Can someone tell me how to remove what the book calls "bearing cage holder"?  The book says all I need to do is back the spanner nut off (counter clockwise) until it pushes the assembly off.  I backed it off as far as I could with a huge hook spanner and even used a punch and hammer to put as much tension on it as I could but it wouldnt pop off.  Anyone ever had this issue? (FYI the nut in the picture was backed off when I tried to remove the assembly)

This big part on the shaft is the holder and I removed maybe 20 off them by using a sledge hammer and loose the shaft nut 2 turne

You used a sledge on what?  The spanner wrench?

I was hitting the older

i would clean all the crap off of it before you go much further. i think what gem dozer means is while applying force to the adjuster nut with the wrench smack the holder with a hammer to shock it loose.

I have tried beating on the holder with the spanner nut as tight as possible trying to push it off. I guess I will try and put a gear puller on the holder as well. There are actually 2 ears on the holder that I could attach the puller to. Kind of hard to see them in the picture though. Hopefully between the nut and the puller that will apply enough force to get it to pop. This design kind of sucks. Cat should have put threaded holes in the holder to allow a puller to be used.

I just recheck your older picture and the sproket shaft nut has to be loosed more because the 2 pines for lock stop the holder to coming out

Yeah I tightened it temporarily when I was trying to get my gear puller to fit.  The nut was all the way backed off when I was trying to pull it.  

Just wondering if you managed to get it off? I am in a similar poition with an old d46u I am dismantling for parts. I was thinking I would follow the instructions in the book and when its as tight as I can get it, I would use heat on the outer around the shaft. Hopefully that will come loose and I will be able to keep using the c spanner to remove it completely.