Stuck bearing traxxas .15 engine ?

[Antndrew78]

i have the engine apart and its in good shape just very dirty I tested the piston and sleeve and there seems to be plenty of life in it still the bearings are in very bad shape very gumbed up so I guess they need replacing I can get the factory set for $7 that's pretty cheap problem is after heating it up to get the crank out I used a heat gun the one bearing is stuck in the block and the other is on tight on the crank here are some pics I don't want to damage the crank or the block I was thinking besides wd 40 and some other cleaners I could maybe use a ultrasonic cleaner for the block and some parts. Has anyone ever done that and what's the best way to remove the bearings ?

 

[Certified Mike]

Heating the crank case and giving it a decent tap should knock the bearing out of it doesn't fall out on it's own. Def spend some time cleaning the contaminants off the parts BEFORE you try taking the bearings out. The fuel 'goo' may be acting as a glue, holding tight to the bearings. I have seen pinion and flywheel killers that you could prob get away with using to pull the bearing off the crank if heat doesn't work for that as well... Remember, for the crank, you'll want to hear the bearing, not the crank in order to let the bearing expand and make it easier to remove. The case should be heated in order to get that bearing out.

 

[Antndrew78]

I will be trying the the oven trick does anyone now a good temp and how long to leave it in

 

[Certified Mike]

I have seen anywhere from 220-° to 350°F I would say prob more towards 250 or so imo.

 

[Antndrew78]

What's a pinion and flywheel killer ? Lol

 

[cbaker65]

Put oven about 400 deg. an leave it in there about an 1 hr.

A little hand held torch is better on a bench vice!
an can get torch kit at home-depo!...

The reason why with torch on a vise ,is so you don't have to handle it ,because once heated ,you have to
punch it out quickly with a punch!....

 

[Antndrew78]

Ok so clamp the bearing down in the vice heat up the bearing and use a punch on the end of the crank ?

 

[cbaker65]

Ok so clamp the bearing down in the vice heat up the bearing and use a punch on the end of the crank ?

If your replacing the bearings anyway ,theres no need to be careful .
The trick ,is to put equal amount of force around the bearing to get it to come out or off!
I see your crank shaft has the inside bearing on it ,ok ,at least it is out of the block ,
the block has probably the front bearing still in it ,all you need is a little heat around the
front of the engine ,could be done by simply holding the front of the engine over the flame
on a stove burner with some pliers ,then punching it out with a punch real quick on a block of
wood!...

 

[Certified Mike]

Lol! Yah, my phone has been doing all kinds of funky stuff... Flywheel ***PULLER*** sorry bud!

If you have to use a punch or hit with a hammer at any point. Use brass!!! For the same reasons as wood, brass is a softer metal and will not mar the surfaces you are hitting.

400° does seem high to me but if @cbaker65 has used that temp with this method with success, go for it. Good luck!!!

 

[cbaker65]

I've never replaced or had to remove a bearing from a nitro engine ,however ,did have to use the oven method
to remove a few sleeves!...

Usually ,the only time you have to remove a bearing ,is if your putting new ones in!
Make sure that you remove the carb. before you add heat!...

 

[Certified Mike]

You Def want to be sure you're only heating the case, stripped of all other parts!

 

[Antndrew78]

Thanks for the info guys but after every method possible this bearing is cemented in there after the heat gun and the oven I tried using a torch and still not budging the top fin on the block heat sink also cracked so after many calls to lhs and no avail for a block or a used one I found one shop near me that will trade it for a new one under traxxas program for 75 dollars I think the old one is still good despite the top fin being broken off I will post a pic later

 

[Antndrew78]

Even though I tried tapping on the back and then banging the front where the bearing is it broke on the top maybe it was already cracked or weak there not sure

 

[cbaker65]

Dang that engine looks like it got roasted ,its a wonder if you even got the sleeve out!...

 

[Antndrew78]

Lol it was an escalation of force I really did treat it like it was porcelain but when every method failed I took the torch too it in a last ditch effort and it didn't work I have another .15 engine that doesn't look good going to try and salvage the block from that if not a new motor is going in

 

[Certified Mike]

White metal is fragile anyways... It sounds like you tried... What else can we do? Sorry it didn't work out so well this time. A for effort tho!

 

[Certified Mike]

Thinking, the traxxas trade in/up program sounds like a good option too.