# FS custom made Intermediate shaft bearing tool



## mcbroom70 (Aug 21, 2010)

Its a specialty tool to press in the intermediate shaft bearing on the G60 (PG) block (and what ever other blocks have the same bearings/ block design). i just used it last week on my rebuild and it worked perfect, the way its designed along a single 1/2in rod allows for the process to be fool proof and aligning the oil hole for it is as guaranteed as you can get with the process. They are completely manufactured out of aluminum (won't damage the bearing or block yet strong enough to withstand the forces needed to place the bearing in straight) milled to within the thousandths of an inch so the the bearing and tools only have enough play to not get stuck into the block or bearing. I can have them within a week, looking to get $190obo outta the tool, brand new set of dies, w/ instructions (you provide your own 1/2 rod and 3 nuts) or $210obo for the set of aluminum dies and rod/ nuts necessary for use. These are custom made by a family member who works in a machine shop that no joke has contracted to with NASA to have parts made, so obviously they are made with precision. Both prices include ground shipping anywhere in the lower 48 states (special arrangements can be made to ship to other continents ect.) According to what i have gathered on the forum VW asks $500 for their tool to do this. I have access to four sets and it is unclear i can have any more than that made.

Let me know if you are interested in any way, trade or partial trades are considered for corrado g60 performance parts/ supercharger/ sc rebuild kit.

The tool was made to install these bearings http://www.techtonicstuning.com/main...27ceb805a5875b by TT, my uderstanding is that it will work with any block that uses these bearings. Others are unknown.

PM for pics


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## mcbroom70 (Aug 21, 2010)

bump 

anybody interested??


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## Glegor (Mar 31, 2008)

this isnt the for sale section dude..


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## ps2375 (Aug 13, 2003)

And for that price, I can drop the block off at the machine shop and have a lifetime's worth of bearings installed.


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## Glegor (Mar 31, 2008)

first time i read this ad, the price was $190.. :screwy:


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## mcbroom70 (Aug 21, 2010)

ya read closer, its still is $190obo for the dies alone or $210obo w/ rod and bolts to use (only more because it changes the size to ship the tool by nearly 5x package goes from a padded flatrate envelope to a 2.5' box plus the $5-10 cost of the hardwear). ya new to the forum so screwed up posting in the wrong section, my bad. price i thought was fare, some people are claiming machine shops charging $40+ to install a set and still screwing up, what would be a more reasonable price then?? there is a obo for that reason. Think if you rebuild a many engines it pays for itself pretty quickly, and instead of dragging a block around to the machine shop you can do it yourself in less than 10 minutes.


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## Glegor (Mar 31, 2008)

many people also make their own tool out of all thread and a pipe cap.. sure, your tool is professional quality, but most people (besides machine shops and engine rebuilders) dont really replace too many intermediate shaft bearings..


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## mcbroom70 (Aug 21, 2010)

Not alot of people needing them is the exact reason i didn't have a bunch of these made up, not everybody who owns an engine need one, but there are some that do (myself included). And if you ever do have to change a bearing you will understand just how far and in between these types of tools are, EVEN ON HERE good luck finding one, so for anybody that does need one now there is an option besides chancing it with a "home cooked" tool or idea, or w/o having to pay a machine shop $50 for a 10min job each time. 

And as far as it goes with making one out of pipe cap good luck with that, these aren't wheel bearings your chances of finding the right size to fit in the block, hold, press, and be removed, w/o getting stuck or scoring the bearing, its seat or the other bearing seat that it passes through is quite unlikely not saying its not possible but its questionable, not to mention it would have to be within several hundred thousandth of an inch in several dimensions, last time i checked most pipe caps come in standard sizes (please show me a pic of something like this, i would love to see it, it would have saved me quite a bit of effort.) 

Stop hating on my tool and i might hook you up with one for a good price if you need one that bad... :laugh:


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## Glegor (Mar 31, 2008)

mcbroom70 said:


> Not alot of people needing them is the exact reason i didn't have a bunch of these made up, not everybody who owns an engine need one, but there are some that do (myself included). And if you ever do have to change a bearing you will understand just how far and in between these types of tools are, EVEN ON HERE good luck finding one, so for anybody that does need one now there is an option besides chancing it with a "home cooked" tool or idea, or w/o having to pay a machine shop $50 for a 10min job each time.
> 
> And as far as it goes with making one out of pipe cap good luck with that, these aren't wheel bearings your chances of finding the right size to fit in the block, hold, press, and be removed, w/o getting stuck or scoring the bearing, its seat or the other bearing seat that it passes through is quite unlikely not saying its not possible but its questionable, not to mention it would have to be within several hundred thousandth of an inch in several dimensions, last time i checked most pipe caps come in standard sizes (please show me a pic of something like this, i would love to see it, it would have saved me quite a bit of effort.)
> 
> Stop hating on my tool and i might hook you up with one for a good price if you need one that bad... :laugh:


not hatin' thats for sure.. i just messed up and saw 2 prices.. that was my bad..

as for the tool, ive never replaced an IM shaft bearing.. not saying that i never will, but ya know..


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## mcbroom70 (Aug 21, 2010)

Its all good, no worries. Ya lets just say if you ever do need to change them, they are a pain to change w/o a tool and even then its still kinda nerve racking when it need to be so precise, that is what got me racking my brain till i decided to just blueprint a tool with the specs needed and drop the cash to have one specialty machined, so i figured i would toss up the idea to maybe sell a few of them if i got any interest (some interest from a few but no commitment yet  ) If you hear of anybody in a jam needing to replace the IM bearings pass um my way, i would take trades (looking for G60 stuff and a4 B5 stuff) or offers on the tool set, prices are just a suggested starting point OBO is always an option.


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## Glegor (Mar 31, 2008)

there is one problem tho.. SOME IM shaft bearings are ream-to-fit.. and i dont have a reamer, neither do most mechanics.

so were still gonna have to make a trip to the machine shop, even with that tool..


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## WaterWheels (Aug 14, 2005)

Glegor said:


> there is one problem tho.. most IM shaft bearings are ream-to-fit..


OK, I really have no use for this tool as when I change them the entire engine is out and apart which makes the task rather easy from the underside (oil pan side). But just where did this "ream to fit" come from? If you have some information source which tells you that the bearings have to be reamed I for one would like to see this site, person, book.


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## Glegor (Mar 31, 2008)

WaterWheels said:


> OK, I really have no use for this tool as when I change them the entire engine is out and apart which makes the task rather easy from the underside (oil pan side). But just where did this "ream to fit" come from? If you have some information source which tells you that the bearings have to be reamed I for one would like to see this site, person, book.


ive heard of the ream to fit bearings from my other forum. vwdiesel.net.

there are definitely 2 different kind of bearings..when my grnadpa rebuilt his 1.6D, he installed new IM shaft bearings correctly, and we could not, for the life of us, get the IM shaft to go into those bearings. 

took it to the machine shop, got them reamed to the proper size, and all was well..

FWIW, most IM bearings are NOT ream to fit..


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## TheBurninator (Jan 7, 2009)

honestly I just paid 40 bucks for the machine shop to order the bearings and replace them in my block.

That tool isn't worth it IMO


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## WaterWheels (Aug 14, 2005)

"ive heard of the ream to fit bearings from my other forum"
And that is your whole knowledge base for telling someone they may need to ream the intermeadiate shaft bearings? I really do try to give people a break when they come up with some off the wall statements, but sometime I just gotta draw the line. You state you have never replaced these bearings, but your an expert on them? You state in one response that most IM shaft bearings are ream-t- fit and then in your next post say most are not? Provide us a reason why intermeadiate shaft bearing would come in a ream to fit size? Because they take a beating like rod or crank shaft main bearings and the shaft needs to be re-sized? These shafts are cheap as far as engine parts go and if the journials were to be come undersized, real unlikely, then just buying a new one would be cheaper and much more simple than having the bearings reamed, no? Then there is the bearings themselves, multi layered, bi-metal or tri-metal. A steel backing with thin coats of maybe nickel, tin/copper (sometimes called babbitt) that is less than 0.001”. Just what are you going to ream, into the steel backing?

"FWIW, most IM bearings are NOT ream to fit.. there are definitely 2 different kind of bearings.."
For what it’s worth I have never seen ones that need to be or might need to be reamed, and I have done a few over the years. So, can you point me to some or a few different types (you say there are at least two, hope you don’t mean companies who produce them)? Give me a company name that makes ream fit one or part number or some place which sells them? If you have trouble thinking of a plces or brands, give your Grandpa a ring and ask where he got them or the phone number for the machine shop which reamed them, I’d really love to know.


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## Glegor (Mar 31, 2008)

WaterWheels said:


> "ive heard of the ream to fit bearings from my other forum"
> And that is your whole knowledge base for telling someone they may need to ream the intermeadiate shaft bearings? I really do try to give people a break when they come up with some off the wall statements, but sometime I just gotta draw the line. You state you have never replaced these bearings, but your an expert on them? You state in one response that most IM shaft bearings are ream-t- fit and then in your next post say most are not? Provide us a reason why intermeadiate shaft bearing would come in a ream to fit size? Because they take a beating like rod or crank shaft main bearings and the shaft needs to be re-sized? These shafts are cheap as far as engine parts go and if the journials were to be come undersized, real unlikely, then just buying a new one would be cheaper and much more simple than having the bearings reamed, no? Then there is the bearings themselves, multi layered, bi-metal or tri-metal. A steel backing with thin coats of maybe nickel, tin/copper (sometimes called babbitt) that is less than 0.001”. Just what are you going to ream, into the steel backing?
> 
> "FWIW, most IM bearings are NOT ream to fit.. there are definitely 2 different kind of bearings.."
> For what it’s worth I have never seen ones that need to be or might need to be reamed, and I have done a few over the years. So, can you point me to some or a few different types (you say there are at least two, hope you don’t mean companies who produce them)? Give me a company name that makes ream fit one or part number or some place which sells them? If you have trouble thinking of a plces or brands, give your Grandpa a ring and ask where he got them or the phone number for the machine shop which reamed them, I’d really love to know.


this is just one of those things that you will wonder about for the rest of your life, unless someone on my forum has the answer..

my grandpa rebuilt that engine like 5-6 years (before i even cared about Volkswagens) ago, it probably needs new IM shaft bearings by now.. i imagine he used one of the cheaper machine shops that went out of business.. hes a cheap bastard. prolly why he got ream to fit bearings.. we used to have 6 machine shops down here, now we have one, and you are lucky to get them to do work for you..

anyway, im going to track this issue down, im not smoking crack, i HAVE SEEN bearings you have to ream to get the IM shaft to fit..

FWIW, i almost never start an arguement unless im PRETTY SURE i have a leg to stand on..

i know alot of press in bearings in toyota engines are ream to size.. and i also know that VWs are not toyotas, but still.. ream to fit bearings/bushings are out there!


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## Glegor (Mar 31, 2008)

WaterWheels said:


> "ive heard of the ream to fit bearings from my other forum"
> And that is your whole knowledge base for telling someone they may need to ream the intermeadiate shaft bearings? I really do try to give people a break when they come up with some off the wall statements, but sometime I just gotta draw the line. You state you have never replaced these bearings, but your an expert on them? You state in one response that most IM shaft bearings are ream-t- fit and then in your next post say most are not? Provide us a reason why intermeadiate shaft bearing would come in a ream to fit size? Because they take a beating like rod or crank shaft main bearings and the shaft needs to be re-sized? These shafts are cheap as far as engine parts go and if the journials were to be come undersized, real unlikely, then just buying a new one would be cheaper and much more simple than having the bearings reamed, no? Then there is the bearings themselves, multi layered, bi-metal or tri-metal. A steel backing with thin coats of maybe nickel, tin/copper (sometimes called babbitt) that is less than 0.001”. Just what are you going to ream, into the steel backing?
> 
> "FWIW, most IM bearings are NOT ream to fit.. there are definitely 2 different kind of bearings.."
> For what it’s worth I have never seen ones that need to be or might need to be reamed, and I have done a few over the years. So, can you point me to some or a few different types (you say there are at least two, hope you don’t mean companies who produce them)? Give me a company name that makes ream fit one or part number or some place which sells them? If you have trouble thinking of a plces or brands, give your Grandpa a ring and ask where he got them or the phone number for the machine shop which reamed them, I’d really love to know.


and uh, so i made a mistake on ONE WORD.. shoot me.. im human, i make mistakes. i meant to say "SOME IM SHAFT BEARINGS"

and never did i contradict myself and say that they are not ream to fit.

i just think its funny how worked up you get, when someone else has a piece of information that just might contradict something you thought you knew?

dude, dont get me wrong, you are sharp as a tack when it comes to VWs.. and lots of other things..

it just seems like you take it a little too seriously. when someone is wrong, dont make them wanna go out and shoot themselves for being a noob, because you have a way of belittling people with your knowledge, and so do i, i accept that.. but still.. be a little more open to new ideas?

maybe there is some sort of anomaly out there, something that you have never seen, or heard of?

i could be completely wrong about the IM shaft bearing being a ream2fit bearing..

i have been known to be wrong before, and i own up to it when i am.. but i swear my grandpa had to get his bearing reamed to make the shaft fit properly..

does that mean that they do not, and can not exist? just because you dont know about them?


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## mcbroom70 (Aug 21, 2010)

In Glegors defense there are from what i have come across in research some bearings and incidents of people installing bearings only to find out (when they try to install the shaft) that the bearings were "ream to fit" (or maybe the bought the wrong ones) which makes them start all over again. There is even some people with "home cooked" ideas of how to ream them w/o going to a machine shop (take a look, just search Intermediate shaft bearing/s and read through a few posts). That and take a look at the TechtonicsTuning page where the bearings are for sale, if ream to fit didn't exist then why would they go out of there way to say "Note: These DO NOT require align boring." in reference to their bearings.

Not to say he is right about some companies selling Ream to fit but there is something to inquire about with them, these problems and statements are obviously there for some reason. So t doesn't seem fair to jump down Glegors throat about it, anything i would ever even be interested or inquire about that cost as much as my tool i would be asking a lot of questions too, i would want to make sure it was fail proof and is not just some rip off that didn't work. 

In response to Glegors questions about them, yes although some bearings MAY be ream to fit, the tool is made to VW spec, w/ its sizes based off of measurements in reference to a factory block, IM shaft and bearings at factory specs. Such bearings which are manufactured to fit this are now widly availible and it would be IMO ridiculous to spend the money to not only ream to fit bearings, but also machine your IM shaft (if your shaft is worn that much to need smaller bearings it probably is out of round aswell) when they could both be replaced with factory spec parts (both shaft and bearings) for a reasonable price. My tool is made to work with factory spec bearings is the short answer to that question, such as the Bearings TT sells.


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## Glegor (Mar 31, 2008)

WW, heres some proof in my defense..

your gonna have to click the link to my other forum tho..

Ream-to-fit IM shaft bearings!?


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## WaterWheels (Aug 14, 2005)

”and uh, so i made a mistake on ONE WORD.. shoot me.. im human, i make mistakes. i meant to say "SOME IM SHAFT BEARINGS" . . . and never did i contradict myself and say that they are not ream to fit.

Ease up a little on the blood pressure. I seem to have added or dropped a word or just screwed up my train of thought while writing I guess. I see I made a mistake here and I’m not going to shoot anyone (whoa, flash back). It is totally my error and things didn’t play out exactly as was stated.

”i just think its funny how worked up you get, when someone else has a piece of information that just might contradict something you thought you knew? . . . it just seems like you take it a little too seriously. when someone is wrong, dont make them wanna go out and shoot themselves for being a noob, because you have a way of belittling people with your knowledge, and so do i, i accept that.. but still.. be a little more open to new ideas?”

Lets understand first off that I’m not worked up. I am very relaxed, almost always am, and even sometimes do other little things while logged on as this is not real stressful by any means. I only challenge people or point things out because I either know what was said is wrong, which does not need to be spread as the truth like it often is, or I find what was said to be “questionable”, which is the case here. In the second case I am always ready and willing to discuss the matter or ask for some facts/proof, which I did here (OK more like demand but more on that later). These are the times when some people start to say I am picking on them or being too hard or getting bent out of shape. I expect comments like that because it is a “somewhat” calculated method, if you will, to pull teeth in a way. I will even go so far as to admit that I am sometimes a bit scarcastic in my writings and maybe a little to direct, blunt or offensive. But not as much as I am blamed for really. Some people just read to much into what I say or don’t take it at face value (read between the lins as they say). Really if I plan to attack someone for any reason they will know it right off and not have any questions about my intentions. Attacks would be straight forward, to the point and with vigor. Lessons learned in my soldiering days, if you are going to fight, win. 

So for everyone who reads this or anything else I’ve posted and feels I have stepped on their little toes or bent their fragil egos or made them cry, I am sorry. NOT. Get over it and grow up a little, the world is a tough place now days. See what I mean, It’s just a form of comunications and most times gets peoples attention which is what is often needed around here. Really, don’t take me so seriously all the time, I’m really a fun guy (note to self: start using smilies).

"anyway, im going to track this issue down, im not smoking crack, i HAVE SEEN bearings you have to ream to get the IM shaft to fit…maybe there is some sort of anomaly out there, something that you have never seen, or heard of? . . . i could be completely wrong about the IM shaft bearing being a ream2fit bearing…i have been known to be wrong before, and i own up to it when i am.. “

You don’t have to search any more as I have already done enough to find out you were not going crazy after all. I am not sure yet if this is a diesel thing on not, but there are definetly both type to be had. The ones that I saw pictures of, one in the same link you posted, seem to be of one material, maybe a steel alloy. That type I have never seen before doing this research, all others were of the bi or tri metal type. I say this because of that grove that a few pictures have showed. The machine marks can be seen and would not in a multi-layer coating I think. Also I think only a diesel would benefit from it directing oil as it is stated to do. And again the multi-layer ones would not allow you to cut any of the top (babbitt) material away and still function correctly. So go ahead and feel good while I eat some crow with this glass of wine I’m drinking. Still not sure if there is a difference in the needs of the different types of enginge which causes this though?

But to be honest, all bearings aside, that is what I was kind of looking for in the first place. Something other than “my brothers girlfriends Uncle said . . .” or “I heard it on the gospel channel that . . .” Understand what I’m getting at here? It seems nobody either really knows the correct answer sometimes, because they don’t bother to do any research or care. Reason being someone will just post the answer for me and I’ll believe them cause it was posted on the Tex, so it has to be correct. I can just picture the face of my old math teacher if I gave as my reason for the calculation I got was because my neighbors paper states so, yeah, that would be an A+. In a “technical Forum” this is bad business. In a technical forum people should be discussing or debating matters in details that bring closure to a topic. Often my “antics” or “unorthodox” ways are odd I'm sure but designed, at least in my little brainin, to draw out some research, discussion or thinking, which seems to be lost here and other places as well. If nobody starts any challenges or questions what someone else says we will all still believe there were no 4 door Gti models ever built. So yeah, I was wrong, never was really sure in the first place, but I believe sometimes you have to be wrong to get things right. 

Took up a lot of space saying this didn’t I, oh well. As they say, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose and the rest get rained out. But in the end it’s just a game, isn’t it?


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## Glegor (Mar 31, 2008)

i apologize, i went off the handle a bit.. didnt have my chill pills yet when i wrote that..

but im not on crack, there DEFINITELY are ream to fit bearings.. VW used them from the factory..

they may not be quite as common, in the days of pre-sized bearings.. but still.. they exist. most of the super cheap im shaft bearings are ream to fit, if you didnt know.


and what about 4 door GTI's? they WERE actually built? im making one as we speak.. out of an 86 4 door golf..


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## WaterWheels (Aug 14, 2005)

Glegor said:


> . . . and what about 4 door GTI's? they WERE actually built?


That was a joke, right? Just on the off hand chance it was not, yes there are factory 4 door GTi and even automatic fitted ones also. Thought that these two myths were long dead and burried, maybe not. It was a joke, no?


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## Glegor (Mar 31, 2008)

WaterWheels said:


> That was a joke, right? Just on the off hand chance it was not, yes there are factory 4 door GTi and even automatic fitted ones also. Thought that these two myths were long dead and burried, maybe not. It was a joke, no?


never really payed much attention.. 

just seems like every single mk2 GTI i see is a 2dr.. ive never seen a 4dr.


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