<VV> removing yokes from EM drive shafts

Larry Forman Larry at forman.net
Mon Apr 18 00:21:17 EDT 2005


At 02:52 PM 4/17/2005 -0400, Yelospdr64 at aol.com wrote:
>Someone told this would give me fits but I didn't think it would be this
>hard.
>I have tried several different tools to no avail. Right now I have a gear
>puller on the yoke, with two bolts through the holes where the U bolts go, and
>have tried torquing the center bolt with an impact wrench and a breaker 
>bar. The
>thing won't budge. I though about building a puller out of old yokes as
>described in the tech guide but I don't see how this would work better 
>than what
>I'm using. Is heat the only answer. One friend suggested splitting the 
>yoke as a
>last resort. Should I, could, I use a cut off wheel to do this?
>Thanks in advance
>Alan
>64 Spyder.

Hi Alan,
I also had trouble with this in the past.  After I ruined a puller, I 
decided to make my own.  While an extra yoke would work well, I decided to 
take a heavy plate about 1/2 inch thick and admittedly overkill, but it was 
scrap anyway.  To that I drilled four holes to mate with the 4 U-joint 
holes and a huge center hole for a LARGE bolt to go through.  I welded a 
short piece of heavy pipe about maybe 3/8" long around a large hole and 
then welded a grade 8 nut to that.  I then use a LARGE bolt that will just 
mate with the end of the axle and thread into the grade 8 nut.  So this is 
an industrial strength puller specific for EM axles.  I have yet to find a 
yoke that will not succumb to this tool.  I have used the torch to help 
along with PB Blaster or lately Seafoam Deep Creep, which I like a LOT 
better.

When using a puller, use heat, a rust solvent, banging, and pull until it 
binds up.  Then wait and repeat.  DON'T do as I did once and just keep 
turning the puller, which I destroyed and turned the major bolt into a cork 
screw.  Excellent paper weight now.  LOL.

PS, make DARN sure you pulled the end bolt out!  BTW, confession time, once 
I thought I would use a washer at the bottom end of the large bolt.  I must 
have been dozing off when I did this, because I just used the ORIGINAL 
washer.  Naturally, I only succeeded in bending it before I rethought the 
process and removed that washer.

If you finally give up, yes, you can split it and axle yokes, while they 
are a wear item that periodically need replacing or at least checking, and 
are a lot less expensive than the axles and bearings.

You got my attention about this subject line, since I JUST pulled two axle 
yokes tonight.  Both had been off several times and came off with the 
custom puller.  Others have said a stock steering wheel puller will work, 
but I think for really stuck ones, it might take a better puller.  The two 
axle yoke approach or mine, can allow a much heavier grade 8 bolt and nut 
and hardware, so it should be stronger than most pullers you can buy.  With 
mine, everything is VERY stout and small in distance.  It IS fairly heavy 
since the plate is way overkill.

Larry



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