Swing arm bearing and a dremel

ngiles

ngiles

Senior member
Location
Sydney, Australia
I've cruised the threads on removing swing arm bearings (on a Jota) and have tried a drift and then done the washer thing and bent the hell out of a bunch of those and neither bearing has moved. Given I used a Dremel on the lower steering head bearing with success and I note it is suggested I wonder what blade/attachment is recommended?  The cut off disc I used on the steering head bearing is too large and anyway would not cut along the bearing. Any suggestions....

I also looked at video of people using bearing remover kits but they seem to have limited success.

Cheers, Nick
 
People have used an expandable Rawl Bolt in one bearing them a LOT of force via a rod and lump hammer from the other side. Once one side is done a suitable socket and extension rod will do the trick.

Robin.  ;)
 
Try a thick 30mm OD washer, trim 2 sides flat and, after removing the swing arm bearing bushes and central distance piece, slide it up against the inside edges of one of the bearings.
Then get a stout threaded bar and using double lock nuts next to the flatted washer, plus 2 more on the far side of the swing arm you can use deep reach socket as a spacer, then start to tighten the nut and slowly but surely the bearing will slide out.
You may need to apply heat to the swingarm outside of the bearings.

2018-04-19 14.07.11 by Grant Duguid, on Flickr

2018-04-19 14.08.39 by Grant Duguid, on Flickr

2018-04-19 14.10.42 by Grant Duguid, on Flickr

 
Grant said:
Try a thick 30mm OD washer, trim 2 sides flat and, after removing the swing arm bearing bushes and central distance piece, slide it up against the inside edges of one of the bearings.
Then get a stout threaded bar and using double lock nuts next to the flatted washer, plus 2 more on the far side of the swing arm you can use deep reach socket as a spacer, then start to tighten the nut and slowly but surely the bearing will slide out.
You may need to apply heat to the swingarm outside of the bearings.
Click to expand...

Sensible method ........ I used to have a set of special washers like that that were tempered steel so they wouldn't bend. They came in a kit along with the puller and were SAE sizes and I got them from a mechanic neighbour. That was standard equipment for mechanics many years ago ...... I don't know whatever happened to mine. They went missing when I lived in Yukon.

I wonder if they still make them? The Chinese are making just about everything else .....
 
I've not had the pleasure of doing swingarm bearings in a Laverda (done several in other bikes but they weren't as stubborn).

How about the old trick of running a few welds around the inside of the bearing shell? (after you've got the needle rollers out). It should then fall out, or at least poke out with a stick.

Another option would be to weld a nut to the inside of the bearing, screw in a length od threaded rod and use a slide hammer on it.

If it's a bronze bush you're working on, you could melt a cut down one side using an oxy torch with a welding nozzle. Bronze melts at a lower temperature than steel so you should be able to do it without hurting the steel outer tube. It'll burn the paint off the outside though.

I can think of other methods requiring special extractor tools fabricated on a lathe, but not everyone has access to a lathe.
 
Dellortoman said:
How about the old trick of running a few welds around the inside of the bearing shell? (after you've got the needle rollers out). It should then fall out, or at least poke out with a stick.
Click to expand...
Oldest trick in the book but guess what still works a treat ( shhh them there are trade secrets you are giving out  8) )
 
Gave up trying to bash mine out when I changed them a few years ago!
Took swing arm to local engineering shop and bit of folding stuff in hand had him press them out. For good measure once all was ready had him press new ones in as well. (amazing how easy things are with the right gear)
 
Thanks for the suggestions - I will give the deep socket puller method a go next!  Pulling apart a 37 year old bike does call for some creative techniques and/or brute force occasionally

Cheers, Nick
 
I've done a few sets of swing arm bearings in Laverdas using the washer with 2 flat sides method. The difference is that I popped the needles out of the rollers and put the washer inside the bearing cage.

It has worked well for me.

Be careful not to score where the bearing cages sit. The slightest lump will cause the new bearings to distort, and then the inner sleeve will not sit in the bearings properly. This requires you to push the new bearings out and go and buy more...

Regards, Greg
 
DONE!  After various goes I got the threaded rod through a socket method posted by Grant to work.  Geez they were tight, fortunately the threaded rod was reasonable quality unlike the nuts.  I ended up stripping the threads on 3 nuts them before I got the things out.  I think the trick was to use heat on the swing arm - it seemed to make the difference.

Thanks everyone - very much obliged.  Now I've got all the parts that need sand blasting and powder coating ready to go.

Cheers, Nick
 
I'm curious - is stainless softer.  The nuts that stripped were just zinc plated ones from a 'variety' set.  I had thought stainless were stronger - what would you recommend?
 
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