Headset Cartridge Bearing Removal

Hello again,

Job done, at long last!

So, I thought I would share a little bit of the experience here in case it helps someone else one day.

It all started a few weeks ago when I noticed after yet another ride in the wet some drops of rusty water dribbling down the back of the fork crown race onto the top of the mudguard. It seemed to be coming from the lower headset bearing. The bike has a threadless headset so it was simple enough to loosen the stem clamp bolts and top-cap nut and slide out the forks to inspect the bearing. Once the fork was out of the way it was clear that the cartridge bearing was a mess – it felt like it was full of grit and there was no grease left inside, just water. Awful.

However, I couldn’t get the cartridge out of the cup – the only edge that I could grip was the inner race, the outer race was stuck fast. As an interim fix I managed to remove the lower seal, flush the balls with a few squirts of WD40 and re-load with fresh grease which kept the bike going for a few more days, but it was clear that the bearing was past its useful life. The upper cartridge, by the way, felt fine – no need to do anything at all.

In preparation for the operation to deal with the bearing I acquired a headset cup remover tool (and, thinking ahead, a headset cup pressing tool). I also ordered new cartridge bearings, and started seeking advice. I still didn’t quite know what I would do.

Once all the hardware arrived, I removed the lower cup (including cartridge) and squired it with some better penetrating oil (lots of), and then tried puling and picking at the bearing, but still it would not move. I put the cup in the freezer overnight, but I still couldn’t get it out. By this time, after all the attempts at removal, the inner race had come off so I was left with only the cup and outer race stuck together.

Eventually, I decided to try heat and I used a 2kW hot-air gun. With suitable protection I gave the outside of the cup a long treatment of high heat (a real roasting) and finally I managed to get a screwdriver blade into an edge at the top of the lower bearing and slowly and carefully prise it out. Success, at last!

However, before re-assembling the empty cup back into the head tube I had to remove the upper bearing from the upper cup (otherwise my pressing tool would have been resting on the bearing itself – not good). So I went through the same procedure at the upper bearing too (remove cup, remove inner race, prise out the outer race). No heat was needed in this upper cup case, and it was clear that the lower cup was slightly interfering with the bearing. I noticed in both upper and lower bearings that there was no corrosion inside the cups.

The re-assembling of all the bits took quite a while, but was otherwise straightforward. I had never used a pressing tool before, but it all worked very well.

Next time it comes to the headset service I will be a lot better prepared.

Thanks to everyone who commented and gave advice.

Well, thanks for all the suggestions.

It's a bit of a project for me. Since this is a bit of unchartered territory and I depend on my bike for commuting I've been busy preparing a second bike while waiting for the replacement bearings and headset cup tools. I've acquired some penetrating oil and a few scribes and picks.

I still see that the main challenge will be that the only part of the bearing that is accessible is the inner race, and there's almost nothing on it to grip. Worst case will be a screwdriver to try and pry the bearing out of the cup, or a trip to the shop (hence the need for a good back-up bike).

Ok, thanks all. I have a plan which uses a bit of all of the above:

1) order new cartridges. ()Done.

2) get cup remover tool.

3) Remove cup, apply WD40,  and put in freezer overnight.

4) gently try to push the cartridge out. (No, I am not using a screwdriver for this).

5) Go to the LBS to get it done.

I'll keep you posted on my progress...

Any other ideas?

Thanks mike. I already tried to push the cartridge out (long screwdriver), but since I could only get at the inner race I didn't use much force. The outer race is quite inaccessible. Picture of top cup attached here (photo of bottom was too dark, but the mechanics are the same).