We’ve owned a champion juicer for about 20 years. My wife juices heavily, and now so does my
oldest daughter. About two months back,
I noticed the juicer was screaming like a banshee.
Concerned, I took it apart to look at it. The rear bearing seemed to be the main
culprit. So I changed both the
bearings. It was purring like a kitten. Two weeks ago, my daughter starts up the
juicer, and I hear a familiar scream, and it sounds like the front bearing.
I was thinking maybe I damaged the front bearing while
driving it down on to the shaft. But
when I took the juicer apart, I realized it was due to leakage from the front
seal. I noticed it was bad the first
time, but I didn’t have a replacement for it and so I just put it back.
Don’t change your bearings without changing the front oil
seal. It’s a waste of time and
money. The total cost to fix this
problem is about $30. I spent another
$30 on wasted parts (2 bearings and a retainer ring) as well as another $20 on a three jaw gear puller which worked miserably.
Get a two jaw puller.
With the three jaw puller, two of the three jaws will likely hit some of
the plastic cooling fins when pulling the rear bearing. I ended up breaking the tips of two of the
plastic fins because of this. If the
hooks on the jaws are lower profile, then maybe that can avoided. But mine has quite thick jaws.
Parts needed:
(Amazon) 6203-2NSE Nachi Bearing 17x40x12 Sealed C3 Japan
Ball Bearings ($8.76 each)
(Champion) Champion Juicer Oil Seal ($14.50 w/ free
shipping)
Tools needed:
(Amazon) Performance Tool W141 2-Jaw Gear Puller, 6"
(note that I did not order this tool. I
ordered a 3 jaw puller, but there were interference problems. I think this one will work better.)
Extra parts due broken retainer ring:
(McMaster-Carr)
Side-Mount External Retaining Ring (E-Style)
Black-Finish Steel, for 16-24mm Shaft Diameter
98543A120 ($10.34 for pack of 25)
1) Remove the four screws at the back of the
case.
2) Remove the front hub.
(Here you can see the crud
on the juicer inside (under hub) face plate due to the leaking oil seal.)
3) Remove the back plate (may have to use a
screwdriver and tap it off).
4) Remove the front plate (may have to support
back of the shaft and tap the shaft out with a hammer.
Both the front and back plates are press fit on to the
outside of the bearings. So they may be
a bit snug and require some pressure (hammer tapping) to get them off. The motor armature can be pulled out the back
of the motor housing. If you drive it
forward, it will break some of the motor electronics. But it’s safe to drive it backwards as long
as you keep the shaft centered by holding the back bearing so it does not
damage the motor windings.
5) Once you have the motor armature out. You need to use the gear puller to pull the
bearings off the shaft on both ends.
WARNING!!!: The bearings press up against retainer rings. I made the mistake of catching the front one
with the gear puller and snapping it. I
could not find an exact replacement. All
the retainer rings with the right dimensions were too thick. I ordered the part listed above off
Master-Carr and then ground it down to fit.
The second time I took it apart, I made very sure not to break them—though
I now have a lifetime supply as they come in quantities of 25.
6) Clean up the shafts. I used some relatively fine grit sandpaper to
polish them a little. I also applied
some 3 in 1 oil (very thin coat) to help the bearings slide on. I didn’t do this the first time, and it took
quite a bit of force to press them on.
7) Put the bearings on. Find the smallest ¾” drive socket you have
that will fit over the shaft (keeps the force near the center of the shaft and
reduces risk of damaging the ball bearings sealed inside) and then use some
larger ones to stack them high enough that you can tap on the bearing. Gently tap it down until it reaches the retainer
ring.
8) Put the shaft back into the windings. Put on the front and back plates and line up
the holes. Note the “Top” marking
stamped into both the front and back plate.
WARNING!!!! Do
not forget the tension/pressure ring that goes in the front cover (forgot this
on second pass and had to open it again).
9) Put in the
screws so they are sticking out from the front plate as they are hard to get
aligned once the front hub is on.
10) Drive out
the oil seal from the front hub. It
comes out from the forward facing (exposed) side. Put a socket on the back, hold it in your
hand, and then gently tap it out with a hammer.
11) Drive the
new seal back in very carefully. Use an
oversized socket to seat it flush.
(Champion seal shipped with that void in the oil seal. I probably should have gotten some grease somewhere and filled it the rest of the way, but I didn't.)
(Note that the outside ring of the
front hub was already dented slightly. I
did not do that while driving the seal in so be careful, it deforms easily.)
12) Lube the
shaft with olive oil and slide the hub over it.
Push the hub up against the front plate and carefully tighten the screws. Do not over-tighten. The hub is plastic and the screws will strip.
You should now have a working juicer.
