The cutless bearing was replaced due to excessive play and vibration. A bearing press was manufactured to get the job done. There is no need to remove the drive shaft. Remove the set screws from the strut. There should be 2 setscrews inside each hole. Soak the contact point between the bearing and strut with penetrating oil such as PBlast. May take days.
Need two flanges and a threaded 1” x 6” black iron pipe from Home Depot. The inside diameter of the black iron pipe is slightly bigger than 1”. Cut one end off and make square. Screw the one end onto a flange. Use a new cutless bearing as guide, have a machine shop turn down the black iron pipe to slightly smaller than the bearing.
The second flange, use a file or grinder stone to grind away the threads. Make sure it is bigger than the outside diameter of the cutless bearing. Cut a slot about 1” to slide over the drive shaft. Enlarge the holes on the flange to 3/8”.
Get 3 x 3/8” x 12” threaded rods and 9 nuts. Use the threaded rod to press out the old bearing. Grease the rod will help. Start with 3 rods. Once the old bearing moved, you can go down to just 2 rods. Heat the outside of the strut with a blow torch may help the penetrating oil to loosen the bond.
Once the bearing is pushed out of the strut, use an angle grinder with a cutter blade to cut a slit (carefully). Install the new bearing using the same press. Use a hose clamp to ensure the bearing and the press is aligned. The old bearing is uses as a shield for the drive shaft. Put some anti-seize compound on the bearing to ease effort for the next time. Remove the old bearing afterwards.
Need two flanges and a threaded 1” x 6” black iron pipe from Home Depot. The inside diameter of the black iron pipe is slightly bigger than 1”. Cut one end off and make square. Screw the one end onto a flange. Use a new cutless bearing as guide, have a machine shop turn down the black iron pipe to slightly smaller than the bearing.
The second flange, use a file or grinder stone to grind away the threads. Make sure it is bigger than the outside diameter of the cutless bearing. Cut a slot about 1” to slide over the drive shaft. Enlarge the holes on the flange to 3/8”.
Get 3 x 3/8” x 12” threaded rods and 9 nuts. Use the threaded rod to press out the old bearing. Grease the rod will help. Start with 3 rods. Once the old bearing moved, you can go down to just 2 rods. Heat the outside of the strut with a blow torch may help the penetrating oil to loosen the bond.
Once the bearing is pushed out of the strut, use an angle grinder with a cutter blade to cut a slit (carefully). Install the new bearing using the same press. Use a hose clamp to ensure the bearing and the press is aligned. The old bearing is uses as a shield for the drive shaft. Put some anti-seize compound on the bearing to ease effort for the next time. Remove the old bearing afterwards.
