Hi,

Does anyone know a good place to get the bearings for the swingarm on a 2002 prairie 650?

Do they need to be pressed in or is it something I can do myself?

Thanks

 

I haven't done it, but I read that it is possible to do it yourself. I'm not sure but I think the bearings are Kawi p/n only.

I have the instructions for the swingarm boot replacement, that procedure almost covers the swingarm bearing replacement. Get some waterproof grease to use on the drive shaft and the bearings.

All grease is not created equal. Get the good stuff, like the pol@r!s waterproof grease. Wheel bearing grease won't stay put as long if water gets on it.

 

I used a quality boat trailer wheel bearing grease. It is also water proof. The bearings are also available through NAPA or a bearing supplier. No press needed they are tapered roller bearings. The seals are Kawasaki

 

Is this something (now that we know they can be a problem) that can be serviced with preventitive maintanence.They look like bearings you would find on a car.Take the nut off and it comes out? Knowing they can be a problem maybe remove them and repack them once a year? Also......are the seals a one time deal?
02 camo

 

Kodiak it is a major butt to get the swingarm pivot bolts loose, probably should wait till the bearings go bad. Might be smart to have the parts ahead of time if they are cheap.

It doesn't seem to be getting people at any predictable mileage.

If your driveshaft boot stays good, the bearings should last a long time.

I suspect you could put better grease in there than kawi did if you wanted to just do it at 3 years old or something.

The maintenance conscious probably would regrease the bearings, clean their winch motor, regrease their KEBC, regrease the KEBC bearing (on drive pulley) and remove clean and reseal the 4x4 actuator. Might save some more costly repairs later.

 

The bearings are cheap if you go to an industrial supplier. Timken 30203. $12.00 a pair. The numbers on the OE bearings are -

NTN 4T 30203 JAPAN.

The tough part will be the inner races. If you go real slow and tap very lightly maybe it will be easy. But if you **** the race (a teeny bit) in that aluminium journal your gonna end up pounding AND cursing.

 

Guys,

How do you know your swingarm bearing is going??? I am getting a loud popping/clicking sound when I transfer my weight fron one foot peg to the other while stationary. It almost sounds like a cracked frame, but I have the entire rear end plastic off and I can not find a frame crack anywhere!!! The sound sounds like it is coming from the swingarm pivot point. Do you have to remove the rear drive shaft to replace the swingarm pivot bearings? Please help. I want to fix this noise before I do some major dammage and or lose my mind.

ED[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img]

 

FAST ED... that sounds like swing arm bearings...

THEROCK... could the races be put in a freezer for an hour before install... it may help with the install of the races...

 

FastEd
Good chance that is your problem. When mine started to go bad I had a little side play in the rear swing arm. There should be no play at the bearings at all. They are preloaded.

 

Lift the atv from the under the engine so the swing arm is hanging down and not touching the ground , then grab the rear wheels , push and pull from side to side , if the bearings are gone you will feel the play in there.

Mark