Upper/Lower Bearing

I did not have any of the special tools listed in the instructions that came with the kit. But with some improvizing I was able to get the parts off and back on. I am a bit of a handy man so this was not too difficult. I think there is a design problem on this machine since water has gotten into the bearing and twice now. The first ti ... Read more me was when the machine was 1 year old, now 8 years later I had to do this job again. It is about a 3 hour job if you have all the parts on hand. The instructions in the kit are sufficent to do the job.

Took pictures and basically followed good instructions that came with the seal and bearing kit to disassemble, install the parts and reassemble. The balance springs were difficult without proper tool but a coat hanger bent in a triangle worked to pull them off. Instructions said to use a sealant if bearing mount area (plastic) was gouged. ... Read more It had some pitting but I didn't use any sealant because the bearing didn't seem loose once mounted. I used a jar or wooden cylinder to push out the old bearing/seal since I didn't have the right tool. It took a while but finally came out. The seals came with some lubrication on them - I'm hoping it was enough. So far so good. I probably didn't need to change the upper/lower bearing but for peace of mind I did. The brake pad problem was discovered earlier. A hired repair guy came out and said we would be better off buying a new washer because he said the transmission was bad causing drive belts to burn up. I found out that the brake pads were worn enough to cause the cams not to extend fully. I simply reversed the old brake pads and the machine had been working for the last six months. I thought I might as well replace them while the machine was apart for the bearing/seal replacement.