300+ rebuild

[AZB755V8]

1 hour ago, Joey Mack said:

  yes indeed you need a liner puller. I used this one in the shops then bought one of my own. I paid $1000.00 for this tool 5+ years ago. and Freedom Racing has it for $600.00.. I used it on an ENDT 673, aside from all the other Mack engines. 

I know you are talented in making things. For a few Mack engines that I have pulled sleeves on. I made a liner puller for the cost of a 1/2-13 threaded rod, maybe $5 at the time. 5/8" if you want to be heavy duty. 

All that is needed is a piece of 1x2 or so bar stock. The bottom piece need to have the four corners go under the lower edge of the sleeve and be taped 1/2-13 in the center for the treaded rod. You can put it in the sleeve from the top. the top piece needs to be wider than the sleeve and have a clearance hole 17/32 for the rod. A piece of the 1x2 is welded or screwed to each end of the bar stock and clear the sleeve. Double nut the end of the threaded rod and wrench it up. All that is needed is have the sleeve move manybe 1 inch and it is unseated and come out with your hands. this will save $1000 for a puller that you  will use just a few times. To install the sleeve turn the top piece upside down ontop of the new sleeve and Dead Blow it it into place. 

 

[Geoff Weeks]

2 hours ago, Joey Mack said:

  yes indeed you need a liner puller. I used this one in the shops then bought one of my own. I paid $1000.00 for this tool 5+ years ago. and Freedom Racing has it for $600.00.. I used it on an ENDT 673, aside from all the other Mack engines. 

I have the same tool from Apex, had it for years. If you have one liner to pull, on Saturday afternoon, you can try some of the Make Do methods. When you have 6 or more liners to pull, the tool is worth buying. 

Yeah, if you only are working on one engine with one bore size, you can make your own.

 Problem with threaded rod, most often it is course thread, which is not what you want to pull with.

 I feel the same about buying "clam shell, or tapered cone" ring compressors. Yeah you can do an engine without or with a one size fits all, compressor, but when working on an engine like that, the correct tool make the job much easier. 

[AZB755V8]

1 hour ago, Geoff Weeks said:

I have the same tool from Apex, had it for years. If you have one liner to pull, on Saturday afternoon, you can try some of the Make Do methods. When you have 6 or more liners to pull, the tool is worth buying. 

Yeah, if you only are working on one engine with one bore size, you can make your own.

We out in the country where I lived $1000 bucks is hard to come by. If I had a thousand buning a hole in my pocket that puller may be on my list. If someone on here is asking on a how to, I will certainly help. Most on this forum are do-it your-self Guys. Thanks for telling me/us how to spend money most of us don't have. I acually did a sleeve/ piston, head and turbo replacement on a Saturday/Sunday on my only truck at the time that dropped a valve seat and made a mess. I had a 1400 mile load to deliver by that Wensdesday. There were no tool stores open nor internet at that time. So made my own for Mack diameter pistons and pulled many sleeves with it. Yes, fine thread would be better but course was all they had at the hardware store and it still works. If you can't turn a wrench weld the nut and use a big air impact back in my day, battery now.

Funny but I had to pull the sleeve and piston/rings out of another junk engine to fix the one in that truck. It ran for years that way. Rod bearing was like new so reused that as well. Country living and making things work was how things got done.

[Geoff Weeks]

JoJo pointed to a place around $600, which is what I paid all those years ago.

Yeah, I've pulled dryliners out of one block to put in another. That isn't the point.

I forget how many blocks Larry has, and at some point the rationale that "I only have this one" to do, falls apart.

Having the right tools not only speeds thing up, they can prevent damage. A liner press over beating the liner in, not only gets it seated without damage to the top, it can alert to problems when it doesn't press in smoothly, that might be missed when hammering away. It can hold the liner in the installed compression to check protrusion. 

A liner puller over a weld bead, can get the liner out without risk.

Yes if you have a lathe, you can make a damn fine liner puller for that bore. A fine thread and a thrust bearing, and you have something every bit as good as that tool above. If all you are going to work on has the same bore, you are set, but you'll have to make another "slug" for each additional bore/block type you work on. 

[Joey Mack]

For what its worth.. I am well versed in not having the money to buy the right tools and such.  I have quite a few home made tools, some are crude.. I only offered my opinion on the liner puller, because for me, and an engine builder like he is,  $600.00 to do what hes doing may be a good purchase.  Hell my Eaton Back Box Jig is home made from scrap metal, and i made it in a hurry because i had to fix a truck quick... 15 years later, i still have it and wont buy a factory made jig.. Ive done a sh!t load of back boxes with it... My liner installer is also home made..  and again, many liners were set with it... My success is not always the tool.. It is also my skill and knowledge that i learned from doing many over many years... Home made tools kick a$$ !! Run What You Brung..... 

[Geoff Weeks]

I've made special tools for the Gardner's, for Leylands for the Kubota. Nothing wrong with home made. Sometimes the time it takes to make one that is as well made as a store bought one, uses time better spent elsewhere.

A round "slug" at the bottom sized to fit the liner bore can do a great job... if the crank doesn't get in the way. A "rocker" type that can be passed down through the bore from the top can work with the crank in place.

The ones with adjustable legs and two thickness of "feet" to grab thick and thin liners works on multiple engines with one purchase. Crank in or out.

I chose one that would work on multiple sized engines, although I used it most on 855 Cummins blocks.

After pulling so many liners, the $600 is soon forgot, the ability to pull a liner next to a head that is still on an adjacent cyl has paid off a time or two.

I'm not saying you HAVE to purchase, and you can easily copy one if you have the material and shop to make one, but a well designed tool makes the job go so much better. 

I have plenty of home made tools in the box, for special applications. 

Do a job once, try and borrow a tool, do it twice buy or build a tool. 

[fjh]

4 hours ago, Geoff Weeks said:

I've made special tools for the Gardner's, for Leylands for the Kubota. Nothing wrong with home made. Sometimes the time it takes to make one that is as well made as a store bought one, uses time better spent elsewhere.

A round "slug" at the bottom sized to fit the liner bore can do a great job... if the crank doesn't get in the way. A "rocker" type that can be passed down through the bore from the top can work with the crank in place.

The ones with adjustable legs and two thickness of "feet" to grab thick and thin liners works on multiple engines with one purchase. Crank in or out.

I chose one that would work on multiple sized engines, although I used it most on 855 Cummins blocks.

After pulling so many liners, the $600 is soon forgot, the ability to pull a liner next to a head that is still on an adjacent cyl has paid off a time or two.

I'm not saying you HAVE to purchase, and you can easily copy one if you have the material and shop to make one, but a well designed tool makes the job go so much better. 

I have plenty of home made tools in the box, for special applications. 

Do a job once, try and borrow a tool, do it twice buy or build a tool. 

If you know any one with a lathe a guy could knock one out in an hour or so a piece of 5/8 plate chuck it up and start cutting!  If you got a bud or even your own! 
 

just sayin

[Freightrain]

I had thought of making my own puller from round disc at bottom, a tall ring on top and all thread to pull up on disc.

I buy tools I don't need but for a one time job, $600 is a bit steep.

[Joey Mack]

That makes sense.. Of course for me I needed it, because my shop and tool cabinet is set up for the Mack Engines I build

[Geoff Weeks]

Comes down to what you expect in the future and how much you are willing to deal with for short term. No wrong answer. 

[Brocky]

Possibly one time use tools can be sold to others in a similar situation on forums such as BMT and others to repay yourself for your use????

[mechohaulic]

18 hours ago, Joey Mack said:

For what its worth.. I am well versed in not having the money to buy the right tools and such.  I have quite a few home made tools, some are crude.. I only offered my opinion on the liner puller, because for me, and an engine builder like he is,  $600.00 to do what hes doing may be a good purchase.  Hell my Eaton Back Box Jig is home made from scrap metal, and i made it in a hurry because i had to fix a truck quick... 15 years later, i still have it and wont buy a factory made jig.. Ive done a sh!t load of back boxes with it... My liner installer is also home made..  and again, many liners were set with it... My success is not always the tool.. It is also my skill and knowledge that i learned from doing many over many years... Home made tools kick a$$ !! Run What You Brung..... 

can I get a AMEN  from the big happy BMT crew. won't comment on this topic just sit back smile and remember those days of mechanics being fun. 

[fjh]

1 hour ago, mechohaulic said:

can I get a AMEN  from the big happy BMT crew. won't comment on this topic just sit back smile and remember those days of mechanics being fun. 

Quite honestly there are lots of ways around this even a peice of thick flat bar  ground to the shape of the liner two tabs to align it a hole in the centre for some 3/4 Redi rod a spreader bar at top and on two wooden blocks at the top as was said run what you brung there’s always a way!hunt around you will find something! Just got to use your noodle!

[Geoff Weeks]

If I understand correctly, he is doing at least all six liners. Making or buying a tool would be best.

A single liner, I have used a burr and cut two slits almost through, then knocked out a section to curl the liner in on itself. Lots of work but less so than removing the engine and crank from what I was working on. Lot of "clean up" work to make sure no "grit" remains behind.

 Mild steel deforms easily so has to be thick enough where it hooks the bottom of the liner to retain its diameter.  Harder steel can be thinner.

Pilot is a must to keep the puller on center.

The larger the area in contact with the liner, the less you have to worry about deformation.

It is why mild steel slugs work well and why pullers like the one pictured use replaceable hardened lugs, because the contact area is so much less.

Many ways to "skin the cat" what works best for you depends on how many you do and how fast you want to get it done.

Dry liners tend to be thinner than wet liners giving you less to grip on. Many engine shops prefer to use a boring bar to "bore out" dry liners, as they say there is less chance of damaging the block, like putting a gouge in the bore where the liner sits. They have the advantage of the engine out and the machines at hand to do the job.

 I have run across a "stuck" liner that sheared on of my puller lugs before. It pulled other liners from the same block without problem, but that "one" required a fresh set of lugs. Never know what you will run into.

[mrsmackpaul]

Or just forget all the fancy stuff and go back to plan "A" 

Once the cranks out, just use the welder and shrink the liners and push them out easily 

This has been done by hundreds of thousands if not millions of farmers across the world and works just fine 

If it's a in frame rebuild, some thin tin wrapped around the crank journal and secured with a hose clamp to stop and weld spatter damaging the crank also works 

Chuck the new liners in the freezer for a few days and sit the block out in the sun on a hot day and a block of wood and just tap them back in 

Anyway you blokes are all over this 

 

 

Paul

[Freightrain]

On 7/25/2025 at 10:43 AM, Joey Mack said:

  yes indeed you need a liner puller. I used this one in the shops then bought one of my own. I paid $1000.00 for this tool 5+ years ago. and Freedom Racing has it for $600.00.. I used it on an ENDT 673, aside from all the other Mack engines. 

Yikes!!  It is now $2100.

https://www.freedomracing.com/pt-6435-liner-puller-tool.html

 

Definitely will be fabbing something on my own.

Yes, work at a full outfitted machine shop.  I can build anything.

I only have this one engine to rebuild so, again, no sense in buying the tool.  No one will buy it used to recoup my expenses.

Did I read that these dry liners will slip out once they move a few inches(like a wet liner)?  Or do they come out tight the whole way(I figure).

 

[Joey Mack]

I just looked at it the other day, it was $540 or $560.. what the hell happened ??

[Joey Mack]

https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChsSEwiny8eEqNuOAxWdLdQBHck6N2UYACICCAEQHBoCb2E&ae=2&aspm=1&co=1&ase=2&gclid=Cj0KCQjw-ZHEBhCxARIsAGGN96L0xfGG-DxzZNbaiHUL6HjhthtNtK4KpvMbaY4mPYjhC5Itwrizm7QaAtY9EALw_wcB&ei=ujOFaODmHcbHp84PnOPh-Qg&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAESVuD2BLzmW6vs1h0gnKflqL5q3mw_iw8d7HcWgUfJa6kzk9_Ofy2_vtEqSh1n_y41G1wJu_mMeF0GHvVxYAgPiNC4ROq852X0hO2VqTzH3jZWzdLoeB4p&category=acrcp_v1_43&sig=AOD64_1w81akCQyQ_Mxa0qgRYqnX3XL83w&ctype=5&q=&nis=4&sqi=2&ved=2ahUKEwjgq8GEqNuOAxXG48kDHZxxOI8Qwg8oAHoECAkQIQ&adurl=

[Freightrain]

Wow, goes to show that some places will gouge you for every cent!!  Pays to shop around.  Thanks Joey, I will spend that kind of money.

I see a difference in part number 6400 and 6435.  Wonder what this is about?

[Joey Mack]

Holy crap, it is $2100.00 at freedom racing. I cant explain why during my search i saw it for $560ish on the search page.  I didnt go to the web site.. I'm sorry,  i just learned something about searches..

[Joey Mack]

I assume the second link I sent is for real ?  I am always happy to help in case like this..  

[Freightrain]

I went to website and looked around.  Seems legit?  They are in Florida.

[Freightrain]

Interesting.  Here is 6400 part number at Freedom.  $590.

https://www.freedomracing.com/am-pt-6400-c-cylinder-liner-puller-assembly-tool.html

 

I wonder what the difference is between the two part numbers?  Says Cummins and CAT.  But ONI lists it as Mack?

What is the bore difference between Mack and CAT?

[70mackMB]

31 minutes ago, Joey Mack said:

I just looked at it the other day, it was $540 or $560.. what the hell happened ??

They found out Larry was looking for one!  😁 ....Hippy

[Mark T]

17 minutes ago, Freightrain said:

Interesting.  Here is 6400 part number at Freedom.  $590.

https://www.freedomracing.com/am-pt-6400-c-cylinder-liner-puller-assembly-tool.html

 

I wonder what the difference is between the two part numbers?  Says Cummins and CAT.  But ONI lists it as Mack?

What is the bore difference between Mack and CAT?

lots (lol)