I got this from a sharp Latino guy at the track.  In  between runs we'd chat about stuff.  This hack is absolute genius, and I've used it several times and it works great.

Tear up a bunch of newspaper and soak it in a bowl of water.  Wad up as much as you can and jam it into the pilot bearing/bushing bore.  Use a dowel, old input shaft, etc. and pound it into the newspaper.  Remove, add more newspaper.  Keep doing this until the bearing/bushing pops out. 

It works really well.  The newspaper holds the fluid so it doesn't just fly back in your face around what you're trying to use to drive into the bearing/bushing.  I tried this with grease one time.  Didn't work AND got grease everywhere. 
 

The roller pilot bearings I've seen all have little notches cut into the side that goes toward the crank.  The notches let you get a puller between the bearing and the crank.  The notches are hard to see when the bearing is installed though, and can be missed pretty easily.

Last edited by John Ha (9/07/2024 5:50 AM)

Not all cranks are made the same.

https://youtu.be/e3sh6pym5Ek?si=B3lfXqyBGYRDmgpL

Last edited by KeithP (9/08/2024 9:16 AM)

I bought a cheap one from Harbor Freight years ago.  Not well made and failed as I recall. 

MS wrote:

The welder never fails!!!
Bread and an old input shaft never fails on a bronze bushing, but on a roller bearing, there are too many holes for the hydraulic action to leak through.

For sure - can't argue with success 😀  I confess that if I'd tried to do that I'd probably have welded the nut to the crankshaft though.

Last edited by John Ha (9/08/2024 1:01 PM)