so when i pulled the case apart the inner race and ***** fell out but the outer race is still pressed in (the mainshaft ball bearing on the bellhousing portion). ive tried several combinations with puller which is slide hammer or screw type but no luck, it's very awkward as the race is rounded on the inside..

do i need to use a torch? i'm pretty out of ideas besides taking it to a machine shop..

i was thinking the heat would make the aluminum open up more before the steel(?) race could expand so it would just fall out? thought i'd check first so i don't crack my case..


thanks in advance

i put the pictures in an album on my profile...

 

heat, definitely. you will not crack the case with a torch. if you have access to a hot tank (probably a long shot) put it in that and often the bearing race will fall right out as the aluminum expands more quickly than does the steel, just as you suspected.

 

awesome! thanks for the reply, i guess ill support it upside down blast the surrounding area with torch and just let it fall out, mmmm can't wait

 

it's not guaranteed to fall out, but there's a good chance. if it doesn't fall out try banging on it with a deadblow or if you don't have one a hammer with a block of wood on the case to cushion the blows. after heating of course. lots of heating. or even just dropping the case from like 6-12" above your workbench and let gravity do its work. heat is the key though.

 

I don't understand this use heat when something is tight like the scenario described. It's called thermal EXPANSION for a reason. And when the metal expands, it expands in ALL directions. Not just away from the object in question. There are very few metals that contract when subjected to heat.

I'm not saying that heat never works, because it certainly has at times for me, but never for anything that is machined to fit.

With that being said, freeze it. Everytime I have a bearing race stuck in a casing, I get it really cold (for me, it's a bit easier in the winter in Pennsylvania rather than for you in Texas). The top input shaft bearing will literally fall right out.

 

Heating a doughnut shaped object will increase the inside diameter. You can make a machine fit object such as a hub into a slip fit by applying a bit of heat. It's also the reason that using heat makes splined hubs and gears much easier to press apart.

But with regard to what we're talking about here, aluminum will expand quicker given a specific amount of heat than will steel especially when that heat is applied directly to the aluminum and only indirectly (i.e. through the aluminum case) to the steel. The bore of the case will expand and if you're lucky, the bearing will drop right out.

 

heated around it and flicked it out with a screw driver, like butter mmmm

 

^^^ glad to hear it worked easily for you :D