[favoritos]

I have not replaced a bearing in these yet. It looks like I'm going to be doing one soon.
I pulled the clutches for inspection and found this hanging on the jackshaft.

The bearing still appears to be intact.

It's just too much of a risk to run it though.
Has anyone swapped out this bearing? Wondering if there are some quick tips.

The retaining ring doesn't appear to be a normal c clip from what is visible. The part diagram doesn't specify the type.

The previous style of TCL brackets use the same retaining ring based on the part number. The retaining ring shouldn't be too tough to remove, but I haven't had to pop one. These are on the back side now and harder to reach. Any tips?
I'm also not certain if the bearing is a press fit into the TCL. I don't want to use high heat around the carbon fiber. It is the same bearing and jackshaft used on previous models. Those were tight and sometimes needed heat.

I initially thought I might be able to just swap the bearing without pulling the jackshaft. It isn't going to be simple if it's even possible. There is no way to get a gear puller in there until the TCL is removed. Has anyone tried a bearing swap without removing the jackshaft?

 

[FrozenTows]

If the bearing is still smooth, I'd grease it up & push that seal back on.

 

[hugh]

It is just an accordian clip, catch the leading edge with a pick and peel it right out.
Remove both clutches, place the sled on the right side, unbolt the TCL and you can work it on the bench just like the previous aluminum units.

 

[hugh]

It is just an accordian clip, catch the leading edge with a pick and peel it right out.
Remove both clutches, place the sled on the right side, unbolt the TCL and you can work it on the bench just like the previous aluminum units.

Just my opinion but if you replace the bearing I would still pop the seal and check the grease. I'm a fan of packing in extra Lucas #2 red.

 

[favoritos]

If the bearing is still smooth, I'd grease it up & push that seal back on.

That is a dang good plan. I tried to do a spin test when I found the problem. Have to admit that it isn't real easy to tell how smooth it spins with everything attached.
I think I caught it early. Everything was good before the last trip. I noticed the clutch faces getting weird marks and wonky rpms toward the end of the trip. It looks like little specs of grease were flung on the belt.

 

[favoritos]

It is just an accordian clip, catch the leading edge with a pick and peel it right out.
Remove both clutches, place the sled on the right side, unbolt the TCL and you can work it on the bench just like the previous aluminum units.

Good to know about the accordion style clip. It's tight in there and dang hard to see what I've got with it on the backside.
Just to be clear about working it on the bench. Am I correct to assume you mean removing the jackshaft too?
I have a bearing sitting around if the original is bad. I had hoped to do a swap without tearing the whole works down. Wasn't sure if that is an option with the bearing retainer clip moved to the backside of the TCL?
I'll be honest. Time is sorta critical and I didn't want to dig into the chaincase until I had time to really go through the case. I'd hate to open up the thing without the parts and time to do it right. Ironically, I have a tensioner assembly sitting in a delivery queue out there somewhere.

 

[hugh]

Now you have me thinking.
It is a riding partners sled and he carried the TCL over(with the seal loose like yours)and we changed the bearing. He had the case open to mess with his gears at the same time and it never occurred to me to ask if the link slid off or if he needed persuasion to get it off the shaft. I assumed the shaft was captured by the bearing on each side. He's out of touch for a couple weeks in the Caribean or I could ask.

 

[favoritos]

Maybe a temporary fix without a complete tear down?
I want to thank @FrozenTows and @hugh for the input and advice.

I went with the repack idea.
I got a better look at this thing more after I took out the obstacle course of stuff in the way. I don't know if there is any possible method of getting the retainer clip with so little room to work. It's dang hard to see exactly how it is fitted. (Maybe after a couple of tries on a bench, but not in the middle of the season right before a ride.)

I removed the front seal and was able to get a decent look at the bearing and it appears to be pretty good. There was still some grease on the cage and back of the seal. (Good news.) The backside seal was a little jammed up and the inner edge wore down a bit from riding the shaft. The fit wasn't exactly perfect around the inner race, but the seal was intact.

I did a grease job with a needle tip from the backside. I fed grease between the bearings with the tip and pressed the remainder full with my finger. I filled it up good, smoothed out the excess, and pressed the seal back into place. Then I did the same thing with the needle tip on the good side until grease started to slightly seep around the inner race/seal gap on the back. I finished packing grease, and smoothed out the excess and pressed the seal back into place.

We'll see how it goes. I'll watch it close for excess grease and the seal potentially popping.

 

[favoritos]

I plan to click some riding miles on the bearing this week.
I did do some final testing and cleanup after packing the bearing. My goal was to squeeze out any excess grease and verify the seal would stay seated. I did the testing with everything nice and warm in the shop. It was a basic stand test, but I ran the heck out of the thing, similar to high speed riding. I figured the speed and heat might get close to riding conditions. I would recommend this step especially if you really pack the bearing. I had a fair amount of grease push out along the inner edge of the damaged seal. The outer seal had a tiny squeeze.
I pulled the secondary and wiped off the excess and ran it on the stand two more times with the same method. (It might be a little obsessive, but I wanted those seals to be done squeezing before going on a long ride.) The second stand run had a slight amount of grease and the third produced zero. The seal also remained in place throughout the testing!

 

[FrozenTows]

You'll be fine.
I do that too with bearing grease. I like to see a like ooze. Then I know the grease has found it's happy place.
Bearing pack as full as I can get it. Take finger & wipe out as much as I can. Re-install seals and the little ooze is very tolerable. Wipe clean & done.
Ride it. Season is getting shorter by the minute.

 

[favoritos]

I have to thank you guys for the help and advice.
The repack trick held up nicely so far. I put on about 600 miles since the repair. Seal has remained in place and relatively clean. (I did another wipe down test after the first 100 or so miles and had maybe a q-tip dab.)