Computer chair repair. Can casters be replaced?

Three of five casters on my computer chair have succumbed to long hair.  It gets in there and pops the caster apart.  I suspect it's a design failure more than me combing my hair at my computer ;).   But the hair is strong and resists cutting it out of the casters with a knkfe.  Even when I can, the casters won't click back together.  :(

The thing is, when balanced, the chair is mighty comfortable, maybe I could repair it?

I see replacement casters, but they are all different measurements.   How do I know what size to get?  

And most importantly,  are there any that are more hair resistant than others?

A lot of times, you can get replacements at the local hardware store. You may have to replace all 5 if you can't find any that match.

First, I have no idea about the hair-resistance issue.

We've replaced the casters on two of the three office chairs in this house to put on nice more freely-rolling wheels that won't hurt the wood floor. My impression is that the shaft on the caster of modern chairs is a standard and some high-90s percent of all chairs will just use the same fitting. If your chair is older than 20-30 years, that might be a greater concern. One of the sets we used, and were happy with, was: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08Z8BZMZ9

Harbor Freight has them as well.

Office chairs are often thrown away.   I see them a lot in or around dumpsters at apartment complexes.   Sooo, next time you are driving thru town, take a couple of detours thru those kinds of places ... especially on a Sunday afternoon.

Also, you might find free ones on Craigslist or after the garage/moving sale giveaways.    I grab the wheels and throw the rest of the chair into my scrap metal pile ...never have to buy replacement wheels

I'm very fussy about the chair as I have a lot of mobility issues.  Finding a new one, even a free one, is not a simple task.  

But I did find this and have hope.  

how do I get the old casters off?

In the picture you posted just above, you see the groove that goes around the shaft near the top? Some kind of bearing falls into that when you fully insert the shaft into the hole. In my experience, getting the old ones out requires a little bit of prying with a heavy flat-head screwdriver but nothing more elaborate than that.

r ranson wrote:how do I get the old casters off?

Some are threaded in, and some just have a little snap ring thing that holds them.  The office chair I am sitting in right now, they are just pushed up in.  I just pulled on them and they came right out.

i just pull hard, but maybe try prying with a screwdriver or metal spatula.   They do just snap in and out.

Christopher Weeks wrote:In the picture you posted just above, you see the groove that goes around the shaft near the top? Some kind of bearing falls into that when you fully insert the shaft into the hole. In my experience, getting the old ones out requires a little bit of prying with a heavy flat-head screwdriver but nothing more elaborate than that.

Mine look exactly like the one in the picture and they just pulled out with little force.

Great.  Thank you.
These look like snap rings prying ones.  

Looks like the hair resistant ones will fit.  Glad I'm not the only one who had that problem.  

The wider casters look like they would be kinder on the floor too.

This is the type I just pulled out easily with my hand.

All the casters I've taken off office chairs have been like the one in the photo.  Just pull it out.

IT WORKED

I replaced the casters on the chair.  They were pretty easy to pull out and the new ones took a bit of effort to push in, but not too much.  

The hardest part was getting the bleeping things.  Every time I ordered casters, the parcel went missing.  THREE times.  I ended up getting a family member to order them for me and they were here the next day.  

It took a few days to work up the courage to change the casters.  

Now my chair has some shock absorbsion and is super-quiet, but I can't get used to how smoothly it moves on the floor.  That will take time.

Thank you everyone.  I was not looking forward to getting a new chair.  

If you don't like the idea of replacing casters, finding a way to break down the integrity of the tangled hairs becomes the task.  Detangler might work.  Lubricate the caster afterward to prevent any moisture from discoloring it/rust.  PB blaster or WD-40 if you have it on hand.  Either of these products might also loosen up the hair too. I've used this trick, but not on a chair caster (I don't think).  

An ice pick/ thin Flathead screwdriver and a little bit of elbow grease might save you some dough.