Swingarm bearing removal

[great white]

The welding trick is an old one. Far older than I am. Learned it from an old mech in a small one horse town bike shop.

Watching an old mechanic using heat, hammers and leverage is like watching an artist, it's a real skill.

When I started work it was not uncommon to see old tradesmen still "on the bench" I worked in a large workshop that even had separate specially equipped rooms for auto trans, another for diffs, one for engines etc and had a store, with full time storeman, that was stocked exclusively with special tools and equipment. The old blokes rarely used any of it.

This was in the late 60's, some of these mechanics started in the 20's & 30's and worked on vehicles that dated back to before WW1. There were no special tools. Give these blokes an oxy torch, a few hammers a big screw driver and a couple of tyre levers and there was nothing they couldn't get apart, intact and without breaking a sweat.
If you appreciate these sort of manual skills, it was magical to watch. It's a stark contrast to modern mechanics when you look at the equipment they can't work without.

Noel

I hear ya, old guys could do some impressive things with few tools.

But that's also because that's the way vehicles were made back then. Nuts and bolts, vacuum and pressures and it all ran. Not super accurate, but they ran and were (mostly) dependable. Most complicated piece of electronics on them was usually the dash panel.

As to new mechs, I'm not taking anything away from them either. Vehicles are made differently now. Special tools are required because there is only one way to fix something. Can't work on a computer control with a smoke wrench (well, you can, but only once).

When I left the trade, the most complicated things we had were EGA's and Bear testers (IE: scope). Now, everything is proprietary. Nothing is repairable, its all disposable. Mechs have no choice but to work on cars the way the OEM's intended to.

So yeah, guys mostly just diagnose and replace these days, but it's not because they don't want to. It's because manufacturers have left them no choice but to work the way the OEM's want them to. Which is diagnose and replace. that's the quickest, easiest and cheapest way to deal with warranty work. When those types of vehciles get older nd out of warranty, the processes are still the same to "repair" as when they were under warranty, which makes repairs expensive for the average Joe.

This also falls right in to where the OEM's want us:don't repair, replace. Don't ficx it, buy a new one. It's all part of the "planned obsolescence" bullshite all manufacturers want us locked into, whether you're talking about cars, bikes, refrigerators or televisions.

Me? I got off that wheel a long time ago. I fix my own stuff and don't feel the need for the newest "whatever" when they release it. Well, I may want it, but I know I don't need it.....

[Sparky84]

I tried the google search around here for anything specific to replacing the swingarm bearings,

Although I thought I was unnecessarily replacing them, it turns out I really actually needed to do it.
With my new drift spacer tool thingy I can seriously consider replacing the swingarm bearings on my other FJ's as they all have way more k's on them.

Damn you Troy (I was going to do them anyway) but Damn you 
Swing arm will be off tomorrow and I'll replace those bearings.
It's a pain knocking that swing arm up to remove it.
There's the bearing number for an 84 swing arm
Got a 10mm longer eye for the shock, just need to press out bushing from old eye and press in to new eye.

[Sparky84]

Well bearings are OUT, trick was to pull inside cage out, so you only have the outside left.
And HEAT from heat gun on swing arm did work.
New bearings went in easy. Swing arm back in also.