Railko into swivel balls

dominicbeesley · Nov 10, 2011

Hello all,

Just got delivery of new swivel ball kits and took them out to have a look.

The railko bush and lower bearing race seem to be a poor fit into the casting - is this normal? what is the best way to press these in do I need to heat the casting up or should I be able to just nip it up in a vice?

Also there is a fibre washer thing, does that just pop into the railko bush to help the pin slide nicely?

Cheers

Dom

jamesmartin · Nov 10, 2011

the rialko washer is what pin rotates on the bearing and bush can either be pressed in or knocked in usuing a suitable dolly so that there not damaged, swivel housing preload using spring balance should be 8-10lb,3.6 -4.5 kg you dont need heat,cheap pattern parts may not fit properly

oxides · Nov 10, 2011

Yes they can be a tight fit - the little disc with the hole in it is the thrust washer that the pin bears on and it's against this that you set the preload by adjusting the shims so it's fairly important.

dominicbeesley · Nov 10, 2011

Will see how I get on bashing them in then...

Next really dumb question (before I press the wrong bearing into the wrong hole)...which side goes at the top?

Cheers

Dom

crashbox · Nov 10, 2011

I am watching this thread with interest as I may have to do mine.

jamesmartin · Nov 10, 2011

when fitted bottom hole will stand out further from axle than top to that if you drew a line through pins they would hit the ground at same place as tyre center line

Trewey · Nov 10, 2011

When I did mine, I popped the bush in the freezer and took a blowlamp to the swivel ball.
They went together easy then.

jamesmartin · Nov 10, 2011

they do knock in with a dolly but if you must heat it put it in the oven

dominicbeesley · Nov 11, 2011

Thanks lads for the advice. They weren't too bad in the end.

First I gently tapped them in to place with a copper faced hammer (actually I had to **** them like buggery) to get them started - being careful to tap round and round to stop them jamming off-true. One Railko did but I just tapped it back out from the back with a drift.

Once the bushes / races looked to be straight and in by about 1/8" I nipped the lot up in a vice with some bits of scrap to protect the bushes.

I'd not thought I had a bit enough vice but then realised that with care you can just nip up one ear and get it straight enough....

Now for the rest of it...I couldn't believe that 20 3/8"x3" BSF bolts (swivel ball to axle - will have to cut them down) cost me £12. And I had to argue with the bloke that they had some in stock - he refused to believe that such things still existed!

Dom

Railko into swivel balls

dominicbeesley

Well-Known Member

jamesmartin

Well-Known Member

oxides

Well-Known Member

dominicbeesley

Well-Known Member

Attachments

crashbox

Well-Known Member

jamesmartin

Well-Known Member

Trewey

Cockernee, Pasty munchin bastid.

jamesmartin

Well-Known Member

dominicbeesley

Well-Known Member

Similar threads