Performance Tool W84553 3-Inch to 4-1/2-Inch Bearing Splitter

This tool was necessary when replacing the rear wheel bearings on a 2008 BMW 328xi. After pulling out the hub, part of the bearing came with it and this tool easily separated the hub from the bearing.

Disclaimer: I have no personal experience with crack ho's or anyone else who works street corners. Let's just get that out of the way right now.It seems one or possibly a couple of factories in China crank out this same product under a number of labels. If you shop around, you'll see the exact same kit in red cases, blue cases and gray cases (like this one), with some sets differing only in orientation of the forcing screw & cross-bar (fork) in the case layout.I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that this Wilmar/PT kit is therefore no better or worse than others. It's typical Chinese quality workmanship and presumably they all use identical grade metal(s), since they're all priced about the same.The bad (don't worry, I promise there's some good stuff down below -- no, that's not a reference to crack ho's):These products all look just about perfect in the stock photo images, of course, so I included some pics of the actual fit & finish you can likely expect with these kits. I'm sure they're inconsistently bad, hit and miss, so your Wilmar/PT (or other brand) kit may be in better or worse shape than mine.The machining work on mine is/was sloppy in several areas1.) The wrench end/head of the forcing screw is offset, which makes it look weird (and cheap) but likely won't affect operation, unless perhaps under the most severe torque applications, and the threads may fail before the head snaps off (pot luck).2.) The threads on one of the large extension legs needed some cleanup. I didn't need to use a tap, just worked another leg in/out of it a couple dozen times and it smoothed out so that I could fully insert any leg into it with ease.3.) Finishing work on the jaws is really shoddy. There was lots of flash on the edges of the tapers, which I've removed. The taper of one of the small jaws looks like they neglected to hit it with anything after initial cutting (e.g., grinder) or their cutting bit broke or was otherwise in dire need of replacing -- it's also painfully obvious that it doesn't match up with its mate (see pics). Furthermore, while the taper angles seem correct in the pics, the side-to-side angles (relative to the bolt holes) are way off, causing the tapers to ramp in those directions. The jaws obviously were not aligned properly in a jig during fabrication and/or the milling bit elevation was poorly controlled manually. This generally won't matter in the case of old bearings that are toast and are intended to be destroyed and discarded, but it could be a problem if the user requires accurately applied, even pressure on a bearing at those points -- it's not easy to see this in the pics, and I guess I should have snapped side views as well.The storage case is typical, chintzy blow mold with integral plastic hinges which are destined to fail in short order. Still, I'm surprised at just how little attention it received. There's lots of flash they didn't bother removing -- which is actually probably a good thing, since the areas where they did remove flash look like the worker hit them with a few quick strokes of a utility knife and left it at that. These areas are rather fugly, with random slash marks on the good/clean portion of the case. I can only imagine what would have been the result had the locking tabs and thin, delicate hinges received the same degree of rushed treatment.All of the above evidently satisfied a low-standard QC -- if there even is QC at these particular Chinese factories; there's no such sticker to be found on my Wilmar/PT kit.The good (unlike crack ho's and career politicians, I keep my promises):The tool has thus far satisfactorily performed the task I purchased it for, which is non-destructive removal and installation of electric motor and arbor bearings. The metal(s) used in this kit are perfectly adequate for that lightweight purpose, at least.I have yet to remove larger, stubborn bearings which will require the larger jaws and would involve much greater torque and stresses. A lot of people experience bending of the jaw bolts in similar (identical?) kits when removing, for example, vehicular axle bearings. If & when I use this kit for such, I'll update this review with my findings.Speaking of jaw bolts, mine were absolutely true out of the box and they haven't bent from my stated use. I'll also mention that their threads are fine (machine) pitch, since some people have reported coarse threads on jaw bolts in other kits.All threads other than those of the aforementioned leg worked smoothly out of the box.None of the legs have bent bolt ends.Everything assembles together nice and straight.This one could be good or bad, depending: all threads of all legs are identical.The good of this is that it maximizes interchangeability so that all the extensions can be used at once on either size jaw pair for maximum span and configuration options. The potential problem could arise in high torque/stress pulling applications, as smaller diameter bolts/threads could strip or break off, thereby ruining the legs and/or the jaws. I didn't say it would happen; I said it could.It's odd that the larger legs, which are clearly intended to be used with the larger jaws, have the same size bolts/threads as the smaller diameter legs that go with the smaller jaws. Since the bolts/threads are identical, there's no advantage in pulling operations to having beefier legs for the larger jaws, as they are functionally no tougher than the smaller diameter legs. I presume the larger legs are included to meet the 5-ton rating -- their larger size is only an advantage in PRESS operations. I guess that technicality is how they can spec these kits as 5-ton. I'm not confident any of these threads, including those of the forcing screw could withstand 5 tons. But they might! Good luck.Heads-up: The factory applied a light film of oil on all components, with a foam sheet covering them, so have your Fast Orange or Gojo or <insert choice degreaser here> handy if you do anything but a cursory visual inspection of your new purchase.Verdict:This kit is fine for less-demanding DIY jobs, such as removal and installation of the average electric motor bearing. As I haven't yet used it for heavier work, such as vehicle axle bearings, I can't speak to how well it holds up to those tasks. My impression is that it wouldn't last long in a commercial automotive shop setting -- but pros [should] probably already have higher quality (more expensive) kits anyway.I deducted 2 stars for the shoddy workmanship which required me to finish the pieces -- the flash on the smaller jaws actually scratched an arbor shaft I was removing a bearing from, until I cleaned up the factory edges. The jaw material, presumably drop-forged, didn't seem especially tough while I was removing said flash. A Dremel cone stone will correct the inaccurate tapers.I also trimmed the plastic flash from the case to lessen its El Cheapo appearance.

It's so easy to use that I got careless and installed one racer upside down, another a bit crooked. and hammered one seal in too deep. Be careful and take your time, and if you are like me get a brass puncher, it'll save you from messing up your racers/bearings when you mess up.

Product worked like a champ and was very easy to use!

Does exactly what it is designed for. Well made. Was pleased with my purchase. Fair price. Would recommend.

It only opened up to 3 inch shaft not to a 4 inch axle shaft, really not worth the hassle or the money. maybe that's why it was 20 percent off. it's not really big enough for some of the job's i have to doo! this item is not fore use on like truck's or big heavy equipment, it's only for small thins of that nature. I will say it's made of good quality steel and not that cheep junk like china mostly pawns off on America!

Stolen before I ever got to use it. Must be a good tool.

Amazing looking tool. Heavyweight because its made with good real steel. Looks strong and very usable.

This tool is priced at half of what it costs in a local retail store. So its got that going for it I guess.This is a really lightweight tool, and in my opinion it is too light. I think it should be made from something heavier (like steel) so that when you hit it the tool actually drives the bearing races in. I had to hit the thing too many times, and the repetitive beating is hard on the hands. Also, some of the aluminum started to flake off from the disc from having to beat on it so hard. The handle also loosens off rather easily, even after I have torqued it down good. So you get to hit a few time and then tighten it down and then repeat.Its fair for the price but I wouldn't buy it again.

This set is made of soft aluminum that doesn't take abuse well. Not recommended for use in a hydraulic press. If you have that in mind you will have no problem using this set.

Easily let me drive in seals and bearings. The handle is kind of soft, but better to wreck the handle than the bearings or seals.

Didn't well fit the hyundai elantra 2004 knuckle!

Worked great!