treemuncher
Senior Member
I just finished disassembly of a bearing carrier unit today. One of two that I am rebuilding on an FAE cutter head. One side had a bearing going down so everything will be rebuilt at once, including the 2 main rotor bearings. This repair requires the removal of the hydraulic motors (meaning drain the hydraulic system, again) so I might as well get everything done in one shot. At the end of the day, it's all apart but how to do it was a learning experience. Maybe I can pass on a trick or two to others in the same predicament sometime in the future.
After getting the bearing carrier housing out, it took a little research to see how this unit came apart. The outer snap ring under the outer seal was a no-brainer but the inner snap ring holding down the inner bearing was not evident on the parts break down and it was deep in grease. It was only after scooping out the grease and poking around with a screwdriver that I finally found the hidden ring that was keeping me from pressing the unit apart. Ok, I found the ring, it's about 4-5 inches deep in a narrow cavity and it's a very stout 5/32" x 4-3/8" ring. Most snap ring pliers won't reach that deep and those that can have an interference fit with the screw or other components. Now what? You can just barely see the snap ring near the tip of the screwdriver.
So I have 5/8" wide circular gap that is about 4"-5" deep to get to the snap ring. One old skinny pair of SR pliers touches but won't hold the ring down long enough to get a screwdriver or hook into the gap. Even my neighbor, a retired HE mechanic, did not have anything in his wide variety of SR pliers to access this ring. Time to think and make a tool. I need to get this done.
5/8" x 5" bolt fits snugly within the gap. Get a cup of cooling water and turn on the bench grinder. I'm going to turn a cam type pin out of this bolt to twist the end of the snap ring so that I can get a hook under it when it's twisted out. I make sure not to blue the steel of the bolt by cooling it after every few seconds of grinding. This will be a tool that I will save. I've already got one of the snap rings out from the outer end so I had an easy method of sizing my ground pin dimensions.
The finished tool:
While it may not be perfect, it was perfectly suited to allow me to get a couple of heavy duty pick/hooks under the released end to finally work out the snap ring. Rather than weld on a T handle, I just used a 15/16 wrench to twist the tool while forcing the pick under the released end. Not the easiest way to pull the SR but it got the job done.
After getting the bearing carrier housing out, it took a little research to see how this unit came apart. The outer snap ring under the outer seal was a no-brainer but the inner snap ring holding down the inner bearing was not evident on the parts break down and it was deep in grease. It was only after scooping out the grease and poking around with a screwdriver that I finally found the hidden ring that was keeping me from pressing the unit apart. Ok, I found the ring, it's about 4-5 inches deep in a narrow cavity and it's a very stout 5/32" x 4-3/8" ring. Most snap ring pliers won't reach that deep and those that can have an interference fit with the screw or other components. Now what? You can just barely see the snap ring near the tip of the screwdriver.
So I have 5/8" wide circular gap that is about 4"-5" deep to get to the snap ring. One old skinny pair of SR pliers touches but won't hold the ring down long enough to get a screwdriver or hook into the gap. Even my neighbor, a retired HE mechanic, did not have anything in his wide variety of SR pliers to access this ring. Time to think and make a tool. I need to get this done.
5/8" x 5" bolt fits snugly within the gap. Get a cup of cooling water and turn on the bench grinder. I'm going to turn a cam type pin out of this bolt to twist the end of the snap ring so that I can get a hook under it when it's twisted out. I make sure not to blue the steel of the bolt by cooling it after every few seconds of grinding. This will be a tool that I will save. I've already got one of the snap rings out from the outer end so I had an easy method of sizing my ground pin dimensions.
The finished tool:
While it may not be perfect, it was perfectly suited to allow me to get a couple of heavy duty pick/hooks under the released end to finally work out the snap ring. Rather than weld on a T handle, I just used a 15/16 wrench to twist the tool while forcing the pick under the released end. Not the easiest way to pull the SR but it got the job done.