Seeing we are far off message Hudson Hornets powered by 308 CU F head 6 cylinders dominating V8s. NASCAR Champions 3 years straight, 1952, 53, 54. check 3: 50
OK OK.. we do seem to have come quite a long way off topic. So how about climbing back on with some more thoughts ? Here's the bearing, split : The pound coin is in there for scale. Since the bearing is likely the original one, I'd like to replace it - ones of the right size are available (it's an imperial-sized one). But : The two halves of the bearing look a pig to remove. The inner one is flush against the crank, and there's very little to pull on ; the outer race I could probably press out but given the relatively small casting it's in, I'm scared of cracking that. What does the panel suggest ? Heat, maybe, for the outer one, and lots of care ? custom-made thing with a slot in it to go over the inner one ? Thought I would collect opinions before piling in...
Nick it with a thin cutting disk, then split it with a cold chisel, the race is brittle and should just crack, just be careful not to touch the crank,
Press the outer one out using a suitable drift & some tube the correct size. Best source is a decent socket set for both items. Or you could run a seam of weld around the inside & it will probably drop out!
it is now ! its balls have been removed a replacement will be found here https://simplybearings.co.uk/shop/Bearings-Self-Aligning-Ball-Bearings/c3_4/index.html
We used to use large spherical roller bearings a fair amount in work. If a roller or ball popped out we used to clean it off and put it back with a dab of clean grease to hold it in place.
I can get a replacement bearing - I am wondering if it's worth doing the replacement, but the track of the balls on the outer race is very visible and there's some pitting. It seems pretty hard to feel how much runout there is in bearings of this type. I did consider just getting a replacement set of balls (Jeez, it's impossible to discuss this stuff without innuendo, isn't it ? I do sometimes wonder how bearing factories managed to survive and make money without spending half their working hours making schoolboy jokes and giggling over questionable phrases in statements of work, or desperately trying to keep a straight face while reading out design proposals with women in the room) and putting them into the cage, but I'm also doing this for the experience/enjoyment/fun/learning, so that makes me err on the side of "do it". Thanks for all the input by the way.
As mentioned before, run a seam of weld inside the track, that should shrink it enough to come out. Or weld a bar across it and drift it out over a suitable support.
I'm intrigued by the 'run a seam of weld' option. Never come across that before (and I don't have a welder, although it's something I want to learn so am looking for some good hands-on tuition, reachable from Surrey-ish area...). I would have thought the heat would expand the bearing, which is the opposite of what you want. Is it that the seam contracts when it cools and pulls/shrinks the bearing race with it ? I'm going to have a go at pressing the bearing out this weekend, I'll report back !
Running a bead around the inside of a race is a very common method of removing a bearing, you need a steady hand though if using stick, I've seen a bearing accidentally tack welded in on more than one occasion, you only really need three or four short runs spaced around it, what it does is initially expand, then when it cools it shrinks the race, done correctly they just fall out, no hammering needed.
