bash bros

iTrader: (2)

+1 on the Hudy bearing tool. It's well worth the 89 bucks if you do frequent maintenance on your engines.

danyvw

+ 2 on Hudy tool. Awesome, period.

blis

Im not saying the bearing tool is mandatory...

Here's ways I've removed them in the past.

1) In the oven, 150c.. ( It takes a while to warm up and it's awkward to handle as you have to grab it with oven gloves - This method always worked as the entire block is hot)

2) Find a teflon insert to the crankcase to use as a holder, I have a small screwdriver handle that works. Insert the handle and use the stove top gas to heat up the crank around the bearings. Have a chopping board handy and when the oils start smoking, you're at around 150c. A good hard tap on the chopping board and it comes out.

3) As above in step 2 with a butane torch, for remote emergencies.

4) Find someone with a bearing puller!

And..

Yes, I put new bearings in the fridge/freezer to cool before install

Yes, you can try freezing your bearing with butane or propellant to get it out, but if it didnt come out with heat, it wont be likely to come out with freeze etc.

fyrstormer

iTrader: (1)

I'll be honest, I figured blowtorching the engine block would ruin it. It can't be good for the aluminum to be heated that much, it's hundreds of degrees above normal operating temperature. But perhaps I'm not giving it enough credit for durability.

I'll look into the bearing puller. I'm concerned it won't be able to handle the tiny bearings in my .08 engine, though. I might be stuck changing bearings the hard (i.e. impossible) way, in which case getting a bare crankcase and installing the best damn bearings I can get is probably still my best option.

kyosho malaysia

medium heat+puller=BEST COMBINATION

fyrstormer

iTrader: (1)

I'm honestly not sure the Hudy bearing puller would work for my engine. The .08 crankshaft is much narrower than a .12 crankshaft is.

This video sure makes it look easy. It was never that easy for me, not with a Picco engine anyway:

+ YouTube Video

blis

You may be right. What diameter is the crank on the .09 ?

fyrstormer

iTrader: (1)

7mm. The bearings are 13mm x 7mm and 14mm x 7mm.

Silver lining: Boca has the bearings I need, in stainless/ceramic, with and without metal shields, made to ABEC 5 tolerances. And the empty crankcases I ordered showed up, and there are no casting defects. (I had one with a casting defect in the exhaust, and it took me weeks to figure out why there was so much oil all over the engine, because the defect was so small.)

fyrstormer

iTrader: (1)

New bearings showed up today. They pressed into the crankcase easily at room temperature. I used a pair of fancy German parallel-jaw pliers to do the job, and I held the plier handles near the pivot point so I could get a better sense for how much force I was applying. Piece of cake, and the crankshaft spins freely.

Hopefully these bearings will put an end to blown-off outer seals.

kyosho malaysia

The crankcase's bearing area already worn out if you can fix the bearing easily

fyrstormer

iTrader: (1)

It can't be worn out, the crankcase was brand-new in the original packaging. When I say the bearings fitted into place easily, I mean I didn't have to struggle to install them -- I don't mean I could fit them in-place with my bare fingers. You make too many assumptions.

fyrstormer

iTrader: (1)

I decided to take another stab at removing the bearings from a used crankcase before I start using the new one I just installed bearings in. I have an electric hotplate, so I tried that approach this time, and it finally worked. I had to get the crankcase so hot that the oil all burned black, and my IR thermometer wouldn't tell me how hot it was, but the bearings finally came loose. I was able to whack-out the rear bearing, but the front bearing required grabbing the inner race with a pair of needlenose pliers and pulling it out. Unlike larger engines, the Picco P-0's crankshaft is the full diameter all the way through the crankcase, so there's no way to press against the inner race of the front bearing from the back side -- pulling is the only way to get it out. Once I gave up, cranked the hotplate to maximum heat, and let the crankcase sit on it for a full ten minutes, the front bearing finally came loose.

Bah. What a shitshow. At least it worked this time.

blis

'

Yep, welcome to the club!

fyrstormer

iTrader: (1)

*pins another medallion on his RC dress uniform*

snuvet75

iTrader: (16)

blis is right but I have never used any heating when removing bearings. They go in and out just fine w/ the Hudy bearing tools and no heating.To me, if the bearings (esp. the rear) don't come out easy w/ the tool, it's an alarming sign that there might be something wrong.