Thanks for the follow up.
I too find these HF tools and equipment to be great as long as ones expectations are reasonable. And for most home applications, HF is a great source. You lucked out getting one still in the box for an even more discounted price.
Next time you’re at Harbor Freight buy a 5 inch bearing splitter and you should be able to handle most things you need to. If you have a good set of large sockets to use as well.
Glad its worked out. Let me rescind the idea of adding a bigger jack due to the potential hazard. I only really used one a couple of times and I borrowed the use of the one at the Olds dealer. Don’t know how big it was but when the pieces finally popped out, it made quite a racket. I like the idea of welding some additional support on it.
It’s normal for something that’s put under great pressure to suddenly make a big BANG! sound when it lets loose.
Just gotta get used to it.
Tester
Bing, I’m laughing. First let me note that I now recognize that press work is much more art than science. (I always had a shop do it before, so this is my first hands on). The science is simple - crush force. The “art” is fully controlled crush force - that won’t hurt you while it gets the job done. The full story is long but my first test piece was a control arm bushing and there was no level press surface so I had to improvise. Suffice it to say that I’ve already seen things fly across the garage when something decides to go. It didn’t fly at me as I was paying attention to where things might go, but I was also hiding behind a 1/4 sheet of plywood anyway as I heeded ok4450’s advise about a shield.
In any case - I’m now deathly afraid of 12T. At this stage, I think if I had to make it to 20T I’d bite the bullet and take it in. So that puts me a notch behind ok4450 in courage. He waited until 100T before he hid behind a wall.
@asemaster, you’re absolutely right about the extra tool suggestions. Thanks. I never go to HF - but I do pick up things from time to time from craigslist (obviously).
@cigroller, I’m not brave at all when it comes to a press. I’ve had a part shatter a few times in the past and one incident was extremely painful when a shrapnel about the size of a little fingernail buried itself in the side of my palm. Don’t mind saying I had tears in my eyes over that one and it hurt a lot more coming out than it did going in…
After that and if something did not come loose very easily a shield was always used.
That’s the one thing I always hated about repairing Subaru manual transmissions. With most other manuals a lot of the gears and bushings will pretty much just drop onto the shafts.
When it comes to Subaru they’re pressed on very tightly and it takes an assortment of special tools and as many tentacles as an octopus to wrestle that stuff off of and back onto the main and countershafts. Everything on them has to be squashed off and on.