Thanks for the update - I'd like to see pictures of your polyethylene press tool before, during, and after, because I'd have used steel. It should take well under a ton to push the bearing in, and even less for the seal, but my limited experience with plastic press tools has been very unsatisfactory. My explanation is that their extremely low Young's Modulus results in a lot of distortion under load, so they don't push things in straight. The tiniest difference in load from one side to the other, results in allowing the sticking spot to lag behind, and then you're pushing the thing in crooked. Force required immediately rises very high, and the press tool distorts more. The outcome is a press tool that looks as if it has melted, and a botched job - perhaps even a damaged housing.
