Removal of swing cylinder bushings on L35 backhoe

[pottermark]

Hi,

I'm new to this forum and recently got a Kubota L35. The swing cylinders bushings in the comp rods that swing the backhoe (BT900) are worn. I removed the pins but can't drive out the bushings. Tried a big pulley puller pushing against a slightly smaller dia. socket--no luck. I've heard about cutting a groove with a die grinder. Any advice greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Pottermark

 

[ThomasH]

The two common ways to remove a bushing are to saw or abrade a slot out of it; or to weld a bead across it as if to repair a slot. The welding trick will cause it to heat up, and when it cools off it will be looser then it was. The cutting of a slot can be done with a abrasive wheel, a sawzall, a hacksaw, etc.

Either way, you should be able to tap it out once it cools down or the slot is cut.

 

[pottermark]

Thanks ThomasH. I have heard of the weld bead trick but couldn't quite figure out whether it would go from one end of the bushing to the other or around the circumference. Your "as if to repair a slot" clarifies that nicely.

In fact I ended up hammering the bushing out making a drift out of an old bucket pin ground to just under bushing OD with a shoulder that kind of held it in place so I could two hand whack it with a 5# sledge. The mass of the drift and hammer did the trick. I supported the cylinder end at two opposing points on a couple of lengths of 1" solid steel square stock propped to the ground (a massive flat rock as I have no slab to work on here).

The new bushings are in the freezer overnight to shrink. I'll try to install without mangling them tomorrow.