Does anyone have any neat mechanic tricks for pulling a needle bearings from a swingarm without access to a bearing puller? I am not trying to save the bearings. I tried catching the lip and tapping them out from the backside with a wooden dowel but that went nowhere as there isn't much of a lip to catch. I'll probably just buy the bearing puller as it will be useful to have around, but was just curious if there was some other strategy I was missing out on.
Harbor Freight has an inexpensive puller set. It’s what I use. There are times I haven’t been successful with a slide hammer and end up pressing the bearing out, by pushing against the backside of the puller.
Which HF puller have you had good luck with? They have this one which is more of a bearing puller for $72.99: https://www.harborfreight.com/slide-hammer-and-bearing-puller-set-5-pc-62601.html and this inexpensive slide hammer for $24.99 https://www.harborfreight.com/slide-hammer-and-puller-set-14-pc-63609.html I was actually looking at HF yesterday but am always a little leery on some of those tools as they can sometimes just make matters worse. If I was going to spend $74.99, I'd probably just spend a little more and get a Motion Pro or Pit Posse set, but if the $24.99 tool will work, I don't mind giving it a shot for as often as I'd use it.
I have a very similar slide hammer to the $72 one listed above. works great, no issues. I think I got mine off amazon for less $$.
Thanks for tips and recommendations guys. I'm going to go ahead and spring for the bearing puller. It will be good to have on hand. I appreciate the oven tip @TurboBlew but that isn't going to fly in my house. I already get in enough trouble when I burn food in the oven. I might try hitting it with a torch though.
Definitely use a torch, especially for the installation. It is very easy to distort the outer race of those bearings if you beat them in cold. Put the bearing in the freezer overnight and heat the swingarm with a torch. It's best to use a threaded rod style puller for install, no hammering.
Welding on a race can help removing. Not sure how thick they are, might not be a trick for a thin bearing on a swingarm but it sure as hell works.
I bought the HF slide hammer tool. Got one bearing out so far...heat was essential but it still destroyed that poor needle bearing (not that I was trying to save it) and it took way more effort than I expected. The other side still hasn't budged but the needles have started to fall out. I'm kind of wondering if the tool is partially to blame. The flared end is not perfectly round and it seems like the it is digging into the bearing rather than catching the lip and pulling it out. I may return the tool to HF but it sure is knackered up now.
Have tried driving it out from the other side? That’s easier than using the slide hammer to yank it out.
I've been trying to come up with some way to effectively do that as that does seem like it would be more efficient. I did kind if half-heartedly try inside the flaring piece from the blind puller and try to drive it out from the other side. I may give that more of a go.
Try whacking it in a little deeper just to knock it loose. Sometimes they just need a little movement one direction, then you can get them out the right way. A little corrosion can really stop those things cold.
Finally got her out. That bugger was in there. Even with copious amounts of heat and hammering it out from the other side, it wasn't wanting to budge until I gave the hot/cold treatment. Finally popped. Definitely saved my hands from the slide hammer. New bearings won't go in until I finish cleaning up the rust, but I already have them in the freezer. Will definitely heed the advice about not hammering them in.