How To Insert Skateboard Bearing Spacers

Wondering how to insert skateboard bearing spacers? Bearing spacers are a great tool for preserving your bearing and learning to install them is a great skill to have. Bearing spacers are meant to keep the bearing within the wheel from grinding. Bearings will grind against each other on the truck. Spacers preserve the bearing by eliminating the harsh scraping and replace it with a less intrusive spacer material. Bearing spacers are made of wither, a hard, plastic or ceramic-based material. Bearing spacers are much more pliable than bearings. Learning to insert bearing spacers is simple and the benefits are vast. Saving money is at the top of most people’s lists and bearing spaces will do just that. Bearing spacers is a disposable accessory for the skateboarder but bearings, although disposable, should have a longer ride life and are far more expensive.

Things you will need:

• Skateboard
• One-half inch wrench or skateboard tool
• Bearing spacers
• Flat tip screwdriver

1. Place the skateboard deck side down. Use the one-half inch wrench or the skateboard tool to loosen the four nuts holding the wheels. Remove the nut the rest of the way with your fingers and remove all four wheels.
2. Take the first wheel in your hand. With the flat tip screwdriver, gently pry out the bearings. Do this on both sides of the wheel to ensure the proper seating of the bearing spacer.
3. Repeat step two for all the skateboard wheels. Take one of the wheels and insert the spacer. Do this by lining it up in the center of the wheel. Using your thumb, push the spacer towards the center of the wheel. Use the flat tip screwdriver to seat the spacer.
4. After you have seated the spacers, replace the bearing into the skateboard wheels. Do this by massaging the bearing back and forth with your thumbs. Use the flat tip screwdriver as needed to seat the bearings. Replace the wheels on the truck and secure with the nut.

Tips:

• Go cheap to start to make sure the spacers are what you need. Sometimes the problem with bearings is the fit in the wheel or the truck itself.