I just replaced the big bearing on Boxer's 75,210 mile OilHead. Unlike your bike, his had no cruddy oil symptoms. Your description of the oil drained out is troubling as that filthy fluid likely has caused collateral damage to
the OTHER 3 bearings in the FD!! Just like adding metal grit to your oil and going for a nice long ride.
That's why you may need to use experienced BMW wrenches that have the special tools and ability to set all the precise running clearances with however many new parts are required.
Removing the big bearing was the hardest part. We had two different successive failed attempts involving heating the bearing and chilling the shaft's "cup" with ice cubes-n-water, then trying to pry the bearing off with big opposing screwdrivers. I even made custom metal heat shields to isolate the 2 temperature extremes from each other. It didn't work. A local machine/fabrication shop (19 miles away) did remove it, after what seemed like an hour. He said he had to modify their puller to make it work and charged me $40. I suspect "modify" meant cutting and welding. They were challenged with the job and seemed pleased to hand me the 2 separated parts without damage to anything.
Installing the bearing was so easy, we couldn't believe our eyes and ears. The manual says to heat the bearing to 180F and install it. I wasn't going to take any chances so we employed the same method someone else posted on another BMW chatboard. Freeze the gear and heat the bearing. Crown gear assembly in my basement chest freezer (cruising at +2 deg F indicated on added digital indoor/outdoor thermometer) for around 40 minutes, big bearing heated in my toaster oven to 177deg F (read by my IR temp gauge). While Phil watched, I used his leather gloves to remove the bearing from the oven and literally drop it into place on the shaft. It went on so fast, so easy it almost bounced off the bottom! Seeing the speed that it fell into place, just by gravity, you'd have thought it was the wrong size part! KLINK! After cooling, it was totally SOLIDLY mounted.
When I replace my FD big bearing I'll likely use the same place -or- look for a $40 puller strong enough and slim enough to remove the bearing.
