Stevens T-231 Drive SHaft Bushing Puller.
Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2019 2:14 pm
In getting ready for an upcoming rear axle/driveline rebuild I thought that I would take the time to fix a problem with the Stevens Drive Shaft Bushing Puller that I have. This is probably a problem that other that own this tool have as well. The pawls that actually pull the bushing do not work due to the broken/missing torsion spring.
The above photo shows the excellent N.O.S. condition of the existing spring (remember N.O.S. can also mean Never Outta Service). There was not much left of the spring to begin with and without the spring the pawls just push back into the bore of the pilot and do not return, effectively making the tool useless. The photo below was the first spring that I had made.
The new spring, looks good and fits well sorta, I just made one mistake; I knew that it had to be a Left-Hand torsion spring, but I wound it Right-Hand. Simply, I was not paying attention. A simple mistake that was overcome on the next one. Unfortunately, I did not take a photo of the spring before I installed it and put the tool back together. I was just busy on fixing it. These photos show the spring in place and the tool back together.
With the new spring installed the pawls work as they should: Once pushed back into the bore of the pilot they will "spring" back out on their own.
The material used for the spring was 0.046" or #20.5 music wire (piano wire). There is a small hole in each of the pawls for the ends of the spring to fit into and hold it in place, use a #56 drill to make sure they are clear. I had used a 0.250" (1/4") "mandrel" to wrap the spring and the resulting spring will have an outside diameter between 0.3750" and 0.3900", right around 3/8". Make the spring 2 full coils.
The spring will uncoil/unwrap some after you wrap it and become a bit larger on the mandrel. As for the "mandrel" I simply used a 0.250" piece of drill rod, nothing fancy. The larger inside diameter makes it easier to help line things up when you go to reassemble the pawls into the body of the pilot. Remember, wrap the spring LEFT-HAND not right-hand.
The hardest part of the whole process was making the two 90 degree bends on the ends of the spring to fit into the holes on the pawls. Getting the spacing/dimension right for placement is a little tough and the small size makes it a bit frustrating. Be patient it will work.
Now, if anyone has a spare, original Rear Axle Bearing Sleeve Puller that they would be willing to part with, please let me know. I would like to have one of those to use as well. I will post an ad in the classifieds later, but it does not hurt to spread the message around.
The material used for the spring was 0.046" or #20.5 music wire (piano wire). There is a small hole in each of the pawls for the ends of the spring to fit into and hold it in place, use a #56 drill to make sure they are clear. I had used a 0.250" (1/4") "mandrel" to wrap the spring and the resulting spring will have an outside diameter between 0.3750" and 0.3900", right around 3/8". Make the spring 2 full coils.
The spring will uncoil/unwrap some after you wrap it and become a bit larger on the mandrel. As for the "mandrel" I simply used a 0.250" piece of drill rod, nothing fancy. The larger inside diameter makes it easier to help line things up when you go to reassemble the pawls into the body of the pilot. Remember, wrap the spring LEFT-HAND not right-hand.
The hardest part of the whole process was making the two 90 degree bends on the ends of the spring to fit into the holes on the pawls. Getting the spacing/dimension right for placement is a little tough and the small size makes it a bit frustrating. Be patient it will work.
Now, if anyone has a spare, original Rear Axle Bearing Sleeve Puller that they would be willing to part with, please let me know. I would like to have one of those to use as well. I will post an ad in the classifieds later, but it does not hurt to spread the message around.