Abyx Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Hey guys I'm sorry if this has been covered somewhere I'm typing this on my phone because I'm more or less stranded at my friends' house trying to figure this out. I'm doing the AX15 swap in my MJ and I'm having the problem of removing that spacer out of the crank shaft. What's the trick? I have tried everything I can think of. In order of action - Hammer and punch attempting to bend it out. custom made slide hammer vice grip S shape screw driver combo welded together Actual pilot bearing on a slide hammer remover too big to fit Drill out pilot bearing with 3/4 drill bit and oblong hole to fit puller. Spacer laughs at puller so much that whole truck shakes trying to yank it out. Currently I've got some ATF sitting on it since that's all I've got and I'm letting it sit overnight. I really don't wanna be stuck here all day again tomorrow, does anyone have any suggestions? To think, welding in nutserts on the frame was easier than doing this stupid bearing It's times like these when I really can justify investing in a torch. :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotMatt Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Clean it out with some solvent, and weld a nice hot bead around the inside of the spacer as far around as you can. When it cools, it will shrink the spacer and it will almost fall out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abyx Posted March 4, 2012 Author Share Posted March 4, 2012 I feel like that's either a great idea or it will completely screw me if I miss and weld the spacer to the shaft. Not too thrilled about that idea to be honest... Does anyone else have any ideas? I'm gonna try slide hammering it again, if I gotta die grind it out I will....really rather not though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 I eventually won with a pilot bearing puller (not the slide hammer version, but a gear puller type). if that had failed though, the next step I was going to try was to cut a slice into the side with a sawzall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richasco Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Can you post a pick of the damage so far? There may be a far simpler and more effective way of removing it, provided it isn't damaged to badly already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffN Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 find a metal shaft that fits it snug but not too snug, pack wheel bearing grease into the hole and tap the rod in, the grease will force it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 find a metal shaft that fits it snug but not too snug, pack wheel bearing grease into the hole and tap the rod in, the grease will force it out. wear goggles. I've tried it and if it isn't a perfect fit, the grease will spray out back at you. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abyx Posted March 4, 2012 Author Share Posted March 4, 2012 I'm unable to post a picture from my phone. The grease trick is not working, I might be doing it wrong but its just not coming. I've been slide hammering it for almost two hours now, the whole truck is moving and the Spacer is NOT. I don't know what to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 you just have to host the photos on another site first (photobucket, facebook, etc) and then you can post them here. :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abyx Posted March 5, 2012 Author Share Posted March 5, 2012 Yeah, but unfortunately my phone can't upload to photobucket; I tried, haha. It's fancy, but it isn't that fancy apparently....kind of disappointing. Though there's literally no option on the site so maybe it's not my phone. Here's what I'm dealing with - I drilled out the pilot bearing using a 3/4" drill bit, so as to fit the pilot puller.....which I managed to break today, which also happens to not be mine :( I'm going to try and weld it back together...I can't imagine it will hold very well, but it's better than nothing. I had my dad come pick me up, as now I'm without a vehicle until I can solve this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 I think I rented my puller from autozone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abyx Posted March 5, 2012 Author Share Posted March 5, 2012 I'll give them a call tomorrow; how easy or hard was it with the different style puller? I'm actually going to go to the local Jeep shop tomorrow and ask them about it...I was thinking about using a pnuematic jigsaw and cut notches in it; my dad suggest drilling out the sides and hitting it with a punch. Do you think any of these options hold any ground? Either way I'm exhausted now, that slide hammer really did a number on me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 the slow pressure of the pilot bearing puller seemed to so the trick for me. :dunno: be sure to spray in some PB Blaster or other penetrant and let it soak. the jigsaw thing was going to be my next step. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abyx Posted March 5, 2012 Author Share Posted March 5, 2012 I went out and bought some PB blaster today and I soaked it pretty good; so hopefully it'll penetrate...I guess I'll go with either the puller or the jigsaw thing; I'd rather not cut it if I don't have to, but I also don't want to break anymore tools that ain't mine. The pilot puller was a pretty fancy looking tool...I can only imagine what it's going to cost me to replace. :grrrr: On the bright side, this gives me a chance to trade flywheels since my MJ's flywheel is toast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmichaelvincent Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Use a Dremel with a coarse bit and grind that sucker out. If you're more adventurous, you could always use a blowtorch to heat up the surrounding metal. The expansion of the crankshaft should cause the spacer to fall right out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotMatt Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 find a metal shaft that fits it snug but not too snug, pack wheel bearing grease into the hole and tap the rod in, the grease will force it out. This has NEVER worked for me... not sure what I'm doing differently than everyone else who claims to have had success with this trick, but I always end up just making a mess. I'm telling you, the weld around the inside will make it practically fall out. I've done this numerous times and never accidentally welded the spacer to the crankshaft. Take your time, steady hand. You don't have to weld it all the way around, just get most of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiatslug87 Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 The trick I used came from a member from this board. Wet toilet paper, place it in the pilot bearing, use a rod and hammer it in, keep adding wet TP and hammering it in. I've done it three times, doesn't seem to do anything at first, but it will press the bearing out. Similar to the wheel bearing grease method but a more stable substrate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
echdaviem Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 :agree: The toilet paper thing worked really well for me. it will take a lot more TP than you think, so when you're about to give up cuz it hasn't come out yet, do it a few more times and it will come out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abyx Posted March 6, 2012 Author Share Posted March 6, 2012 find a metal shaft that fits it snug but not too snug, pack wheel bearing grease into the hole and tap the rod in, the grease will force it out. This has NEVER worked for me... not sure what I'm doing differently than everyone else who claims to have had success with this trick, but I always end up just making a mess. I'm telling you, the weld around the inside will make it practically fall out. I've done this numerous times and never accidentally welded the spacer to the crankshaft. Take your time, steady hand. You don't have to weld it all the way around, just get most of it. This. I was extremely hesitant at first, but after being told to git by the local shop, I decided to give it a try based on their half stated recommendation. It was a little nerve stacking until I took a closer look and saw how much space I had to weld on. I had my friend on hand to rotate the crank for me while I welded. It didn't fall right out but if I had turned up the power on my welder I imagine it would have. Following the welding I decided to give the broken slide hammer a try, so I drilled out the weld bead so as to fit the hammer...low and behold it pulled out. I actually did see the wet toilet paper suggestion, but I was extremely skeptical...having seen that picture I'm a lot more convinced though. I have to say, without my welder on hand this swap would have been impossible. I had completely forgotten about the transmission length differences, and of course the weld nuts in the frame were rotten...I only had two weld nuts extra, I limped my truck home with two half inch bolts holding the transmission up. Off to Fastenall tomorrow. You guys were a huge help, thanks a ton! :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
64 Cheyenne Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 I know this is all over but I Just wanted to add my 2 cents. I have a chisel/punch set from Craftsman, it has a 1/4" cold chisel in it, used it at least five times to knock out/break out, pilot bearing/bushings. Just broke them into little pieces and pulled out with needle nose pliers. Would I ever try any of these other methods? Naw that would be too much work, especially when I know that I can get one out in about 5 to 10 minutes every time. The most effort is finding the chisel and hammer then climbing under the truck, the banging is the easy part. I feel sorry for all of you who go through conniptions getting one of these out when it is actually pretty easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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