Hydraulic press

[CaptRon66]

I'm slowly putting together all the tools to service an Alpha drive. Have everything to take it apart and reseal. Next on the list is a press. It will only be used occassionally so i'm not looking to spend a ton of money. Which type is preferable? Some use a bottle jack and rail. The piston from the ram does the pressing in another type. What ton rating is needed to press the gears and bearings? Any other features I should look for?

 

[THE BEEF]

Re: Hydraulic press

Check harbor freight for a press. A bottle jack will work ok .I don't know the tonage you need but I think 5 ton would be more then enough.When you press bearings and gears try warming the bearings not over 200 degrees in oil and freeze the shafts. you can almost drop them on that way just make sure you don't **** them.
Beef

 

[mikeneal]

Re: Hydraulic press

A local bearing supply house has let me use their press in the past to install bearing I bought from them, might be worth a call.

 

[JUSTINTIME]

Re: Hydraulic press

harbor freight 8)

 

[DHPMARINE]

Re: Hydraulic press

Harbor Freight #44811 is a bit light for some bearing/gear work,but ideal for seals,wheel bearings,ujoints,etc.Worth a look at.

Mine is five years old (was $139 back then) and is as good as the day I bought it.Great investment.Had a 'tough' job once and broke one of the arbor press plates.No other harm done.

DHP

 

[CaptRon66]

Re: Hydraulic press

Thanks for the input. There is another press harbor freight sells. #33497-5GA. Will this be better for bearings/gears? It's rated for 12 ton and I have the room for a stand up . It's rated for 2 more tons than the 44811 and cost a few bucks less. I need something that will work on bearings/gears. Concerned about going too light.

 

[DHPMARINE]

Re: Hydraulic press

I think you should be looking at,...well I'm not sure.......Hardest to press apart that I've had is the upper drive shaft from the upper drive verticle gear.That had a 50 ton shaking,as well as me.Burned out drives are real scary as well.

I haven't looked,but I would go at least a step up from the 12 ton range.

but I still like my little 10 tonner.

DHP

 

[bjcsc]

Re: Hydraulic press

I think either one will do. More than that and it's better to take it to a machine shop. Horrific things can and do happen when things fail under those kinds of pressures...

DHP: When I rebuilt my jet drive, I had to have the impeller pressed off of the drive shaft. It's just a tapered fit with a keyway. I couldn't get it to budge. Took it to a local shop and watched the gauge on the press: 49,500lbs later and it broke free, although it sounded like it exploded. After we passed 30,000 they setup a shield around it....not fun...but well worth $35...

 

[CaptRon66]

Re: Hydraulic press

Wow, Im glad I asked here . Wasn't expecting anywhere near that pressure. I read a how to article that said extreme pressure was needed to press the gear from the upper drive shaft. Were you able to press the gear back on with the 10 tonner? It wouldn't be bad going to somebody elses shop to just press that one gear off and back on again. As long as the rest could be done at home. i know this is starting to beat a dead horse here but it's really helping me with what to get.

 

[DHPMARINE]

Re: Hydraulic press

Generally,when I use our 50T unit,I see 18 to almost 30,000 on the gauge before the average pop apart.So the 12 ton would be 'hard pressed' (sorry).The 10 ton unit reassembles things well,but partly because I generally freeze the smaller part for 20 - 30 minutes in the fridge.Makes a world of difference.

DHP

 

[THE BEEF]

Re: Hydraulic press

What kind of press fit clearances are we talking on these drives?
Where I work we usually see .001 to .003 max. Like i said warm the stuff in oil,bearings ,gears ect and freeze the shafts with a co2 fire ext. for at least an hour or stick them in a freezer overnight they drop right on.If you have a
bad gear or bearing on a shaft get a grinder and put a cutoff wheel on it .Cut close to the shaft when you press it, it will break
at score and should come right off.
BEEF

 

[DHPMARINE]

Re: Hydraulic press

Good point BEEF.the tonnage problem is on the dissassembly side,and in some cases it just has to come apart to install new seals,and you run up a parts bill if you cut and destroy parts to get to them.

The hot oil is a good idea,but for most of what i do the freezer is enough.20 to 30 minutes does the trick,but anything less is a waste of effort.

DHP

 

[THE BEEF]

Re: Hydraulic press

OK
I understand Little more now,THANK'S
BEEF