A common activity that maintenance professional needs to do is to replace a ball bearing insert on a mounted unit. While it might look intimidating to the uninitiated, it really is quite simple. The insert has a spherical, or rounded, outside diameter. This allows it to swivel inside the housing. Located the slots on one side of the housing and rotate the insert so it can simply slide out through the slots. Pretty easy, right?

To install a new insert, you reverse the process. Align the outside of the bearing with the two slots, and swivel it so it aligns in the housing. If your bearing has an anti-rotation pin, make sure to put it inside the slot so it can catch and prevent the bearing from spinning inside the housing. If it's not in the slot, you won't be able to fully align the bearing properly.

Here's a video from our friends at Rexnord to help visualize the process. And as always, you can stop by Akron Bearing for individual help with any project you may have.