Hoping someone can offer some advice. I’m working on a late 80s Raleigh Montage, 88 I think. It has a u-brake on the rear which dates it.
Anyway I have it all stripped down, including the cup and cone bb.
The only thing I can’t seem to remove are the headset cups, as the headtube is slightly flared on the inside top and bottom, so I can’t get the tool to make contact with the edge of the cup.
What am I missing here? How do I get these out?
Can you get a big flathead screwdriver in there to carefully knock it out? It should allow you to get a better angle than the dedicated tool.
Go slowly and alternate the places you’re putting the end of the screw driver. You want to push the cup out evenly, or it will jam and possibly deform the head tube.
I’ve had to do similar for getting mildly press-fit ball bearings out from the inside of my motorcycle wheels.
You’re making a tool called a ‘drift’, so look for a square edged piece of metal, could be a nice steel rod, paired with a light metal-face hammer. Slow and steady.
Doesn’t apply here but for general knowledge: any type of impact on ball bearing races turns the bearing into 100% junk, do not reuse that extracted bearing.
Posted an imgur link showing what I’m dealing with. Any advice appreciated! I am reticent to resort to the screwdriver, although I can see the logic in small taps in a rotation