remove bearing from knuckle? PICS

[johnnyh66]

I've bee trying all weekend to remove a broken bearing from a Axial high steer knuckle... any ideas?
I can take a pic if you need one but basically, the outer ring of the inner (larger) bearing is stuck in there.

Think freezing or boiling it would work?

[AX10wannabe]

what have you tried?? when i did mine i used a tiny flathead screwdriver and a small hammer and tap on the broken bearing. you might want to clamp the knuckle in a vise first.

[2500hdon37s]

I have had them stuck before, and got them out of alum. knuckles by banging the knuckle on the concrete floor with the bearing facing the concrete if it is on the rig side, if not try to push it out from the other side with a point object like an extremly small flat head screw driver.

[MG200]

I had the same thing happen to me but with xr10 knuckles. I ended up using a dremel to make a relief cut in it. Also had to use a carbide bit because of the hardness of the bearing case.

[crawlhog]

i lubed the outside of a stuck one i had and then gently pried it out with a small screwdriver, and a o ring remover

[johnnyh66]

I pried at it all day long with my utility knife, all my driver heads are to fat to get under it.
I banged the heck out of it dozens of times.
I even asked it nicely to come out but it won't budge!

I can not get to it from the back because it's the larger bearing, no access from the back.

I thought about using the dremel cut off wheel but it seems I'll damage the knuckle. I also thought about drilling a hole through the side of the knuckle and bearing to get something in there to pry with.

[AX10wannabe]

post a picture of the knuckle then we can see what your trying to do.. is it rusted? melted?? broken into pieces??

if i remember correctly there is a little lip in the middle of the knuckle seperating the 2 bearings take your small screwdriver and jam it between the lip and your bearing and start tapping on it from the backside.

[gottorque]

same thing happened to me when i was putting new bearings in my aluminum creeper knuckles. I tried and tried and managed to get all the bearing minus the outer casing out. Had a worn down dremel cutoff wheel that i used to cut the outer casing and pried it out. At least we know the bearings arent sloppy in their races

[pixelnate]

Maybe if you heated it up (with a torch or soldering iron) or cooled it down (throw it in the freezer) your efforts would be more persuasive. You could also spray some WD40 on it.

[johnnyh66]

pics.



and damage from a Junfac widener. I must have a bent cvd.

[Postclanker]

carnage....
I actually had some problems getting my bearing into some new VP Knucks...I may never get it back out, had to use the Scorpion Kings favorite (KY) slid right in...

[johnnyh66]

Originally Posted by Postclanker

carnage....
I actually had some problems getting my bearing into some new VP Knucks..

Me too, on my FOFF rig. As I was hammering it in I was hoping this bearing doesn't fail because it's permanent!

[SC Convert]

You could try using a penetrating lubricant and a combination of heat and cold. Most likely there is a little bit of corrosion due to dissimilar metals. If you heat it and cool it a few times you may get enough expansion and contraction of the aluminum and steel ( they grow and shrink at different rates) to get some lubricant worked in between them. Last step would be to start from completely cool, focus heat on the aluminum knuckle and pry/ punch the outer race of the bearing out gently. It may take a few tries depending on the tolerance of the two parts.

[neillarson]

Originally Posted by SC Convert

You could try using a penetrating lubricant and a combination of heat and cold. Most likely there is a little bit of corrosion due to dissimilar metals. If you heat it and cool it a few times you may get enough expansion and contraction of the aluminum and steel ( they grow and shrink at different rates) to get some lubricant worked in between them. Last step would be to start from completely cool, focus heat on the aluminum knuckle and pry/ punch the outer race of the bearing out gently. It may take a few tries depending on the tolerance of the two parts.

That is a very good recommendation.

The other question is, is anything in there worth salvaging? Looks like the knuckles are shot and with the nicks and chewed up surfaces, you need a new bearing. So I would throw it in the can and buy new.

[MG200]

That's exactly what the bearing in my knuckle looked like. Total pain to get that out. I used this dremel bit: http://www.dremel.com/en-us/Accessor....aspx?pid=9901

[johnnyh66]

That bit looks promising.

I don't think I can cut it without cutting the knuckle, even with my most worn down cut off disk.

Neil, trust me man... they have been teetering on the edge of the trash can for 2 weeks now! I have a few other sets of knuckles but none are high steer (except the foff VP's) and none are quality material... except the VP's.

I'd like to figure a way to remove them though... for future knuckles.
I don't like the idea of throwing out a set of $30 knuckles if I need to change a $1 bearing

[SMR 510RR]

You could try getting a piece of rod a similar O.D. and the I.D. of the bearing shell and using some epoxy to glue it to the bearing. That should give you something to hammer on from the backside, just make sure you dont get any on the knuckle.

Slotting it is a good idea, they you should be able to get a small flat head down the side and relieve some of the pressure off the fit and it should fall right out.

[opek]

Penetrating lube and a pair of pliers with a nice mechanical advantage. Put the edge of one jaw in the middle of the exposed bearing surface. Try and close the pliers, pushing the bearing case into the knuckle and up/out. It should give you way more mechanical advantage than trying to pry. I really need a picture.

[Krawler Kev]

Try a drill bit that is a little larger than the bearing - by hand. I had a bearing give out in the same knuckles and that is what I did. Quick n' easy.

[johnnyh66]

Originally Posted by Krawler Kev

Try a drill bit that is a little larger than the bearing - by hand. I had a bearing give out in the same knuckles and that is what I did. Quick n' easy.

That's actually the first thing I thought of... if I could get a bit to bite, it'd pop right out. But, I don't have a bit that big.