pulling steering bearings

[texklr]

I had to take my A15 in for replacement of a bent gas tank. The dealer, Action Kawasaki in College Station TX (979-696-1248) had (9/01) a new gas tank in stock that a customer had ordered but did not pick up. I don't know the year but I think it was blue - I needed green. In case someone has a need, he offered to discount it substantially - I don't remember the exact price but it was close to one-half.

[rpclarke]

> I'm replacing the steering bearings on my A3 and the lower outer

race

> has me stumped. The shop manual shows special puller 57001-1107

which

> is sort of a psuedo blind bearing puller. My largest blind puller

goes

> to 1-1/4" and this is more like 1-9/16". Has anyone managed to

remove

> this race without the special tool?

I took care of this on Monday. A local friend said the trick to this is to weld a bead around the inside of the race and it will magically drop out of the frame when cooled. My welding sucks and I was worried I'd miss and weld the race permanently _into_ the frame. I picked up a large flat washer at the hardware store 1-3/4" OD and welded this into the race. The race made interesting clanking noises as it cooled. It did not drop out. The washer however allowed me to easily drift out the race with a few moderate hammer taps. I should be back in business soon. Oh yeah, this A3 has 29k miles, most of them road. The lower race was badly brinneled. The bearings had never been repacked. Upon insepction it was obvious that they were installed at the factory with practically no grease and it looked of poor quality at that. What is it with the japanese and bearing grease? I've yet to see a part properly greased from the factory. -Rick