85 K100 Basic - next project: steering wheel bearings replacement

[rawhites]

Not only will the steering not fall to one side another, it's downright hard to turn at all! So it seems that 30 years of nothing has turned the grease into glue and it's time to replace the bearings.

Anyone have a step-by-step or good video(s) for tackling the steering head bearings? I've searched the forum archives & YouTube...only found one video on YT.

This will probably be the upper limit of my mechanical ability in my garage, but seems like it's unlikely I'll ruin anything by trying.

Also, any suggestions on where to get the right tool to remove parts 6 & 11 in the fiche? I understood they require a special Allen-like tool to remove without stripping.

Thank you for any help!

 

[20774]

There are a few sections on steering head bearings in this thread:

All the K75 Tech Videos that Fit

Below is a collection of Youtube videos that I've ran across lately. I centered on the K75, but there were some K100 videos that snuck in. Feel free to add any that I've missed. I'll attempt to keep this updated. Keepvid.com is a place where you can download Youtube videos and save them to your...

forums.bmwmoa.org

Also, check this thread...there are also some videos indicated:

Online Maintenance Videos

This thread contains the videos that Chris Harris has posted on youtube. A few other authors are noted as indicated. Note that this is Chris Harris' product and is not necessarily sanctioned by BMW or the MOA. So, take that into consideration. In addition, you'll need to put your "bleep"...

forums.bmwmoa.org

 

[rawhites]

Helpful, Kurt, thanks!
I saw the Chris Harris pair on YT....good stuff. Just was hoping to gather any other guidance before diving in.

Rob

 

[20774]

I would suspect that 98lee will stop by at some point!!

 

[98lee]

I would suspect that 98lee will stop by at some point!!

 

[98lee]

Not only will the steering not fall to one side another, it's downright hard to turn at all! So it seems that 30 years of nothing has turned the grease into glue and it's time to replace the bearings.

Anyone have a step-by-step or good video(s) for tackling the steering head bearings? I've searched the forum archives & YouTube...only found one video on YT.

This will probably be the upper limit of my mechanical ability in my garage, but seems like it's unlikely I'll ruin anything by trying.

Also, any suggestions on where to get the right tool to remove parts 6 & 11 in the fiche? I understood they require a special Allen-like tool to remove without stripping.

Thank you for any help!

View attachment 99444

Rob,

Since it hasn’t been moved in 30 years, you could try moving the steering back and forth a bunch to stir up the grease in the bearings before getting into something that you don’t feel comfortable doing. It is also possible that the adjustment is too tight. At the most, chances are you would just have to clean and regrease the bearings. Replacing the lower bearing requires a hydraulic press, which I gather you do not have.

Your Clymer’s manual (you do have a Clymer’s manual right?) has step by step instructions for most everything on your bike, including steering head disassembly.

Read all the instructions in the manual first until you understand what you are getting into. Ask questions here about anything you’re not clear on before proceeding.

You can get a 6 piece 3/8 in. drive metric hex socket set at Harbor Freight for $7.99 SKU69546 or SKU35183 or SKU67891.
Or you can get a 7 piece set that is designed to better prevent rounding of the bolt head at Home Depot for $19.97 model #HB3DBS7M SKU1010076863. Either of these sets will cover over 90% of the allen head bolts on your bike.

The upper clamp bolt #6 is no problem as it is a standard depth allen bolt, but for some reason, in BMW’s infinite wisdom, the lower clamp bolts are half depth, making them more prone to stripping the head out if you are not VERY careful.

 

[pauls1150]

If you want your tools to last longer than one or two jobs, and/or avoid damaging what you're working on, skip the Harbor Fright...

 

[98lee]

If you want your tools to last longer than one or two jobs, and/or avoid damaging what you're working on, skip the Harbor Fright...

Not true at all now a days. They’re sort of like Craftsman used to be. You can buy the correct tool for a reasonable price or spend big bucks for a single tool and then not have enough money left for the next tool you might need. Alot of Harbor Freight hand tools are lifetime guarantee. Since the advent of CNC machines, the quality of stuff machined in China has gotten way better. Harbor Freight has been very active in the past several years in increasing the quality of their tools to the point where they have good, better, and best lines of many of their tools. Still, you must be (like any other purchase) aware if the tool will meet your intended use and expectations. I have tons of Harbor Freight tools and have had to exchange less than a half dozen in the past 30years with most of the failures being in the earlier years.

Personally, I prefer to have alot of slightly different tools (different lengths, different offsets, different drive styles etc.) so that I always have the one that works the best for any given situation, rather than have 1 or two high dollar options. I usually find it is usually better to have the right tool for the job, than the highest quality tool but not quite the best option of tool. It doesn’t sound like Rob is going to be trying to earn a living with these tools.

That being said, I would probably go for the Husky set (even though I haven’t tried it yet) mainly for their advertised new design that slightly resists stripping out the bolt head more, specifically for the prone to strip out half depth lower triple clamp bolts.

BUT, as always YMMV!

 

[pauls1150]

Yeah, my mileage varies...!
A few weeks ago, I bought one of their Pittsburgh 6" diagonal cutters just because I had a coupon... One of the handles broke off in my hand just below the pivot the first time I used it (on 14 AWG solid wire). The newly-exposed metal surfaces looked like a poor casting.
I've killed their itty-bitty rotary tool, and have over-loaded the next bigger one.
I've worn the cutting surfaces off of their files and rasps.
I've bent - by hand - the spin handle on their 4" vise.
I've broken the tip off of their 6" divider.
But if you know what you're getting and are prepared to accept whatever consequences, yes they do have their place and application.
Returning to our regularly-scheduled programming...

 

[98lee]

Broken any anvils lately?


In all seriousness, every product producer has failures and manufacturing defects. Price is not always an indicator of lack of problems (go read the Wethead section). I’ve had multiple failures on a $16,000 Thermador range within a year. I’ve had several manufacturing defects on $20,000 worth of US manufactured cabinets that took six shipments of three doors each to finally get 3 good ones. 18 replacement doors to get 3 good ones!!! Anyone want to buy 18 slightly screwed up pantry doors? Over the years, I’ve had defective Goodyear, Firestone, and Michelin car, truck, or trailer tires.

Yes, I’ve broken harbor freight tools before, but some of them were my own fault. I have two of Harbor Freight’s first US General 1 1/2 ton Aluminum Racing floor jacks. They are over 30 years old. Always work perfectly until I tried to jack up my contractor’s five yard dump trailer that had four yards of dirt in it to change a flat. It completed the job, but now won’t stay up. I’m sure it is repairable. But that was my fault.

I recently broke a 6” long 1/4” ball head socket wrench trying to break loose an allen bolt that was way too tight for the undercut on the ball end. I ended up having to do quite a bit more disassembly to get a straight shot on the bolt. It was worth the try. I took the 7 year old set back a week later and got a new set. The stores do not replace individual parts of a set as they only stock sets, so you get a new set. Try that with Snap-On! I’m only aware of the tools being warrantied on their trucks and if you’re not a customer of that particular truck, good luck.

Did you take your damaged tools back and get free replacements?

 

[GTRider]

I broke two small HF 3-jaw pullers in one afternoon before resorting to a different method of removing a recalcitrant part. But both pullers were replaced that same day, no questions no problems. I switched gears on my plan since my local HF had only three of those pullers in stock that day and I’d broken two of them.

Best,
DeVern

 

[pauls1150]

HF has a decently liberal return policy (90 days with receipt), but I'd only return an item if it was actually worth significantly more than my time, bother, and gas to do it (like a puller!). Zero issues when I did, tho, very cool.
No anvils broken, just a bit scarred (I think the neighbor's pre-teens could prob'ly break one)... But I've returned some Craftsman tools too (before Ace took them on; I don't know what their present policy is).
A few times, I've bought a HF tool fully expecting it to fail - "Will this be sufficient for a One-Time job?" - and if it did, I was neither surprised nor disappointed, it was an experiment.
Speaking of other manufacturers - A couple of months ago, I wanted to get a new medicine cabinet for the bathroom, and the one that looked perfect for my needs was carried by my local Ace... All three in stock had mirror damage (I insisted that we open them and inspect before purchase); those got sent back to their supplier and they re-ordered three more... ONE of those was "Good to go"!
Caveat Emptor...

 

[rawhites]

Hi folks - any strong feelings about which grease to use on the bearings here? Seems like lots of opinions online....and Chris Harris unfortunately doesn't mention what he's using.

Thank you!

 

[kbasa]

Hi folks - any strong feelings about which grease to use on the bearings here? Seems like lots of opinions online....and Chris Harris unfortunately doesn't mention what he's using.

Thank you!

I've got a tub of Valvoline axle grease I've been trying to use up since the 80s that works for me. That really sticky red stuff.

 

[rawhites]

Hey @98lee - I'm halfway through this project, and just seated the new races. Seems the top is fully seated when flush with the top of the tube, while the bottom is fully seated when recessed by a 1/8 inch.

Is that as expected? See below.

Top


Bottom:

 

[51797]

Just make sure each race is firmly seated against the shoulder in the steering head tube and you should be good.

Frank

 

[rawhites]

Thanks, Frank! I guess I'm just concerned that if the race is recessed (though seemingly against the shoulder), then the bottom bearing won't be held fully in the race, since the bottom yoke presumably won't press the bearing up that high.

Rob

 

[PGlaves]

Just make sure that the width of the old race matches the new race. Compare the inner races. Also you can test-fit the steering stem by hand.

 

[rawhites]

Yep, inner dimensions are the same, top and bottom. Just worried the recessed lower race is going to cause a bad fit for the bearing. Definitely contradicts Clymers.

 

[rawhites]

Okay, got confirmation on another forum that the recessed situation is the right one for the lower race.
So looks like I'm good to go.
Thanks!