 

^^^ True enough, but races are cheap.

 

If you catch the edge of it with a couple of really firm hits ... It'll come out!

 

Just a quick update...

I used a cut off wheel on my dremel tool to grind a relief in my steering neck on two opposite sides of each race just below the race. I used a drift punch (9" long from sears) and with a few carefully lined up firm hits with a hammer, they came out quite easilly. Once out, i ground the relief a bit more just in case they ever have to come out again. Re-assembly was a snap after that.

Thanks to everyone for your help.