Removing inner bearing from spindle

[5030tinkerer]

I have a Rhino 3 deck finish mower (the TX115) that has a spindle on one of the decks in need of a new (of course) inner bearing. Trouble is, the bearing is pressed on by design so close to the end of the spindle that you cannot get a puller in there to remove the bearing (picture a 7/8" thick 4" diameter disc attached at the center to a dowel and having the bearing almost all the way down the dowel).

Any ideas?

 

[DieselPower]

Sounds like you need a bearing splitter and T-bar puller with puller leg's.

 

[BTDT]

Any pics? If you have the spindle out, can you put it in a vise and cut it off with a torch?

 

[RoyJackson]

I have a Rhino 3 deck finish mower (the TX115) that has a spindle on one of the decks in need of a new (of course) inner bearing. Trouble is, the bearing is pressed on by design so close to the end of the spindle that you cannot get a puller in there to remove the bearing (picture a 7/8" thick 4" diameter disc attached at the center to a dowel and having the bearing almost all the way down the dowel).

Any ideas?

If it's pressed on, the best way is to press it out. Is it staked, by chance?

Do you have an arbor press?

 

[5030tinkerer]

What's that? A tool that I do not yet own? <grin>

I had never heard of a bearing splitter...what a great concept! I assume that this is what you mean?

Splitter

I'm not sure what in there let's you split a bearing, but I'll check it out. Am I correct in thinking that the silver items in the lower left and right corners are intended to be brought around snug against the undersides of different sizes of bearings to enable you to use a puller?

I do have this arbor press (Press), but was planning on using that only for the install of the new bearing. Can it also be used somehow for the removal of a bearing?

I haven't ever done much with bearings - not sure what you mean by "staked".

 

[Bill Barrett]

Can you heat the bearing, and cool the spindle with a wet rag? Just a thought.

 

[RichNJKubota]

If you can't get the splitter in then cut it off with a torch or grind it off with an angle grinder.

 

[RoyJackson]

I haven't ever done much with bearings - not sure what you mean by "staked".

Sometimes when a bearing is pressed in, there will be centerpunching done in the material adjacent to the bearing. The centerpunching upsets material over the bearing housing and helps hold it in place.
You place the point of the punch on the adjacent material (not!!! the bearing!!!) at an angle (30° from the vertical...give or take some) and strike the punch. There should be 3 or 4 equally spaced stakes.

Anyway, any bearing I've seen pressed on or in could be pressed out or off. You might have to make a special tool or adapter (for the arbor press) to do this though. Sometimes one can use a socket. The main thing is to put a steady pressure on the entire bearing.

 

[MJPetersen]

Heat one place on the race cherry and smack it with a chisel across the bearing, that should stretch it far enough that it will drop off. I have done that many times. This is the second choice if I do not have a splitter. The third choice is to just cut the bearing off with a torch.

Mike in Warsaw

 

[DieselPower]

Yes that's the type bearing splitter I was talking about. The jaw's go to almost a knife edge on one side. You place the bearing splitter around the underside of the bearing, install the T-bar puller onto it with a set of the puller legs and tighten the T-bar center screw and off comes the bearing.

If you have clearance you can also use bearing splitters with a arbor press and use the press to push the bearing splitter with bearing off.

 

[Willl]

M5R2 Inputshaft Assembly

Just a sample of how that splitter works.

 

[BTDT]

M5R2 Inputshaft Assembly

Just a sample of how that splitter works.

Great photos and example of how it should be done.

 

[djradz]

Yep, press and splitter. Nothing comes close!

 

[skipmarcy]

Been a mechanic for many,many years and had never heard of a bearing splitter - then I looked at the ad - it is a bearing seperator, now those I have had for years !!! If you can't get the seperator in to engage the bearing, or you don't have a press, or you don't have a torch - wear good safety glasses and bust the bearing with a hammer. Races will bust like glass with a good lick from a ball/pein hammer, just have to be careful about the metal flying everywhere.

 

[RoyJackson]

Been a mechanic for many,many years and had never heard of a bearing splitter - then I looked at the ad - it is a bearing seperator, now those I have had for years !!! If you can't get the seperator in to engage the bearing, or you don't have a press, or you don't have a torch - wear good safety glasses and bust the bearing with a hammer. Races will bust like glass with a good lick from a ball/pein hammer, just have to be careful about the metal flying everywhere.

Yeah, but frequently, you'll have to press them back on.

However, I've got a tip for that...

Put the shaft in a freezer for a few hours. Since a press fit is LESS then .0010", the shaft will contract that much from the cold.
Just keep the new bearing near by so you can put it right on the shaft as soon as you pull it out of the freezer.
I've also seen CO2 extingushers used for this...but since most CO2 extingushers in the Navy are used for chilling a 6 pack...well, you know the drill.