Tool for removing a bearing

Abstract

A bearing may consist of one or more components where relative motion can take place between the bearing surface and a mating surface and where the mating surface may be a component of the bearing. Many bearings are circular and may be installed and secured in a housing by swaging an annular outer lip into an annular chamfer of the housing. A tool is provided for facilitating the removal of the bearing. The tool employs one or more cutter teeth which engage the swaged lip of the bearing. Axial force applied to the cutter while it is rotated effectively cuts away the annular lip thereby allowing the bearing to be pressed out of the housing. The cutter may be used in conjunction with other tool components which include (a) a bolt which extends through the center of the circular bearing, (b) centering rings which correctly orient the bolt relative to the annular lip of the bearing, (c) a nut and (d) Belleville washers which are disposed between the nut and the cutter. Tightening of the nut therefore preloads the washers against the cutter which generates the required axial force to effectively facilitate the cutting action on the lip as the cutter is rotated by means of a wrench or the like. A significant feature of the tool relates to the cutter tooth configuration which, along with the centering rings, assures that no contact with the housing by the cutter can take place during bearing removal, thereby avoiding damage to the housing.