mk1-forum.net

Would anybody have any good suggestions or tips on removing the idler gear bush from the intermediary housing. I have done it in the past using a dremel, heat, slide hammer, long nosed pliers, mole grips, youtube, a team of 3 people and an extraordinary amount of time.
There must be a better way
Thanks. Mark

If you're talking about the outer bearing race in the transfer case,that's not a DIY job in my experience (unless you have an oxy-acetylene torch and bearing puller to hand).
I've always shipped it out to local friendly old school engineering workshop man and furnished him with beer tokens.
Every job on a Mini is luvverly though ....

I've seen people heat the housing and bang them down and other 'butchery' methods. Then they wonder why their idler gears scream and they get poor life from idler gear bearings

This is one job for which you should use the right tool. I have a Sykes Internal Bearing Collet, it goes in and then your wind it to expand it, it grips from behind the bearing. They suggest a slide hammer attached to then extract the bearing, but I have made a threaded puller, no banging. The Sykes tool is not at all expensive.

I have the proper puller for this (lar-di-da )

but you can get it out with heat, but you have to warm the whole case in an oven for about half an hour, then drop it flat onto a large bit of wood, the bearing will just drop out, it your quick enough you can turn the case over and slide the new bearing in at the same time.

you can also get both the bearings out by mig welding a long bolt to them, the localised heat makes the case expand just enough for the bearing to pop out, but its a bit of a hit and miss method as its easy to melt the case

would it hydraulic out ?

Done it many times on bearing's on gearbox end of a crank shaft, sweet little trick

Not sure if it would work on a mini transfer case, would be my first port of call though.

nick@dunsdale wrote:would it hydraulic out ?

Done it many times on bearing's on gearbox end of a crank shaft, sweet little trick

Not sure if it would work on a mini transfer case, would be my first port of call though.

this does sometimes work, but ive seen people try it and neatly punch the alloy case out on the other side.....

You're talking about one of these suckers ?



http://www.toolgurus.co.uk/sykes-pickav ... /?09581200

Then you'd need to fabricate the puller bit (ooer).

Oooh lar di dah Rich. I will try the oven trick first as thankfully I already have one of them. If it melts the case I will buy a proper puller (and a new case!)
If you have a picture or name of the appropriate tool that would be great.

http://www.guess-works.com/Tech/spigot.htm

From Mr Gearbox

guru_1071 wrote:

nick@dunsdale wrote:would it hydraulic out ?

Done it many times on bearing's on gearbox end of a crank shaft, sweet little trick

Not sure if it would work on a mini transfer case, would be my first port of call though.

this does sometimes work, but ive seen people try it and neatly punch the alloy case out on the other side.....

Lol i would use an old transfer gear to hopefully avoid that happening

NZmember wrote:http://www.guess-works.com/Tech/spigot.htm

From Mr Gearbox

Wouldn't mind a quid for every time I've tried that. I've never had it work yet & always resort to
the Dremel or similar. When I worked for a Leyland dealer in the early 1970's we had all the special tools to remove the idler gear & 1st motion shaft support bearing outer, in a matter of seconds. Unfortunately when the place closed down, someone had already liberated them, along with the Cooper engined Mini pick-up.

Lord Croker wrote:

NZmember wrote:http://www.guess-works.com/Tech/spigot.htm

From Mr Gearbox

Wouldn't mind a quid for every time I've tried that. :.

why would a 'gearbox specalist' release a video like that....

you would think he had the correct tools for the job...

LDR209H wrote:You're talking about one of these suckers ?



http://www.toolgurus.co.uk/sykes-pickav ... /?09581200

Then you'd need to fabricate the puller bit (ooer).

YES But I only bought 2 of them as that's all that's needed.

NZmember wrote:http://www.guess-works.com/Tech/spigot.htm

From Mr Gearbox

Errrr,,, not something I'd recommend, but I have sold a few transfer cases to guys who have followed this.

With the correct puller, there is no need to warm the casing.

guru_1071 wrote:

Lord Croker wrote:

NZmember wrote:http://www.guess-works.com/Tech/spigot.htm

From Mr Gearbox

Wouldn't mind a quid for every time I've tried that. :.

why would a 'gearbox specalist' release a video like that....

you would think he had the correct tools for the job...

You'd think he'd have a better blow torch that didn't blow out!

guru_1071 wrote:

Lord Croker wrote:

NZmember wrote:http://www.guess-works.com/Tech/spigot.htm

From Mr Gearbox

Wouldn't mind a quid for every time I've tried that. :.

why would a 'gearbox specalist' release a video like that....

you would think he had the correct tools for the job...

I was thinking the same.. But then again, he only guesses that it works...

I've got the proper pullers as well. Mandatory.

I can't fault the logic in what you say, but I've never had any aluminium come out with the bearing in over 40 years, there was never any mention of heating the cases in either garage where I worked, where they had the correct pullers. Maybe I was just lucky!

my top tip for stripping old gearboxes is to strip the diff off them, de stud them, undo the two big nuts, take the laygear out, then put them in a bucket of red hot water for half an hour, have a cup of tea, then whip the box out the water and get the two big bearings out whilst the case is nice and hot.

the mainshafts are often easier to strip with a bit of latent heat in them, particularly if the top hat bush is tight

the water does no harm once its stripped, I just spray a bit of wd40 of the gears once they are stripped.

I often will put the bare clean case in red hot water for a bit before I build them as well, just to help the bearings slip back in.


I just don't think its good practice to be thumping away with a punch and a lump hammer if the bearings are tight.

I think I may have been labouring under some kind of misapprehension, I was referring to the bearings in the transfer housing, not the main gearbox. However, I would never apply the force of a lump hammer to remove a bearing from a light alloy casting & have never had the need to, even when cold. The big problem I find now is the tightening of the 2 big nuts with an impact wrench, I recently had to strip a Metro Turbo box because tightening the pinion nut in this way had taken teeth off the laygear. (The nut had to be ground off)