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wheel bearing removal

I want to replace some wheel bearings on a traditional RWD "live"axle. In the past I always took them to my local automotive machine shop but the last time I noticed that the axle where the beraing was removed was blue. On closer inspection it was apparent that they had used a torch to cut off the axle (there was a trace of melting into **into** the bearing surface on the axle - not good in my opinion. SO I surfed the web and was able to remove the retainer by drilling partway into and using a chisel. The general consensus was to beat the splined axle end on a board on concrete, holding onto the backing plate and the bearing would come loose from the impact. No such luck. Next I added a bearing seperator for more impact mass. Bearing still would not budge. I opened up my largest vise and set the bearing seperator on the jaws and beat on the splined end of the axle shafts w/ a 4 lb copper hammer. Would not budge. THen I got out the torch with a brazing tip and heated the bearing (burned thru the lip seal and applied heat to the bearing inner, then I beat on the splined end w/ my copper hammer. Still no luck - now what? CUt off wheel to remove the bearing outer and then try to cut into the bearing inner w/o damaging the axle? Other ideas. I have a 30T A-frame press - it is about 4 inches too short in height to be able to press the bearing off.

Reply to
aribert
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Now you know why everybody just torches them out. You must have had a guy that never ran a torch do it for you last time. its pretty easy to get the bearing metal red, then just hit the O2 for a sec and blast it out. This don't give time to let the adjoining metal get hot enough.

Karl

Reply to
Karl Townsend

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What I have done, in the distant past, was to use a bench grinder (no angle grinders in those days) to grind a flat on the inner race until I got *close* to the axle. (Say perhaps 1/8" or 0.100").

I then took a hefty chisel and hammer and drive the chisel edge into the center of the flat, with the edge parallel to the axle.

This split it, after which it slid off fairly easily.

Good Luck, DoN.

Reply to
DoN. Nichols

The above method has always worked well for me, too..

Reply to
PrecisionmachinisT

Agressive grinding will anneal the race so the chisel will cut in. This has worked for me also.

Randy Remove 333 to reply. Randy

Reply to
Randy333

What make of diffs are you guys working with anyway? I've replaced bearings many times on my diffs, take the pin out of the diff, slide the axle in, remove clip, slide axle out and use a slipper and slide hammer to get the seal and bearing out of the housing. 10 minute job. Takes longer to drain the diff than to do the job. Mostly Ford diffs.

Stan

Reply to
stans4

That's what ford and chevy are like, where the inner race is usually the axle itself.

Others, buick-olds-pontiac-toyota and anything with a removeable bolt- in center-section (including some fords) the bearings are a full inner- and-outer race assembled set where the keeper plate under the brake backing plate retains the outer race in the axle housing, and the press-fit of the inner-race on the axle (and usually a press-on keeper) retains the axle.

The center-pin method is frowned upon for drag racing as if the diff blows the axles are lost. You also can't have the quick-change center section.

On the other style if the wheel bearing fails (or if the inner race slides off the axle) the entire axle can walk out. I have seen this twice- once while test-driving a 67 GTO parts car just after buying it, and another was a friends '65 lemans.

Dave

Reply to
Dave__67

In my case this is a Ford 8 inch rear axle out of a Maverick to upgrade my '61 Falcon (currently with a stock 7.25 inch Salsbury (sp?) style rear axle)

To all of you - thanks for the responses - I'll get to it with a grinder / cut off wheel to get close to the bearing mounting surface and then whack it w/ a chisel.

Reply to
aribert

[ ... ]

Actually -- the grinder I had was not capable of being that aggressive, so it was the still hard bearing metal under tension which broke when the chisel was hit.

[ ... ]

Pin out of differential? This was a single-piece tube differential and axle housing. (A friend's early Ford Mustang, FWIW.) As I remember it, it was remove the wheel and brake drum, unbolt the axle flange and slide the axle out with the inner race still on it, then try to find a way to remove the inner race with limited tools. (My power tools at the time were a hand-held electric drill and an ancient

6" bench grinder (which I still have, and which still works).

Enjoy, DoN.

Reply to
DoN. Nichols

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