Help needed removing 308GTB lower transfer gear bearing

In spite of my best endeavours, the lower bearing is stuck on the gearbox input shaft and won't budge or 'walk-off' as per Birdman's procedure.. Unfortunately the bearing fouls on the bellhousing casing which cannot be removed with the bearing still in situ so has to be removed first along with a circlip. I've managed to jack it along the shaft a little way but there's nothing behind it push it along as far as I can see and no means of gripping it to give it a pull.

Short of destroying the cage holding the rollers so I can get a purchase on the bearing inner sleeve to pull it off, and even that will not be easy, can anyone offer a better, less destructive (and expensive) way of removing it? I've tried local heat to expand the sleeve but so far this hasn't helped. I've seen some fancy bearing pullers advertised at huge prices but I'm not convinced that even they would do the job.

 

Thanks. In the end, after sitting there looking at it like lemon for several hours, I made a small puller with small flag shaped fingers that got hold of the inner track in between the rollers and it came off very easily. Just needed an even pull, rather than force.

It all went back together a lot more easily than it came apart and is working fine now. The dry sump scavenge pipe, that runs across the front of the engine, had to be fully undone at the pump end to enable the bracket to clear the bellhousing front 'triangle' and needed a 36mm open ended wrench.

Thanks for the tip re brake cleaner and heat. I've often thought that it must be pretty volatile stuff. Not that volatile though.

Paul