Bearing splitter/puller recommendations?

[seuadr 488]

Hi all,

 

i've tried the couple of flat bar pulling method for pullies with shall we say - uh... limited success. 

 

I discovered bearing splitter/pullers for removing pesky pullies recently and i have to say, i think that the idea is great.

 

suspecting that i wouldn't use them very often, i decided to try out a harbor freight set. 

 

they immediately broke - at the threads on the arms.

 

i am assuming that this is because of low quality steel used for the arms themselves - but it could be operator error. i used them the same way i'd use a 3 arm puller - snugged the puller up to the shaft under the collar of the pulley, then threaded the arms in, centered them on the shaft and hand tightened them to lift the pulley off.

 

so - that said - i think the idea is still very sound, but, i need to invest in a better set. now, i see "no names" that i am assuming are essentially the same as the harbor freight running up in to the 80 dollar range, and then i see that places like grainger have some options that start around the 100 dollar range (Like this one) what i'm not sure of - is this any better? Westward appears to be a mid range brand, so i would expect the quality to be a bit better? i came across this one: Link! that looks quite nice, and covers up to 3" (which looks to be bigger than the grainger set)  and yeah, i'm not going to be pulling 3" bearings - but - when used for pullies may not be sufficient (thought i guess for the specific application of decks might be sufficient? 

From there, they seem to jump to 300+ dollars, which, is outside my spending range. 

[pacer 3,174]

Are you talking about this type puller (generally called 'clamshell') from HF?

 

Ive had one for several yrs now and use/abuse it quite often -- its the ONLY way I can get a steering wheel off!

The theres this one that I also use an awful lot -- think flywheel puller.......

 

 

 

Edited May 10, 2021 by pacer
Add pics

[seuadr 488]

6 minutes ago, pacer said:

Are you talking about this type puller (generally called 'clamshell') from HF?

 

Ive had one for several yrs now and use/abuse it quite often -- its the ONLY way I can get a steering wheel off!

 

yep. i tried using it to get a pulley off the chipper i'm rehabbing, the posts snapped off right at the threads into the splitter.

[pacer 3,174]

I have had mine for some time and no doubt they have changed suppliers ---- to a less quality?

[seuadr 488]

9 minutes ago, pacer said:

I have had mine for some time and no doubt they have changed suppliers ---- to a less quality?

possibly. the pulley was pretty beat up so i decided to order a replacement and cut it off with an angle grinder. obviously, the wheel horse deck pullies are a tad more expensive so i don't really wanna have to do that for them it i can help it.

 

i mean, to their credit - they went "yep. that is broken" and gave me my money back, but it didn't seem to make sense to get another one if that was just going to happen again.

 

i have to admit, the more i look at the OTC 4527 set, the more i like it. but i wonder if space might be an issue sometimes with it's single beam tightener. 

Edited May 10, 2021 by seuadr

[pacer 3,174]

Yabut........ didnt you notice the fine print on the OTC? This product has been discontinued

 

And I am NOT a fan of Grainger, way overpriced and seem to never have in stock the part I need. I worked for Delta Air Lines for several yrs as equip mechanic and they had Grainger set up for charging - and I left out of there many times grumbling. (course, I can say that was the only one I ever used and maybe others are better)

Edited May 10, 2021 by pacer

[seuadr 488]

Just now, pacer said:

Yabut........ didnt you notice the fine print? This product has been discontinued

 

And I am NOT a fan of Grainger, way overpriced and seem to never have in stock the part I need. I worked for Delta Air Lines for several yrs as equip mechanic and they had Grainger set up for charging - and I left out of there many times grumbling. (course, I can say that was the only one I ever used and maybe others are better)

yeah, i found one for sale for 100 dollars shipped from a tool shop in Ohio and decided to go ahead and pull the trigger. 

the grainger one looks eerily similar to the no name version(s) for sale online at various places so i was a little hesitant. I've read a number of reviews for that OTC product and similar ones and they are all pretty good so, fingers crossed i guess!

 

[pacer 3,174]

Good deal, and I think  - when you get a good one! that you will find it one of those tools you wonder how you ever got by without it.

[squonk 41,440]

Westward is China brand. Lots of Grainger is all China now. OTC=$$$$ I have the HF pullers and have abused the snot out of them. I pulled a 12" pulley off of a shaft on an air handler with the buggered up set screw still grabbing the key with out breaking them. I've bent the bolts holding the clamshells together. Unless you buy from Snap on,Mac or Proto, it's prolly gonna be China.

[seuadr 488]

7 minutes ago, squonk said:

Westward is China brand. Lots of Grainger is all China now. OTC=$$$$ I have the HF pullers and have abused the snot out of them. I pulled a 12" pulley off of a shaft on an air handler with the buggered up set screw still grabbing the key with out breaking them. I've bent the bolts holding the clamshells together. Unless you buy from Snap on,Mac or Proto, it's prolly gonna be China.

i guess i have bad luck, then. snapped both piller arms off right at the threads on a 5 1/2" pulled with no key or set screws in it.

 

we'll see if the the OTC one holds up better. 

[pacer 3,174]

25 minutes ago, squonk said:

the HF pullers and have abused the snot out of them.

My experience too, and all my threaded stock is still good too. His breaking at those points sure seem odd, have to wonder if was just kinda a fluke?