Bearing Change

[Eldon]

Finally getting back to finishing my bearing job.Approaching the end I should say things went fairly straight forward especially the re-assembly.Just stringing the chains on and doing final alignment then I will lock the collars.Question: How much force should one use in rotating the collars with a punch? The new bearings turn very freely and I have the collars rotated on hand tight.I am assuming just good and snug as they won't be able to back off once the set screw is tightened.Any advice would be appreciated.Sure would hate to screw up in the last paragraph of the story.LOL

[Mike]

You need to get them tighter than that. After you get them as tight as you can by hand, take a punch and tap it hard several times. You want it to really lock into place. Don't be afraid to lay into it.

[Eldon]

Thanks Mike!

[Eldon]

Afterthought: The inner bearing race is on a never-seized axle so the inner race will turn on the axle relatively easily but I guess a bop with the ball pein on a punch will still tighten it.Let me tell you the old collars came off some suffering hard.Had to use a punch in an air chisel to get them to rotate.

[Robinhood02]

so Eldon ;how did the chain alignment go ?? if you are locking the collars then the chain alignment must have gone ok. just asking because i've found that chain alignment is critical for long chain life.

[Eldon]

Just aligning the chains today was asking ahead of tommorrow for the locking procedure ,Charlie.
I marked down every conceivable measurement before dismantling including jackshaft adjustment.So far the chains appear to be lining up with only minor tweaking and they are all running smoothly.There is no question though I am now going through "the eye of the storm" LOL.

[Robinhood02]

thats interesting, i allways loc the collars dead last, i even start it up and run it in forward while the machine is up on blocks to allow the brgs to get self centered and seated before i loc the collars, i don't know if it is nessasary but it sure feels better knowing there is no unnessasary end stress or wobble stresses on the brgs before locking them in place,

[Eldon]

That is precisely how I did it Charlie.

[Eldon]

Ok here is where I am. My Max is ready for tracks after bearing install.I would prefer to run just wheels for a while but we have over 4 feet of snow so wheels would barely get me out of my driveway.Everything looks good.My sequence of install I see varies slightly from Mike's on the homepage but I think is similar to Robinhood's. Install bearings and flanges hand tight,install axle,set screws for sprockets and brake discs,position axle close to position as possible,torque bearing flanges,install chains,align chains,run in forward a minute or two,recheck alignment,lock bearing collars starting on outermost working in to inner bearing(I have three bearings per).Does anyone see any problem with my methods or sequences? The trouble with tracks is they really test a system.Until I install tracks I can still loosen bearing flanges or locking collars and retighten or re-torque if my sequence might cause trouble.Everything seems to be free and smooth. LOL Charlie you got me stewing on "end stresses and wobbles".

[Robinhood02]

LOL, well there Eldon, the way i look at it is the brgs are gonna be under enough stress with tracks and the bush bashing ,may as well take the time to make reasonable efforts to have unstressed brgs at the git-go....and your assembly order seems fine. PS what is the yr of your Max II ?? i didn't know they had set screws for the chain sprockets , mine has snap rings or bolt pins , yours must be somewhere in between eh ??

[Eldon]

LOL Thanks for the info Charlie.Mine is a 2003 Max II.I found my bearing job to be magnified at every turn by the bearing cages.One-third more work and expense and impossible to pull the axles without pulling bearing cage and all.They installed easily enough when the two outer bearings were loose in the flanges but pushing into the inner bearing stiffened them up quite a bit.Then I could move the axles in and out fairly easily but again stiffened up once the bearing flanges were torqued.The bearing flange(inner) and chain install on the left rear (muffler side) was extremely difficult as I couldn't even see the flange nut forward under the engine. I'm feeling mechanic's guilt on this flange as I was lucky to even get a socket on it once and when I did I tightened it completely before tightening the rear nut.It seems to be OK but all others I tightened each side a bit one by one.To get the socket on two extensions with a u-joint took appx. an hour.In truth I found this bearing job challenging to say the least.
LOL Charlie,I'll do my future assemblies and yours too if I can get you to drop by and do the disassembly and prep work.

[Robinhood02]

ya I allways pull the motor when I'm doing a brg job, helps get at all the brg flanges

[Eldon]

It was difficult but not impossible I think leaving the engine in was less work overall.I spent many years working in cramped spaces on warships,connecting sophisticated electrical equipment with a mirror sometimes LOL,similar to that flange on the Max. I really appreciate our communiquees on the Max, Charlie you and Mike and a lot of others here are sort of Max gurus to me LOL.