I have this small HF pilot bearing puller with three prongs that will fit inside the spindle, but seems like the hooks barely grab the bushing, afraid I might just bugger it up. Anyone know if this works or if there is a better tool?
Which tools to remove and reinstall spindle bushings?
- Thread starter Kernal
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- #3
Bushings are not bad, already showed these in another thread, the PS had a slightly raised ridge in it (or worn on either side I guess), but the birfield surface riding there looks good too. I got the updated bearings/half bushing combo from CDan almost a year ago and figured as this hopefully won't be taken apart for at least 100,000 miles might as well put them in now. You can see many little pits in one bushing with a tiny chunk of steel embedded in it along with a pit. Total miles around 290K, doubt they've ever been replaced by the PO's.
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I use an air chisel to pop them out. I suppose a hammer and drift punch would work also.
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- #5
gotmud; thanks, don't have any air tools, there seems not to be much of a lip to catch with a drift. I've read others have done it with a puller of some sort, just can't find which exact tool it was.
Edit: how do you pop them out with an air chisel? Can you do it without damaging the spindle?
Edit: how do you pop them out with an air chisel? Can you do it without damaging the spindle?
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Unless you're pressed for time (ha - get it? I'm so funny), I'd consider seeing if a machine shop will press out the old ones and press in the new ones for ya. Prolly a .5hr charge for them if that and they do this stuff all day long.
Personally, I'd call till I found a shop that had time later that day and a reasonable charge, then I'd grab my hammer and brass drift and see if they'll come out. If so, I think tapping in the new ones would be the easy part and I'd go for it with a soft hammer (brass, lead, etc). If things go sideways, I'd then call the shop that had time that afternoon and tell 'em I'm on my way. That way you've found someone who has time if you screw up and if you don't screw up you didn't schedule an appointment you're not going to keep.
DougM
Personally, I'd call till I found a shop that had time later that day and a reasonable charge, then I'd grab my hammer and brass drift and see if they'll come out. If so, I think tapping in the new ones would be the easy part and I'd go for it with a soft hammer (brass, lead, etc). If things go sideways, I'd then call the shop that had time that afternoon and tell 'em I'm on my way. That way you've found someone who has time if you screw up and if you don't screw up you didn't schedule an appointment you're not going to keep.
DougM
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- #7
No luck with my pos HF pilot bearing puller. Anyone know what tool is close to the SST?
Edit: I pulled the replacement spindle bearings out of the bag to look at them; they seem sorta flimsy, just little pin roller bearings longer but not much fatter than what they use in U-joints?? Wonder how these hold up over time?
Edit: I pulled the replacement spindle bearings out of the bag to look at them; they seem sorta flimsy, just little pin roller bearings longer but not much fatter than what they use in U-joints?? Wonder how these hold up over time?
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I usually clamp them in a vise, and use the air chisel to "spin" the old bushing. This will loosen it up and make a little more room on the hub end of the bushing (inside). Then I can use a bull point chisel and drive it out.
They'll hold up well - they were designed for the much higher torque application diesel models. My guess is that like the bronze bushing there is not a lot of time actually taking much force as the bronze bushing is essentially there to limit axle movement versus take a lot of load. In other words the axle shaft spins happily in the center of the bronze bushing barely touching it except when the trunion bearings or birfield get worn/loose or a lot of torque is applied while turning. The axle shaft is lightly supported by by this feature when you're driving straight and when you turn it comes into play to a greater degree. So it doesn't need to be a heavy bearing or shell. Moving from a simple bushing to ANY bearing is a vast improvement on durability.
I've always been curious if these eliminate the classic front axle clunk of the axle shaft bonking the bronze bushing over a perfect sized pothole or speed bump. Mine's done that since near new so I've always assumed it a "feature" of the 80s.
DougM
I've always been curious if these eliminate the classic front axle clunk of the axle shaft bonking the bronze bushing over a perfect sized pothole or speed bump. Mine's done that since near new so I've always assumed it a "feature" of the 80s.
DougM
I think I used a brass drift to get mine out. I don't remember it being too difficult. When you reinstall the new ones, throw them in the freezer for a while. I did that and they just dropped in before they warmed up.
This is good advice for any race/bearing situation you might find yourself in.
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- #12
Well I threw in the towel and took it to a local mechanic, he pulled the first one out on the first try with a high quality pilot bearing puller that looked a lot like the SST in the FSM. That tool didn't work for the second spindle so he used a very large weighted puller, the type you slam a weight back, took him a few tries because there isn't much of a lip to grab, but it did come out once he got a bite on it. He then seated the bearings and mini-bushing into the spindle with an aluminum installation tool, done. One piece of equipment that made a big difference was the large vice he used to hold the spindles while he worked the tools.
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