Bearing races on Hardy Spicer joints

[bob46320]

The caps are a tight push (With your thumb) fit. You shouldn't need to use brute force to push them in. The yokes are often "bruised" by others bashing them with a hammer to get the old ones out. I have sometimes dressed the outer edges of the hole with a mini grinder to remove burrs / bruises. I doubt the yokes would deform the caps - perhaps poor quality joint in the first place , unless the yoke has been deformed (Unlikely ?).
The reccomended way of getting the caps out is to strike the yoke from the outside 45degrees to the axis of the cap. In effect, the yoke goes down and the cap stays where it is (Ie, pops out) after several strikes with a copper mallet.