Swingarm bushings...how to install???

[Sam 78 GS750]

I've tried everything to get these suckers in. I had to torch and cut and whack the hell out of them with a BFH to get the old worn ones out, and the new ones won't go in no matter how hard I try to persuade them.

I have the new bearings in, just used some threaded rod and they went in nice and easy.

 

[Cipher]

A long drift and tap em out from the opposite side
they are a bugger

 

[JJ]

Get a bigger hammer... Good luck!

 

[Cipher]

Oh sorry freeze em and heat the swingarm
pop em in cold as I recal hardest part was initial insertion after that the went in easy enough

 

[cowboyup3371]

Freeze them and heat the swingarm like Cipher said. When you go to install them, use a block of wood large enough to cover the entire bearing plus a little extra and a hammer to knock them down into place. Be sure to hit on all sides so as to knock the bearing in evenly

 

[Guest]

I've tried everything to get these suckers in. I had to torch and cut and whack the hell out of them with a BFH to get the old worn ones out, and the new ones won't go in no matter how hard I try to persuade them.

I have the new bearings in, just used some threaded rod and they went in nice and easy.

When you say bushings, what part are you referring to in this parts diagram?

http://www.partzilla.com/parts/search/Suzuki/Motorcycle/1978/GS750B/REAR+SWINGING+ARM/parts.html

Is it #6, the spacers that go inside the bearings or something else?


Mark

 

[Sam 78 GS750]

When you say bushings, what part are you referring to in this parts diagram?

http://www.partzilla.com/parts/search/Suzuki/Motorcycle/1978/GS750B/REAR+SWINGING+ARM/parts.html

Is it #6, the spacers that go inside the bearings or something else?


Mark

I'm talking about #5 on that diagram...the bushings that the bottom shock bolts connect to...

 

[Guest]

I made this to both remove and install:

7A8EAD0B-315A-4382-B4D7-6300617F2BD5 by starpoint73, on Flickr

Appropriately sized sockets bolt to the top and bottom, bushings in the freezer for a while, and they ended up installing pretty easily.

To remove I heated the swingarm. One side was easy, the other not so much.

 

[Guest]

I'm talking about #5 on that diagram...the bushings that the bottom shock bolts connect to...

OK, good. Now we are all talking about the same thing. I agree with the others that you want to heat the swingarm and freeze the bushings. Also check the edges of the bores and the bushings to make sure they are all nicely chamfered with no burrs or anything to hang up.


Mark

 

[bwringer]

Hydraulic press is the correct way.


I got mad at an incompetent monkey in a machine shop a few years back and bought my own 20 ton hydraulic press. The thing has turned out to be ridiculously useful for all sorts of things, not just pressing bearings and bushings in and out.

 

[Guest]

Hydraulic press is the correct way.

This is true. I'm a dumbass and forgot to mention anything about applying force in my post above... While a press is the best choice a bench vise works just fine for lots of smaller pieces and allows slow, controlled application of force. If OP can rig up a vise with some soft blocks to press the bushings in that should work no problem.


Mark

 

[Sam 78 GS750]

Thanks for all the help guys. I managed to get them in. I sanded the edge of the bores a bit, and that helped get them started. There must have been something they were hanging up on. Putting them in the freezer helped too.

Once they were started I managed to get them the rest of the way in by adding a couple of these to my threaded rod setup --->https://946e583539399c301dc7-100ffa5b52865b8ec92e09e9de9f4d02.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/16591/3104153.jpg

The washers I used to press the bearings in were just bending on me, so I guess these bushings needed a little more force. More and more I'm finding that whacking away with a hammer is great for getting things out...but slow controlled force is much easier on the install...

A hydraulic press would be nice, but it's a bit out of the budget.

Pete - That bottle jack setup looks pretty awesome!

 

[Guest]

The bottle jack setup is ok, but to be honest the steel I used wasn't quite solid enough... the top part started to bow at one point.

Also, you do need to take care that it's pressing evenly as the way I clamped the base to the cross bar isn't ideal and is just using what I had laying around, so it can move a bit.

It certainly did the job though!