Removing bearings from freehub – near miss damage

Rear wheel bearings need replacing again – got them out no problem. This time I’m going to replace the freehub bearings too, and a new axle since its pretty badly fretted.

I thought I had figured out a safe way to remove the freehub bearings. Its a Bontrager Line30, RapidDrive microspline. I did my research and inspection. From outboard its got Closed end > 1 bearing> spacer > 2 bearings > Open end. Theres virtually no way of bashing the 2 brgs out via the bore as there’s nothing to hit. Everything’s flush.

So. Heated in an oven to get things expanded a bit, used a threaded bar and perfect sized drifts and just pressed the whole stack out from the single bearing end. Some horrible noises later, I’ve got 2 bearings out, 1 destroyed and oh wait whats this? A circlip between the spacer and the single bearing. F^%$^%$^@k! And also whats more is the spacer is 2 concentric spacers. Somehow the circlip is ok, the spacers are ok and I might have got away with it. Need to check the hub bore for scratchy damage.

NOWHERE on the internet can I find an exploded diagram or cross section for this freehub so no clue there was a circlip in there. If I had known then I would have concluded I had no way of getting the bearings out. Even a blind pull extractor (I dont have one) needs some space behind the bearing which would have damaged the spacers.

So – for future ref – How do you change the bearings on a freehub with a circlip in the stack???

Expanding collet type extractor

Slide hammer

1 bearing out

Same for next one

Remove spacer

Remove circlip

Extract last bearing

My solution is to buy hubs from Hope.  Exploded diagrams readily available, service and repair videos too for many items. And designed to be repaired in the 1st place.

I’d never have thought to bother changing bearings on a freehub body, it’s not much more to replace the whole thing.

Really? It’s a common thing to do

Push spacer out of the way enough to be able to punch out the open end bearing(s), remove circlip, then drift out remaining bearing(s).

Because a freehub body is what, 50 quid? And most take three bearings that are probably 13 quid each for decent quality ones. So for an extra tenner you get the whole thing including the pawls new and don’t have to faff about fitting them.

^ not an unreasonable position, but very often spacers can be pushed over to one side allowing access to the rear of the bearing for a drift.

I am quickly coming to the same conclusion. Which sucks for repairability. And the rest of the body is in perfect condition.
Should have just stuck some grease in and left it well alone….

You need to get a blind bearing puller from bearingprotools to get the first one out, circling pliers to sort that clip, and puller for 2nd bearing. Had similar problem earlier this year, stripped the thread on the usual puller, and only worked it out removing the first bearing with the blind puller.
Circlips are sneaky barstools

I cant see how those are going to work for properly tight bearings – they’re just using friction, I can imagine it would just slide back out when hit. Do they work?

Can easily spend way more than a new freehub at this rate.

Blind pullers do work on tight bearings – they have a little lip that sits just behind the edge of bearing as well as the friction.

Your freehub sounds like a Hope pro4 microspline one where both bearings come out of the inside hole. First one comes out ok, but the 2nd has a weird circlip that has no holes to use to pull it out. Just a weird ‘tail’ on it that’s really hard to catch and manoeuvre the whole thing out.

You can’t always get a replacement freehub. I have an old Formula hub and a Fulcrum hub. Very easy to change the bearings on both.

I find the XD driver rubbish for bearing protection as the its open at one end.

Luckily my LBS are great at swapping them

Blind pullers do work on tight bearings – they have a little lip that sits just behind the edge of bearing as well as the friction.

But there isnt space for a little lip. The first bearing that has to come out is one of a stack of two. And the edge behind the second one is a spacer so a puller with a lip will surely damage the spacer. The bearingprotools one has no lip, designed for this kind of problem, but only using radial friction could be problematic.

FWIW, i did some digging last night and found an exploded diagram of the rapiddrive microspline freehub from line 30 hubs…

There wasn’t a circlip shown there either.

I reckon whoever makes the hubs for Bontrager has added that to stop the bearing floating around during use, and just not told Bontrager or Trek.

This was the expanding windout blind puller from bearing protocols that did work. If you email Jim MacPhail about your challenge he’ll work it out.

Zero issue getting enough friction pulling that first bearing

Wind-Out Blind Bearing Puller

[bikerevivesheffield]

As above just follow this

bikerevivesheffield

Full Member

Expanding collet type extractor

Slide hammer

1 bearing out

Same for next one

Remove spacer

Remove circlip

Extract last bearing

Expanding collet type extractor

Slide hammer

1 bearing out

Same for next one

Remove spacer

Remove circlip

Extract last bearing