Honda Spree and Elite 50 Forums

I am thinking about splitting my engine to do some simple porting but I don't want to go out and buy a bunch of expensive tools that I will only use one time.
I found a list of oreillys loaner tools online and I was wondering which tools I can use to split and possibly press together the cases? http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/RentalTools.oap

I know I can use the harmonic balancer puller kit to split the case.
Surprisingly they don't have a flywheel puller in the loan-a-tool program. Any possibles you see there that might work?
Any tools in there to seperate bearings that are stuck onto the crank after splitting the case?
And finally, any tools in there to press the case together? The tusk tool is pretty expensive ($50 for one time use not really worth it).

What about using the freezer/oven method. I know that its a good method to install seals and bearings into the case itself. What about using it to install the crank halves together? Meaning once the bearings are already in the case, freezing the crank and heating the case and then pressing them together.

Those are automotive tools and will not work on scoots, i get my cases split for $100 plus parts and there is no freezing or heating, old engine mounts can get a torch.

the almighty dog doesnt do his own blocks .Whats going on i thought you were the man of all men

I have used the harmonic balancer puller from autozone. it is a pain though. For reinstallation freeze the bearings and crank and heat the crank case halves. Drop bearings in. Then heat the inner part of one of the bearings and drop the frozen crank into it. heat the other bearing's inner part and put that crank case half on the crank shaft's other side. quickly bolt the case halves together... all done. I think it is easier than you are making it out to be.

After reading many of maddogs posts, it really does seem like he is just a major troll. I would never pay someone $100 to split my cases. Judging from posts that I've read on the forums, a steering wheel puller seems to work fine splitting the cases, and it only cost about $20.

I dont have a heat gun to use to heat the bearings once they are in the case. I was thinking I could just freeze bearings and heat case in oven and install bearings into case. Then I could freeze crank and heat case (with bearings installed) in oven and then just insert the case halves onto crank.

I use a propane torch... and like i said you can use the harmonic balancer puller from the oreilly loaner tool program.

oh and if your bearings get stuck on the crank I take it to my local motor cycle shop. he's a friend of mine but I can't see anyone at a small shot charging more than $30 buck to pull those bearings off.

This is one of those projects where there are many different options. A quick search will reveal many different methods.

I use a steering wheel puller from Autozone to separate the case halves - the method is described in Wikispreedia - using a couple of old roller weights and cylinder bolts to help. I've never seen a guillotine type bearing puller in a loaner program but that is what you need to pull the old bearings off the shaft - Harbor freight sells several versions (cheap) that will work. I've also gotten a local shop to do it for about $15.00

The freezer/oven method for installing the bearings in the case halves also works quite well - I've done it using the oven but have found that a simple (and cheap) heat gun works better and pin-points where the heat goes. Be sure to coat the bearings with oil before freezing.

The tricky part is putting the halves back together without damaging the crankshaft. Obviously, getting the Tusk puller is the best way to make sure it gets done right. However, if you're cheap and stubborn like me, it can be done by stacking washers (assuming you have plenty of washers of varying size (you can also use any type of spacers):

Simply stack the washers almost to the end of the shaft, put the nut on and tighten it, pulling the shaft thru. Remove the nut, add another washer or two, and tighten again until you get the shaft all the way in. Then tackle the other side. If you take your time and act carefully, it isn't difficult.

The first time takes a while - I've done it about 4-5 times now and it takes about an hour.

Good luck

Just re-read your post - missed the flywheel puller question.

I haven't seen any clever, sure-thing work arounds for pulling the flywheel. The pullers are inexpensive and make the task easy - even Amazon sells them for around $12.00. IMHO, these are worth aquiring. Just make sure you get the correct thread pattern for your model - I'm sure that info is available on this forum somewhere...

Flyhweel puller on the way from amazon. I was hoping that oreilly would have one in the loan a tool program but they dont.

Hmmmmmmm the washer idea seems like a possible option for me. I need to go check out the hardware store once I get the case split on Monday (when flywheel puller arrives) to get the washers. Thanks for your advice.

If for some reason I don't do the washer method, will the bearings get damaged if I put them in the oven after theyve been installed in the case? I don't have a heat gun or a blow torch so I want to throw the bearings and case into the oven and simply freeze the crank. (Most likely will give the washer method a try though, thank you!)

they will be fine preheat to 280┬║ bake for 10 - 15 mins or untill golden brown lol ok maybe not till golden brown 10mins will do

A quick word of thanks to the people who posted on this thread and their mention of the WiKi article:
http://hondaspree.net/wiki/index.php5?t ... Reassembly

Interestingly the Tusk puller instructions also mention the heating & freezer method in case their tool won't work on both sides of the crank:
https://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/docs ... tions2.pdf

Personally, I'll be going with the washer method above or a variation on that idea. Heat & freeze looks interesting, but as I only have a small freezer which for some reason has a lot of food taking up the space I'll have to leave that method on hold for now.

This one seems to have the basics well covered, but if there are other useful threads on crank splitting, I'd be grateful for links.

Freezing the crank first helps installation even with the tool. I had to drive a partially assembled bottom end back apart and re-do it when the Tusk tool wouldn't pull the crank and half completely together. Cold + oil helped a lot.

noiseguy wrote:Freezing the crank first helps installation even with the tool. I had to drive a partially assembled bottom end back apart and re-do it when the Tusk tool wouldn't pull the crank and half completely together. Cold + oil helped a lot.

OK, guess I'll just have to eat as much food from the freezer as possible over the next couple of days.

OK, all done. Thanks again for all the tips.
Heating the cases and freezing the bearings certainly helped, the crank was a lot smaller than I had imagined so went into the freezer no problem. The variator side just dropped in & I used some large washers to pull the crank through the other side and the cases together.