Worksman Trike - rear axle bearing replacement

[xray]

LATER EDIT: I'm sticking this info right at the beginning, in case someone else ends up here looking for the same kind of info.

I discovered a significant but not insurmountable SNAG in my plans today. I decided to start pulling bearings out of another Worksman trike, using a Harbor Freight bearing puller - the slide hammer and expandable plugs type tool. After several stiff taps, the bearings did not budge at all. I was thinking maybe I needed to apply a little heat. Upon closer inspection, much to my dismay, the rear axle bearings are SPOT WELDED into the frame!

I guess that this is going to require that I apply an angle grinder to grind out the welds before I can pull the bearings.

The bearings on this trike are not really bad, I just wanted to pull them while I'm waiting for the new axle to be shipped for the bike that needs it. That bike happens to be my wife's pride and joy, her daily rider that she's put a thousand miles on just tooling around the hood.

Anyway - here's the original thread:

EDITED (earlier) TO UPDATE:

Hey guys - I am just wondering if anyone here has had experience with replacing the bearings and/or rear axle on Worksman trikes? If so, can you give me some tips?

I've got a couple of the newer "B" style Portotrikes with the 3/4" axle and keyed drive wheel. The axle has a slight bend or wobble, and I think the bearings are hosed from the axle nuts being tightened too much. Now that I notice this, I think it is probably a common problem on this trike.

I suspect that people tighten the nuts down tight in thinking they need to be tight to stay on, and then this places an inward lateral load on the bearings and makes them wear through. The bearings on this bike are real loose - the center bushing or whatever you call it flops around in the bearing assembly.

This is probably something every buyer of a used Worksman trike should check before buying. I believe that this is also what causes a rear axle to bend and show up as a regular wobble in he back wheels when riding.

I've determined that I need parts 176K axle, and 4 of the 173 bearings.

I'm also interested to hear if someone has abandoned using the Worksman bearings and maybe substituted heavier bearings?

Is there any special trick I need to be aware of before I start trying to remove the bearings? I'm not even sure what holds them in place or prevents them from moving further toward the center of the axle.

Any questions I don't know I should be asking before I tear into this?

 

[Fv2]

I was looking at mine when I started my pedal truck build, I think the bearings are press fit.

 

[xray]

That's how Worksman describes them, so I guess I need to find somebody with a hydraulic equipment to press them in?

 

[Fv2]

Possibly.
Might check YouTube on how to make a press using a jack and socket.

 

[xray]

Great suggestion, thanks. Should be obvious, but didn't come to mind - I'll definitely follow up on that.

 

[ratcycle]

You can use a long wooden dowel to punch them out then use a rubber mallet to smack them back in

 

[xray]

Yeah, I'm seeing a couple people do that on YouTube. If they're not all that tight, probably what I'll do.

My original question was because I had seen another trike, weird cheapo one, where it looked like the factory had crimped the axle tube to set the bearings. I was afraid I was gonna have to deal with that. But, it looks like the Worksman bearings are simply pressed.

If anyone else comes along with a similar question, look for the Liberty Trike videos. Someone made a bunch of videos on assembly and maintenance of the Liberty Trike, which is essentially a Worksman trike with a narrow frame and 16 inch wheels. Appears to be same technology throughout.

 

[xray]

For those who have already read this thread, I added an edit at the very beginning to say that the f'g bearings are spot welded into the frame.

Is there some alternative that I haven't thought of, or does this necessarily mean my only practical route is to use an angle grinder or similar tool to obliterate the weld in order to pull these bearings?

 

[xray]

So, over a year later, I finally got around to doing this little mod. I used a Dremel tool with a little cut-off wheel to grind out the 3 spot welds around the bearings, and they popped out pretty easily one the welds were ground out. So, for anyone wanting to do this - yes - you're going to have to grind out the welds, but they are not very big, and it was pretty easy. I've got an old Worksman trike with a 5/8" axle. It appears that the axle tube is the same size. I'm probably gonna order a new axle and bearings for that one and switch it over.

I also recently decided that I wanted better brakes on my wife's main ride, so I bought a bmx fork with vee brake bosses and disc brake tabs. I installed that fork with a conventional quill stem to replace the original clamp-type stem. Put vee brakes on it, and man, was that an improvement! I got a hyrdraulic disc brake kit, but the doggone Ebike Kits motor is so big there's not enough clearance for the hydraulic caliper. However the vee brake along is adequate.

I decided I wanted that trike to break down to two parts instead of folding. I modified the cables so the battery cable just reaches the frame hinge. I mounted the controller and all other wiring forward of the hinge, so you can unplug the battery, open the hinge, take out the pin, and separate the front and back halves of the bike. This is good for loading the trike into a truck. The motor is in the front wheel, and the controller is on the front frame part. The battery is in the rear basket. The entire thing is a bit heavy to lift - but when you disconnect at the hinge, you've got two more manageable parts.

I haven't taken any pix yet. If I see any replies, somebody is interested, I'll snap some pix and post them.

 

[xray]

New trike mod to make it break down for easier loading and hauling is at http://www.ratrodbikes.com/forum/index.php?threads/worksman-trike-mods.108788/ with pix.