crank case bearings

[barryadam]

Any advice on pressing in new bearings?

I'm in the process of replacing the cases on the '01 (drain plug repair) with some nice new ones.

On disassembly of the old cases, I see the crank seals have to be installed from the inside, before the bearings are installed.  In addition, the main bearings are seated in a cast iron insert in the case.

I've only done this procedure once before, and it was a small motor with no cast iron.  The seals went in from the outside, so I could heat the cases/freeze the bearings, and assemble, THEN put in the seal.  Obviously, I can't follow that procedure here.

Also, the clutch actuator bearings look like a bit of a challenge to install correctly.

Anyone done these specific bearings/seals sucessfully on this application (KX500)?  Got any advice or special tools?

Barry

[Brett]

I had the same issue and was even going to grind out the seal retaining lip so i could install them after bearing installation but decided not to.  I installed the seals and then wacked the crankcase in the oven and heated to 80 deg C. The bearings i put in the freezer as usual.  They then just dropped in easily which i was surprised as i would normally go to a higher temp and they also had the cast iron inserts which i thought wouldn't expand enough, but there you go.  Remember to grease seals before installing crankshaft.

[barryadam]

Brett,

Thanks.  That's exactly what I'm going to do.

Did you use the same procedure to get the crank into the bearings in the cases?

After further research on cryogenic temperatures, it looks like it could create more problems with creation of undesirable stresses and phases in the metallurgy of the parts.  And I really didn't want to get into a bunch of subsequent heat treat cycles.

By the way, how did you extract the crank from the RHS case?  I may have to rig up a press fixture.  In the past, I've seen cases with threaded holes set so you could use a tool like the LHS (using the stator plate holes).

And how the heck do you get the clutch shaft bearings out?

Barry