Sealed roller bearing extraction

[jon hill 3Participant @jonhill3]

My aeg lavamat washing machine bearings are worn out. Unfortunately for me there are 2x sealed bearings one behind the other. The usual method of  extraction is to dismantle the front panel and take the outer drum apart, (2 halves) once the drum is disconnected from all wires and hoses.

Now the good news is the bearings are pressed in to the outer drum and can be accessed from the rear.

Is there a better way, could the bearings be extracted for example by drilling a couple of holes in the race and using a custom puller or slide hammer?

[howardbParticipant @howardb]

If the bearings can be accessed from the rear and the housing is closed ie grease tight, you could try filling the inner race shaft diameter hole through both bearings with grease and using a mandrel that has good fit, hit the end of the mandrel with a hammer  to hydraulic the bearings out.

Similar to this description.

[alecsParticipant @alecs]

Internal bearing puller.

[howardb]

On howardb Said:

If the bearings can be accessed from the rear and the housing is closed ie grease tight, you could try filling the inner race shaft diameter hole through both bearings with grease and using a mandrel that has good fit, hit the end of the mandrel with a hammer  to hydraulic the bearings out.

Similar to this description.

Doughy bread is likely a better hydraulic medium than grease.  This method is best for solid bearings like fitted to engine crankshafts, but could well work.

Another method I’ve used (not for the faint heated or with shaky hands – and not in this instance) is to weld to the outer race of roller bearings which should cause shrinkage when it cools.  This is the usual/common way to remove dry cylinder liners from engines.

Trying to drill these high quality bearings is not really an option.  The expanding internal extractor and a slide hammer is most likely the easiest if one is available or can be made.

H*lls b*lls, that machine must be old!  Ours were nowhere near worn out after over 23 years of use, at which point other parts were about to give up.  I thought it had just one large bearing, but never needed to investigate.

The heater element was unavailable (back about ten years ago) and I had to ‘slightly modify’ the drum outer for fitting an alternative.

[Alan MellorParticipant @alanmellor68824]

Usually the set up is different sized bearings, knock one out in opposite directions.

Alan

[Clive FosterParticipant @clivefoster55965]

Stud type expanding anchor bolts for use in concrete (rawlstuds or equivalent) work pretty well as the basis for field expedient pullers working on teh internal bore.

Seem to work better with a cylindrical receptacle with one end capped to collect the bearing and transmit the force to the metal surrounding the bend than with a slide hammer. I guess it’s really difficult to pull a slide hammer dead straight for each blow resulting in a wobble that causes the expander to slide out of the inner race if things are tight. Having the receptacle makes for a self contained forcing set up that can be left in place with tension applied whilst a bit of heat is added to help stubborn ones release.

If bearing inner isn’t a decent match for a standard rawlstud an alloy spacer, slotted so it can expand, works well to take up the difference. I could be convinced that the alloy gets a better hold on the bearing than the steel anchor bolt. Have used spacers up to around 1/2″ bigger than the anchor bolt with success.  Once you get past1 1/2″ – 30 mm bore or so its not too hard to engineer your own custom version with a small ridge on the back so the extractor is unlikely to escape.

Clive

[FulmenParticipant @fulmen]

If the bearing is thrash you can weld a shaft to it and use a slide hammer..

[blowlampParticipant @blowlamp]

I had a similar problem when I needed to remove an enclosed needle-roller outer race from my Bosch belt sander. The bearing was about 12mm in diameter and pushed all the way home into the body of the sander.

I filled the bearing with water and put a suitably sized bolt into the water within the bearing and put the lot in the freezer over night. Come morning and I was able to use the bolt to pull out the bearing without damage.

 

Martin.

[alecsParticipant @alecs]

Google Blind Hole Bearing Puller Kit. Cheap as chips from you know where, good enough for home use. Or look at theirs and turn up your own on the lathe. A couple of hacksaw cuts to allow expansion and Robert’s your mother’s brother.

[jon hill 3Participant @jonhill3]

Unfortunatly the rotor is not removable form the centre of the bearing, only the locking nut.  Unless of course there is sufficient space to push the rotor in.  The drum housing or water jacket dissembles into 2 parts, so normally once this is done the bearing is knocked out from the inside.

I do like Fulmans idea of welding some sort of attachment to the bearing and using a slide hammer.

However I dont have a welder of any description, any other ideas….

[jon hill 3]

On jon hill 3 Said:

Unfortunatly the rotor is not removable form the centre of the bearing, only the locking nut.  Unless of course there is sufficient space to push the rotor in.  The drum housing or water jacket dissembles into 2 parts, so normally once this is done the bearing is knocked out from the inside.

I do like Fulmans idea of welding some sort of attachment to the bearing and using a slide hammer.

However I dont have a welder of any description, any other ideas….

I can’t visualise it without pics. But it may well be there is a reason the drum housing can be split in twain. Sounds like you’ll struggle to get the bearing out otherwise.

 

[mark costello 1Participant @markcostello1]

I cobbled a pair of these up to pull bearings out. They are made from Allen head bolts. The head of the bolt is now oval shaped and is inserted in the bearing and then slightly twisted. It could be made with just a grinding wheel and some careful work.I realize it might not help You out if You do not have any tools, but You might have a good friend that would help.

[jon hill 3Participant @jonhill3]

Hi Alecs, I will upload some pics from a repair manual. I am struggling to get the pulley retaining bolt off as the head is very shallow and my 17mm 6 sided socket is a loose fit.  I was thinking of making a brace for the socket and braker bar to attache to the sided of the washing machine.

Mark I like your idea, would the metal dust cover on the sealed bearing be difficult to prize off?

[alecsParticipant @alecs]

You may need to grind or turrn the end off your 17mm socket to get rid of the lead-in chamfer so it grips a shallow bolt head.

[Alan MellorParticipant @alanmellor68824]

If it is a welded drum you will not be able to replace the shaft seal (which is fitted from inside the drum) that probably caused the bearing problem.

The complete drum is available as a unit.

Alan

[jon hill 3Participant @jonhill3]

Here is a few pics: the outer drum, a close up with pulley removed showing the bearing and housing, and the pesky 17mm low profile bolt.  The latter seems intended to put off maintenance/repairs.  I was lucky to find a 6 point socket and breaker bar without universal joint. I wedged a piece of bar in one of the recesses to brace the pulley, luckily for me no locktite was present considering the plastic pulley if I need to heat the bolt.

 

Now I only have to figure out the extraction method.  Those with an observant eye will notice no bearing code, crafty B*@@ers have hidden it on the inside!

[Robert ButlerParticipant @robertbutler92161]

Not sure of the treminology but will the pulley (referred to as such as there appears to be a drive belt wrapped round it) not pull off the shaft giving access to the bearing either from the rear or down the centre of the bearing.

Robert Butler

 

[Grizzly bearParticipant @grizzlybear]

Hi,

How to Replace Washing Machine Bearings – YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaFF2-Rl8Nc

Good luck………….

[Author]

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