D2 late model idler bearing disassembly

Hi team, I have a pair of late model solid D2 idlers with the bushing assembly 8F4901 which is a steel part that carries the bronze bushing. That assembly is stuck in the idler boss solidly. I can't see any other way to get it out other than to heat the idler wheel boss into which the bushing assembly fits and then drive it out using the idler shaft. The shaft has a shoulder in the center that the bushings bear on for axial control and I'm worried that if I press on the shaft too much or strike it with a BFH I might break the shaft shoulder. Does anyone have experience with removing these stuck bushing assemblies and has a "foolproof" method of removal to avoid damage?

Just needed more force. My press isn't wide enough to accommodate the idler so I put a piece of steel on the concrete and dropped the idler on its shaft repeatedly after heating the hub and the bushing assembly started to move. I'm not sure if I need heat so tomorrow I'll try the other side without heat first. The center flange on the shaft is about an inch wide so I'm not going to break it off. What's nice about these bushings is that they're just plain bushings with a shoulder and some oil holes so my guy should be able to turn down a pair fairly easily. I'll sand the bushing assemblies down some so they don't take quite so much force to install. Still needs to be interference but not 003 - 001 should do it I think

before anyone unjustly accuses me : ), that piece was long broken off. I don't think I'll bother brazing it on because it fits in nicely like a puzzle and the pressure will still be evenly distributed across the 6 bolts

I thought things like that only happened to me...I can't unsee that owee. Now that the entire world knows? How can you sleep at night knowing it be busted? LOL. I am sure some of the perfectionists will chime in. That black stuff isn't "FlexSeal" is it? Sorry Neil, I just have to tease you this morning. Forgive me please. JM

JM, you can tease all you want : ) I'm the youngest of three brothers so stuff always ran downhill to me! I'm very glad I got it apart as I was about to just live with the slop. So now I can get the other side and order/make some new bushings. First call to Hector! : )

If someone has the D2 idlers apart, could you tell me the dimensions of the springs in the idler assembly. I'm looking for parts:

8F8798 bushing qty 4

3F8638 spring qty 8 (will buy generic if necessary)

6B9181 gasket qty 4

4B0897 plate qty 8 (I think these are the round disks that sit between the set screw and the spring)

8F1690 guide qty 4

8F1691 shim qty maybe 16? These are to space the 8F1690 guides to center the idler in the track frame

I recheck tomorrow about this idler parts

Thanks Hector.

Team, the bronze bushing in this idler assembly is a shouldered bushing. I can't find a generic shouldered bushing that has a large enough OD on the flange shoulder. What do folks think about parting the existing flange off and running that as a separate part from a generic plain bushing which I can for sure get in a generic size (undoubtedly will need some fine tuning but that's no problem. Part looks like this:

I’m new here…but can anyone tell me if the idler bearing for a D2 will fit my 1945 D4 2T105W WW2 edition?

Hi Angell11, yes it does appear to be the same - parts catalog in the member's library shows for the 5T (would be the same for the 2T) the seal as 7B5638