Front wheel bearing dust seal removal

[Babel]

Hi,

One of my Wee's front wheel bearings feels/sounds a little "scratchy", so I'm planning to replace the pair. The dust seal seems wedged in pretty well. A little exploration with a screwdriver suggests it won't budge without putting up a fight. Assuming I don't have access to the Suzuki "special tool" referenced by the service manual for this job, is there particular tool or technique I should be using? From what I've read so far I get the impression a long, flat headed screwdriver, a hammer and some brute force may be involved.

Also, fitting the new dust seal: straight forward, or is there a knack to it?

Cheers,

Jon.

[Juvecu]

Should be able to just lever it out with a medium/big sized flat bladed screw driver without needing a hammer. Start in one spot and just work your way around trying to lift it a few mm at a time.

[ziggy]

Just drive the bearing out from the other side and it will push the seal out.
Use bearings with rubber seals I.e 2RS as well as replacing the seal.
Don't try and lever the seal out as this could cause damage.


 

[Juvecu]

You have to be a real ape to damage anything when removing the seals. Even if you scratch the side it's hardly going to cause problems, the new seal will just cover it.

[Babel]

Thanks blokes, that gives me a couple of methods to try. My confidence with all things mechanical in inversely proportional to the amount of force required to do the job, so when things don't budge on the first attempt I start to panic

[hookie]

If in doubt get a larger hammer........