Shop Press

[caspian65]

I'm thinking about getting a shop press. If I want to get real fancy, I can go up to like a 40T hydraulic press that would allow me to do things like pressing ball joint rivets on. Not sure that is really worth the extra expense, but I sure could use a press for normal stuff like axle bearings, pinion gears and things of that nature. Does anyone know a typical range of press output needed to do ordinary bearings/gears? Would I need a minimum of 10T for those type items? If so, I might as well just get a 40T.

 

[stangg]

I doubt you need 10T to press on bearings and such... I made a press using something like a 3 ton bottle jack. I've used it to press bearings on rear end carrier, pinion gear, remove and replace bearing on a T5 main shaft, and remove and replace bearings on an M21 transmission. Also used it to press in wheel studs. The press chassis itself isn't even heavy duty and has worked fine. I've often looked at the ~$100 presses and felt they would be a good value.