Need Help Replacing Bearings

[turner]

I can't get my swingarm bolt to release. The bolt will turn, but wont budge with a sledge. I need some suggestions on how to get it out.

[Holyman]

Bigger hammer, harder hits.

Drill for a grease zirk and drill the sleeve once you get it apart.

[ator]

I had this same problem last year, I had to cut the bolt on both sides between the swingarm and frame, I was replacing the swingarm anyways so I ended up cutting the swingarm as well.

 

And I beat the hell out of that bolt with a 5lb sledge for like a week before I resoted to cutting.

[boonman]

You can tip the bike on it's side, and try to use some penetrating oil. Let it soak in, and keep spraying it for like 7-8 beers time worth. Then, go to sleep, because you will be a little too tipsy to be swinging a BFH with any sort of force in the vicinity of yourself and your machine. Spray some more stuff on it whenever you get up to take a leak. Then, the next day, start whacking away. It needs ALOT of persuasion from the mighty hand of the BFH. if not, other avenues involvin cutting tools may have to be used. Then, like aforementioned, I would drill that puppy out for a zerk. KEep it greased for further ease of future removal.

[Blacksmith]

PB-Blaster, much better than anything else, including WD-40.

It is sold at the world of wally and will get in there like nothing you have ever seen. Other than that follow boonman's ins to the letter and it will come out. Good luck.

[ator]

I had this same problem last year, I had to cut the bolt on both sides between the swingarm and frame, I was replacing the swingarm anyways so I ended up cutting the swingarm as well.

 

And I beat the hell out of that bolt with a 5lb sledge for like a week before I resoted to cutting.

I did the soaking of penetrating oil as well, before work, after work, while I was beating the hell out of the bolt.

 

After I cut it off it still would never come out, I even cut the center of the swingarm to see if I could loosen the bolt but it was (for lack of a better word) welded together. But I just through on the new shortened swingarm with the new bearings and I was done.

[silveradohd]

You need a bigger hammer. A friend of mine, had the same problem (RUST). Good luck.

[turner]

Thanks for the info, but my shit was completely ceased. I ended up resorting to the sawsall and some whiskey. I found that cutting the bolt out wasn't really too fun either. I had to break the right side cap off just to get a clean cut on the bolt. Once the cap came off, it was smooth sailing.

[Skiddz]

I feel your pain. Just went through this on my '87. She's undergoing a complete rebuild and that swingarm bolt was a bitch. My solution was brutal and straightforward.

 

set the frame on it's side and put two large bar clamps across the frame, one "above" and one "below" the swingarm pivot. (To keep the frame from spreading) Out came the BFH 2000 (a 5 lb BRASS hammer) and the penetrating oil. It took literally a hundred whacks to get the bolt to move 1/4". Once I'd moved it that far, I sprayed the penetrating oil in liberal quantities on both ends of the bolt, flipped the frame over and beat the bolt back flush. I then flipped it over and had at the threaded end again. After a few of these cycles and some application of heat, I was able to drive the bolt flush with the frame and then use a 3/8" brass drift to drive the bolt out all the way.

 

I had the same problem as you. The bolt had rusted itself to the inner bushing and needed to be persuaded with brute force. About the only salvagable part (other than the swingarm itself) was the bolt and nut. Both bearings were rusted, the thrust caps were beat to hell and the oil seals were melted from the heat of the torch. The center bushing was completely pitted where the bearings rode on it. Thankfully, Pivot Works makes an inexpensive bearing kit for these things..