My Project- GE FR9, Bearing No:1 cover removal

The removal of the bearing no:1 cover from the inside
is normally done for emergency purposes
like thrust bearing or  thermocouple replacement
and as for the bearing replacement itself
it is not recommended unless the  rotor can be secured properly
with another jig mounted onto the rotor at the coupling bolts area.
This internal removal process cut short the shutdown time by at least 5 days
now that the inlet elbow,inlet plenum,inlet aft wall and the inlet bell mouth
doesn't need to be removed.
(A post done on special request by my friend,Hj Nasir Zainal)

Pins and bolts of the bearing cover will have to be remove before the cover is jack up
with jack bolts aided by hydraulic jack and chain block
through the eye bolts on the front part of the cover.

Jack it up to the maximum possible which is around 7 inches.

Insert the rails in by securing the front of the cover by chain block and leaving the rear jack bolts alone.
Place the a pair of roller under the cover on each side,
somewhere in the middle and shim it up with wood..

Ah Sui welding the plate to secure the rails.

Install the support piece between the two rails
and as you can see the rails are supported by scaffolding pipe
at the outer end.

Make sure there is a plate to hold the both the rail to the bottom part of the bearing housing
as we don't want the rails to move along with the cover.

The bearing cover is now ready to be pull out and the loaded thrust shim might need to be burred if it obstruct,
another alternative is to place the cover at an angle as it comes out so that it can go past the shim.

As a safety measure always have the cover secured by chain blocks.

Kamal Mahat and Sardon checking the cover.

And as for cleaning the split line of the cover,
the rails need to be temporary removed.

You can see the loaded thrust shim after being burred.

The special tools needed for the job,
'C' channel as rail for the 2 pairs of roller,4 pcs long jack bolt,
2 pcs hydraulic jack,2 pcs 1.5 t chain block,
eyebolts,sling wires,nylon belts etc.