77 WR250 back from the dead

Ok here's what the old swing arm bearings look like. Not good.
The bearings have a o-ring on one side. Are these still available anywhere?
Also are the inner race bushings made of hardened steel and are they plated or just worn to a shine?
Im thinking of having one of my suppliers just make new ones but I need to know what the material and process is.

Nice looking engine.

Swing arm bearings yuk. Rust not good. Need to use a water proof grease. Maybe add a zerk fitting?

I wish my knees had zerk fittings. Lmao

Everything should have zerks.
I believe they are the original bearings from 1977.
The identificaton on them is as follows:
DURKOPP GERMANY 310-3851
ID=20mm OD=26mm Width=14mm (actual 13.88)

Find a local bearing shop on the bearings. Most towns with any sort of industrial area have a bearing shop or two.

If the original bearings have part identifiers on them the shop can read those and usually find an equivalent. You can also mic everything and/or bring the bearings and parts that the bearings touch (shaft and swingarm or link) and let the shop mic them for measurements. Roller bearings are sold by inner, outer diameter and length. For example, my '86 swingarm links take eight 20X26X12 bearings (20 mm ID, 26 mm OD, 12mm length).
The shop I go to locally would probably be willing to give me an opinion on reusing the shafts, and may be able to suggest a replacement shaft or an industrial parts supplier that would have an equivalent (as opposed to making your own, or seeking out a Husqvarna-specific supplier), that's a little bit less of a given.

On bearings, life comes down to quality and maintenance. Husqvarna parts supply sites sell top quality, at a price. A local bearing shop can give you an idea on quality. You likely don't really know your quality if you just web-search bearings based on size. Usually you get what you pay for. Maintenance helps with life, even with cheap bearings. So, Zerks are good, pulling the swingarm apart every few seasons is the surest way to get a good look at the bearings, check for play, and reapply grease.

Be aware there are different grade bearings under the same specs. Some have less balls than the orginal crank bearings.

For replacement bearings checkout www.mcmaster.com

SO WHAT ARE YA'LL THOUGHTS ON SOLID HMDP OR 954 BRONZE BUSHING FOR THE SWINGARM

they have the same type single sealed unit with the correct ID/OD but the wrong width.
The guy is looking into it and will let me know.

Do you mean HDPE plastic? That would deform quickly.
954 aluminum bronze would have too much friction.

954 bearing bronze you can grease it and lets face it there not a lot of movement there there was a post where some Ozzi tried it but i have seem no post on how it worked out i would about bet the farm it could work think the whole deal might have been a plot to sell more parts or grease the needle bearing set up sure dont seen to last to long unless you maintain the hell out of it

The swing arm bearings, o-rings and bushes are available as a kit from a few vintage Husky parts suppliers. Just pack well with waterproof grease and then strip and service every once in a while.

Zerk fitting, install one on each side if you can. They also make bang in zerk fittings too. No threaded holes. Just drill a hole and tap it in.

One of my buddy's was racing and going thru wheel bearings. He cleaned inside the hub. Installed a zerk fitting and took off the inside seal off the bearings. Pumped grease into the hub on his 250cr Honda.

To answer your earlier question .... yes, the bushes are case hardened. Not a good idea to make them out of ordinary steel or stainless.

its easy to turn up bronze bushes and should be fine as long as they are greased. but with kits available just go that way

Do you happen to know the type of steel and which hardening process?
I'm a field quality engineer for a large aerospace company and a lot of my suppliers make such parts.

I would have thought - Steel 535A99 and 55-60 HRC.

thanks I think you're right it's probably cheaper to just buy them.

I'm late to this discussion but, I recently had John rebuild a 74 175 engine for me. I debated with myself about shipping a motor out or having a local guy help me do it myself. I was still going to have to buy all the needed parts and pay the local guy.

I was a little suspect about the crank and decided to go with the man who does Husky engines daily. Boy was I glade I did. Both crank stubs needed replaced, the tranny had one bad gear, and I was able to get the shift drum updated to the new style for a modest price. All this and I had the engine back in my hands in just over 3 weeks.

A big expense I decided against was to have him prep and paint the engine. While yours looks great I plan to race mine and I can paint it myself as a unit. I've spent enough time at the blast cabinet to understand how expensive this can get.

Yea I wouldn't have known what to do about my worn out case. He's a pro.

Another queston regarding the swing arm pivot.
OK I'm getting new bearings, o-rings, and one bushing because mine is rusted too badly.

The whole thing pivots on the shaft which has a OD of around 12mm.
The bushing the bearings ride on has a 12.25mm ID and rotates freely on the shaft.
Anything follows the path of least resistance so it seems to me the whole thing would just rotate on the shaft.
So what keeps the bushing from rotating about the shaft while it's assembled so the bearings do their job?
Or is my swing arm shaft just worn out and it's supposed to be a tight fit to the bushing?

I'm not familiar with your year and model, so I could be mistaken, but in my experience, many times bushings like this are held end-to-end. Think about a wheel. From one side of the swingarm or fork, there's a spacer pushing on the inner race of one side bearing, a bushing between the bearings within the wheel, and spacer, brake, etc pushing on the opposite side bearing inner race, then the other fork/swingarm side. All of these things absent end-to-end pressure are able to easily slide and rotate over the axle shaft, but the end-to-end pressure causes them to be harder to spin than the bearings, and as you noted, motion follows the path of least resistance.