Is it possible to remove wheel bearings ,give them a clean up ,regrease and then reinsert them?
I am more than happy to bash them out from the other side but how much use they would be afterwards I don't know.
Also , it would be useful to be able to pop the bearings out so you can measure before reordering.
Bearing part number is on the bearing seal.
If a bike bearing is knackered, its likely that its had water/mud/grit and its toast, re-greasing is going to prolong the life slightly, far easier to replace the bearings.
You aren't going to do them any favours knocking them out, if you really want to clean and regrease I'd do it in situ. Really though, what Sir HC says, just get new ones
If there is no wear/corrosion then why not service them I say (adding grease when new is ideal). Having hammered many out, I've not seen one brinneled by doing so.
But most folk do go by the "replace/risk of damage" mantra.
I pop the seals off every bearing on my bike and re-grease in-situ every 6 months. Pad springs are the best tool to get the seal off ime.
Foam degreaser, isopropyl alcohol, dab of finish line green and then cram full of grease
Removing the bearing allows you to give it a proper clean and so long as you whack it out by whacking the outer race you’ll be fine. I’ve only ever killed one and that’s because my screwdriver slipped and I ended up smashing the seal into the cage.
If you buy new bearings I’d buy good quality ones but still remove the seals and regrease, as most new bearings only come with a 25% grease fill.
Pad springs are the best tool to get the seal off ime
Or an old/blunt Stanley knife blade.
I use a dentist's pokey thing, very useful.
By and large, by the time you think "Ooh that bearing wants some attention" it's fubbered- it's not that cleaning and greasing can't be useful, it's mostly just timing, by the time it rumbles it's like using wet feet as an indicator you should go to the loo.
But you can still massage some extra life out of it by cleaning and greasing. And if you've just removed the bearing for some other reason- like say changing an axle- then it's no fuss, unless you smashed it out like a gorilla. And if by some miracle you've removed it to check it halfway through its life rather than at the end then, all hail you,king of mechanics.
**** bearings ride them till dead then replace.
Except headsets, pop the seals and pack them all the time.
I'd say from experience of many tools,machinery,motorcycle & cycle bearings, once subjected to hammering out its totally knackered end of ! Most likely you've dented the running surface & probably flatted areas of the balls,it's not going to last long after that the really cheap ones can go stiff ? even from normal use so buy Enduro or better replacements.
I've saved a few by prising the seal off flushing out & re-packing with grease,often bearings don't have enough grease from new or subject to water ingress like my sram jockey wheels need frequent services to keep rolling.
I use extra marine grease even on new ones before fitting.
I would never normally reuse a bearing thats been previously fitted and removed, but I needed one for my Hope freehub rather urgently (and was skint at the time), so found some ones that felt OK and fitted them. My logic was better to have a slightly worn one than a seized one!
It won't do them any harm, so if they feel gritty now take them out and regrease them, will probably prolong the life a bit but ultimately they will need replacing.
I'd do it in a pinch but results don't last long enough for me if it's already gone Grindy.
Periodic greasing works if you don't need to bash them out or pivot bearings.