I have a 2000 rancher 4x4 350 that needs the swingarm bearing changed. First off
do you need to buy the tool or do you just make it? The lock bolt tool. Also after the bolts are out will the drive shaft just slide out or is something holding it? I would
also like to add a grease fitting but I think that all the extra grease would end
up in the drive shaft boot slowly filling it with every service. Thanks for your imput and ideas in advance.

 

I have never done a rancher, but the recon is simmaler. They arent bad to do. You need to come up with a 17mm alan head, I cut off a pry bar that happened to fit the hole, and you need the 4 pronged socket for the outer ring.( I made one out of a cheap socket by grinding notches out of it. If you pull the boot around the drive shaft up, there is enough room to use your fingers to put the drive shaft onto the motor out put shaft. there are little grease holding plugs behind the berings that tend to get destroyed when you change the berings. Get some of these before you tear it apart. Dont be scared it isnt that hard to fix. L

 

nohorses is correct. We cust up a larger socket to make the 4 pronged socket to fit the lock ring, and we used a chisel that we ground down (opposite end, not the sharp end) to fit the 17mm Allen key bolts. Once you get that done, the rest is a piece of cake.

One other thing that I took note of was how the rear end was lined up between the 2 bearings, there should be a gap between the swingarm and the frame of maybe 1/8th of an inch. When you put it back together, if you tighten 1 side all the way, the rear end will be pushed to one side more than the other, make sure it's even.

 

Thanks for the help guys. So far I have it in pieces. I couldn't buy a 17mm allen key at
the local stores they only go to 10mm. So I made it with a bolt and welded the nut on.
While it was apart I found that the rubber boot also needed to be replaced. Now I am
waiting for that piece to come in. Thanks again.