Usefulness of a slide hammer puller set?

[Jason280]

I recently picked up a NAPA/Evercraft slide hammer puller set, #775-3911, and I am not real sure why I bought the kit. Its in excellent condition, and I paid $50 for it and a pair of NAPA 4-ton jack stands. I originally only wanted to the puller kit, but couldn't pass on $50 for both.

Anyway, how useful are these slide hammer puller sets? I can see potentially using it to replace the seals in a rearend I am rebuilding, but that's about it. Anyone here routinely use one?

 

[braol]

I use mine for some seals that you can't get to to pry out, axle bearings, and I have a pilot bearing puller attachment for it. Thats all I can think of at the moment

 

[RCRGarage]

Bodywork.

 

[mtkst19]

i use my setup to pull wheel bearings out as well as hubs off knuckles. On some rwd, i will bolt the lug adapter to the hub and use it to pull the axle out of the rear end.

i dont think i ever used it for seals. but sure it will happen.

 

[bustdknuckle]

Using the threaded adapter and put a vise grip on and removed freeze plugs, fuel tank anti-siphon cages and even injectors and to remove wheel bearings on semi floating axles. never thought to use it for seals that cant get a pry bar into have to try it.

 

[ihateminimumwage]

We use them a lot in the diesel world. Bearings and seals in transmissions, fuel injectors,etc. Very useful.

 

[RBailey]

As usefull as a hammer but backwards, you'll find you use it more and more.

I use the vice grip adaptor and a coarse screw quite often.

 

[dirtmister16]

pull seals, bearings,pull hubs, cv joints. lots of uses for car repair. body work.

i have two slide hammers, very useful just depends on the job at hand.

 

[redwrench60]

I have a large and small slide hammer set with lots of adaptors, some homemade to do specific jobs like pulling the bearing housings out of Corvette torque tubes or stuck oil pump drive bodies from GM V6 engines. Mostly I just pull bearings, bushings, seals, spindles, axles, stub shafts, press fit studs, wheel bearing hub flanges, irregular objects using the vise grip adaptor and the occasional dent. They have endless uses when you get creative.

 

[Spurgeon76]

Actually, I've only used them to install/remove nuclear cruise missile pylons on B-52's.

 

[Vegaman_Dan]

It's easy to make your own tips for it- anything that will fit in that adapter. There is no limit except your imagination.

 

[mtkst19]

totally forgot some more uses. I have a "Y" forked adapter i use to pull frozen distributors out of the block.

I Have also used it to slide hammer out diesel injectors. I actually cut a piece of round stock and tapped one side of it for the thread of my slide hammer. the other half to thread onto the injector. Makes popping injectors out a lot easier.

my kit is the snap on version. i have used the slide hammer and threaded it into my 2 and 3 jaw pullers (also s.o.) on occasions too. instances where the wheel hub adapter wont work so i have to get creative to pull the hub off the car.

really is endless.

 

[mvptrukin]

I've never used NAPA's slide hammer set---what kind of adaptors does it come with? I use my OTC slide hammer for many of the tasks that members already mentioned---buy a dent puller adaptor to pull seals with that are in tight spots. Look at this slide hammer on this link for some examples of using a vise grip adaptor with a slide hammer. www.lasvegastool.com . Although the OTC adaptor replaces the adjusting screw on the vise grip I use it in similar situations. If the thread on the slide hammer shaft is 5/8"-18 you can use the adaptors from OTC sets also.

 

[Jason280]

Thanks for the information, looks like it can be very useful around the shop!

 

[BWS]

Hard to describe tool....RBailey's dang close with backwards hammer,as to its usefulness.

It deffinately falls into the category of the more you use one,the more the idea gets developed.They cross a lot of genre barriers as well.....ours may be yankin on a car part one day,then pulling a stuck ? out of an old machine the next.

Ours is a 1/2" fine thread male end.....we use stock couplings as the interface between tool heads.

 

[fred d]

I have used a slide hammer to pull front pumps out of automatic transmissions and also to pull steering wheels off the column

 

[4v shane]

oversized items out of the toaster.......

 

[54FordPanel]

I really needed it to pull the FWD axles out of Toyotas & Hondas, with the half-moon adaptor.

 

[Heavy Metal Doctor]

Hard to describe tool....RBailey's dang close with backwards hammer,as to its usefulness.

It deffinately falls into the category of the more you use one,the more the idea gets developed.They cross a lot of genre barriers as well.....ours may be yankin on a car part one day,then pulling a stuck ? out of an old machine the next.

Ours is a 1/2" fine thread male end.....we use stock couplings as the interface between tool heads.

Agreed -- over the years I have fabbed up adapters like a large nut with chains welded to it which can be bolted to / wrapped around odd machine parts to yank them loose.

I regularly use a large slide hammer for sliding industrial bearing off of machinery shafts. I also have the mini set made by SO with all the little adapters with it. I use it a lot for removing valves from high pressure pumps (pressure washer on steroids).

 

[BWS]

I'd like to find an adapter for my wife's attention...........


Me:"Honey,theres a 10K $ machine I'm thinking about buying......what are your thoughts on value vs investment,givin the scope of how,past capital investments have played out"?

Her:blank stare out in space

Me:"No,I didn't watch the Hallmark channel last night"....WTF does that have to do with the afformentioned question?

Her:more blank stares

Me:"I'm asking what your thoughts are on an "XYZ" machine.....


So,a slide hammer is like talking biz with your wife.........?Who the f*ck knows what they're good for?

 

[shocksandstrutz]

i love my slide hammer, never thought i would use it as much as i have since ive owned one, great for working on bearings and races......i used it multiple times replacing bearing and races in my cherokee axles.....definitly made sense to buy one over renting from the autoparts store, i can work at my pace and no more driving 20 minutes back and forth renting the darn thing

great tool for the arsenal

 

[Jason280]

Finally got a chance to use mine today, and it sold me on its usefulness. I'm helping a Jeep buddy build up a Ford 9" rear to go in a YJ, so we got started on it earlier cutting off the spring plates and shock mounts with the plasma torch. Before we get started, I notice him reversing the hub and bolting it to the axle, snatching on the hub trying to remove the axle shafts. Of course, that was getting him nowhere, so I pulled out the slide hammer. It made it so easy it was like cheating, I'm damn glad I picked this thing up!!

 

[Jomo]

I just picked one up to help pull inner CV joints when removing a half shaft..

 

[Rico.]

I used mine most recently to remove old Rawl Plugs cleanly when I was redecorating.
It worked like a charm... No marks or damage on the wall and did it in double quick time.

A brilliant tool, with endless applications.

 

[texasprd]

I'm way behind on my GJ forum-watching, but thought I'd throw in my two cents with another use...

The weight on my slide-hammer is 5 lbs, which makes it perfect for compressing one of the clutch packs to check clearances in a 700R4 transmission as specified by the ATSG manual...

 

[Test Tech]

I have a 10 pound slide hammer. One of my favorite uses for it, is for seized slider pins in front brake calipers. Pull them out with the slide hammer, and then clean the bores in the caliper with a .45 bore brush chucked in a cordless drill. The slide hammer is definetley a tool that you don't realize how useful it is until you have had/abused it for a while.
(by abused I mean adapted it to new uses)

 

[03protege]

With one of these pulling CV axles is a snap.

 

[richfinn]

I use mine for

Removing rear brake drum/bearings on FWD cars

Pulling crankshaft pulleys off the nose of the crank

Front and rear oil seals

Core plugs

Trapping the web of f*cking skin between the thumb and forefinger of my left hand

 

[unslow1]

With one of these pulling CV axles is a snap.

That's what I was going to add. Some CV axles won't cooperate without one. I've also used a slidehammer many times on body damage to older cars.

 

[MadMark]

Revision hip replacement surgery, serously.

 

[Dust]

Pulling off stuck shift knobs on older Grand Cherokees.

 

[itwnexus]

What size slide hammer should I get in order to remove axles from Honda/Acura? Should I get 2 lbs, 5 lbs, or 10 lbs?

 

[czgunner]

I sure like mine. Use it quite a bit.
I bought the OTC basic kit. I'd like to pick up a few extra adapters for it.

 

[scaron]

a slide hammer is a tool you don't use often (as a typical DIYer) but every once in a while you will encounter a situation where it is invaluable. biggest win for me: removing a broken vehicle speed sensor stuck in a ford transmission. definitely a tool worth keeping around your shop. get the biggest one that will fit in your typical intended application.

 

[ChevyEFI]

If the thread on the slide hammer shaft is 5/8"-18 you can use the adaptors from OTC sets also.

Yep. This makes for good reading on what OTC carries: http://www2.otctools.com/otctools.com/products/2007catalog/Pullers.pdf

With one of these pulling CV axles is a snap.

Good tip.

What size slide hammer should I get in order to remove axles from Honda/Acura? Should I get 2 lbs, 5 lbs, or 10 lbs?

5 will do.