[electro wrks]

IGNORE THIS POST AND REFER TO POST 7. A puller tool that might work is this 2-piece collar clamping system, like kennybobby refers to. Or a modified version of it: https://www.harborfreight.com/Pulley-Remover-and-Installer-Set-12-Pc-63068.html

Don't use a slide hammer tool. It would not be good for the ball bearings. Also, I suspect at least one bearing is a ceramic unit. Although I haven't seen it, there's probably a delicate ceramic seal on the other end of the motor shaft of the Tesla induction motors. It would be part of the rotor cooling system.


*CORRECTION: If this removal method is used, unnecessary force would actually applied to the motor bearing and seal that need to be protected.

 

[electro wrks]

After a second look at this problem, I think the main clamping force holding the primary shaft on is the exposed bearing pressed on the shaft and in the motor housing. The splines probably just float or have a very light press fit. So, a slide hammer or a clamp that presses on the housing, like brian says, would be the way to pull it off.

The split clamp jacking screw, referred to earlier, pushing on the end of the motor shaft through the hollow(I'm guessing) primary shaft would put unnecessary force on the motor shaft bearings. So don't try it!

 

[electro wrks]

How do you figure--did you not watch the video of the assembly?

The only way to not stress the motor bearings would be to press on the motor shaft and pull on the gear shaft--to slide the loose fit bearing out of the housing and the loose spline fit off the end of the motor shaft without putting any reaction load on the motor bearings.

If you press against the housing then the load reaction path directly loads up the motor bearings at the opposite end.

The shock of a slide hammer puts brinnel marks into the bearing races.

Which video?

 

[electro wrks]

Is this the one you are referring to? :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GigD0s47RI
In the video, the primary shaft exposed bearing is a hand press fit in the housing. retrEVnoc's bearing must be in with a tighter fit. retrEVnoc have you tried pulling it out by hand or carefully tried to pry it out with a couple of screwdrivers?

 

[electro wrks]

AIR Tesla had problems with the early LDUs. There could easily be some design variations through the years. Does anyone know if all of the bolt-in bearing retainers were in the original design? Or, was there more reliance on pressed-in bearings. The retainers are great. But, can you imagine what would happen if just one of those retainer screws backed out and fell into the gears.

The problem I see with pushing on the end of the motor shaft is that there's got to be another bearing (and maybe a oil seal)just inside the motor housing, next to the primary shaft bearing. So, the motor's rotor is supported on its own bearings and the primary shaft on its own bearings. The only mechanical connection is through the sliding fit splines. This is a common set-up for an electric motor hooked-up to a gearbox. It's just that Tesla has set it up backwards. It means a minimum of the axial and radial(side) loads generated by the helical gears is transferred to the motor shaft. This allows the motor shaft to be lighter and the rotor/stator air gap tighter because there's less of a bending load and deflection of the motor shaft.

So, if you press on the motor shaft and pull on the primary shaft, depending how tight the primary shaft bearing is in the housing, at least one of the motor shaft bearings, the rotor coolant seal, and the primary shaft bearing could be damaged. The primary shaft bearing is quite large, so it may not be damaged. But, it may be discarded anyway along with the primary shaft for a direct motor hook-up. A better way to remove the primary shaft is to pull on the shaft and push against the housing- like brian wrote about. Or, the careful use of a slide hammer pulling on the primary shaft like Tomdb wrote about. Remember, very little force is transferred to the motor shaft(and its bearings) by either removal method because the primary shaft will just slide easily off of the splines.