Rear Wheel Bearing Removal

[hcoles]

Kevin, if you are still listening:

I made a pulling tool and got the bearing out. $10 in parts from OSH/Home Depot.
Note on that... I don't see why people suggested the 3" conduit coupler.. it ends up pushing on the seal face I think.. might as well pull on the id of the bearing.. the bearing is toast anyway.

1- I see the surface for pulling the new bearing in... now I just need to be sure not to pull on the inner race. I read somewhere to use the old bearing and tap in the new one... maybe I can keep them alined with a hose clamp. I could also us that setup as the push tool.

2 - then just need to figure out how to get the hub in.

[KTL]

1- You pull against the inside of the trailing arm. It's simply the reverse of removing the bearing, but a little easier-said-than-done. You set up the bearing nice & square, snug the puller assembly to the point that the bearing becomes slightly difficult to press in (do not use a monster wrench with a lot of leverage to press it in) and then begin heating the trailing arm. Heat the arm uniformly while you periodically check the resistance on the wrench. Once you find the wrench easier to turn, begin pressing it in. Resistance will increase as the bearing gets pressed deeper into the arm, so you may have to slightly reheat the arm a few times. I don't think cooling the bearing is worthwhile. By the time I got everything set up and started heating the trailing arm, the bearing wasn't all that cold anymore. Plus, the heat is taking away any coolness the bearing had?

2-This kinda took me by surprise. People said, oh you just pull the axle hub into the bearing with the CV axle. Not so in my case. The axle did not stick out of the hub when I installed the CV axle into the bearing and placed the hub at the outside of the bearing!!!. Therefore there's no threads to engage, to pull the hub into the bearing. I had to use the bearing puller/press threaded rod with some washers to pull the hub into the bearing. I destroyed one bearing because I did not pull on the inside of the bearing correctly. You must choose a washer size that will bear on the inner race of the bearing, not on the trailing arm. Bearing breaks real quick when its unsupported on the inner race- CRACK, bearing bites the dust. And DO NOT be fooled by temptation and try to drive the hub into the bearing by striking it. You must pull it in with the inboard side of the bearing well supported.

3- There's two ways to do this. You can cut the inner race off the hub shaft, or you can pull it off. An air powered cutoff wheel is the typical weapon of choice to cut it. I'm notorious for hacking stuff up, so I decided to pull it with a bearing separator I got from McMaster Carr. I have some pictures of it, but not handy right now.

Not sure why you're investigating the bearing dimensions- yes, it's a press fit! Don't sweat the different bearing brands. Bearings are standardized and therefore the differing brands in this application should all be of the same dimensions. And you'd be surprised to know the numerous applications for this bearing. VW Vanagon front wheel bearing, a TON of different BMW 5 and 7-series applications, some Porsche 944 variants.

[KTL]

Originally Posted by hcoles

\
I read somewhere to use the old bearing and tap in the new one... maybe I can keep them alined with a hose clamp. I could also us that setup as the push tool.

Sorry I forgot to mention this. You got it dead on. The old bearing is perfect to use as a press fixture. No need to put a hose clamp on it, as the new bearing and old one being used as a press fixture stay together just fine as you press.

[hcoles]

Kevin,
Thanks...

2 - pulling in the hub... I was thinking the same thing this could be the trickyest part. I need to think on this more.

re. bearing dimensions... I wanted to be sure my 32mm socket OD was not going to hang up while pounding out the hub... it turned out to be just under 42mm so it was perfect. Yeah, looks like a number of companies make this bearing and it is used in a lot of different cars...

[hcoles]

ok, I'm clear now... need to pull against the inner race when pulling the hub in... I'm not quite getting the picture of how to grab the hub... I'll go look at the parts again

[KTL]

The hub is not nearly as tight a press fit into the bearing as is the bearing in the trailing arm. I used some large Grade 8 SAE washers from the hardware store that fit just about perfectly inside the recess of the axle hub

[gtc]

So... I was going to replace my rear wheel bearings a few months ago. I put the bearings in the freezer to get them nice and cold, but I never got around to the job.
I think they're still in the freezer.

[hcoles]

This may help people get an idea of how to build pulling and installing tools.
I can break this out in steps showing the tools needed if people like.

[RWebb]

yeh - steps!

[hcoles]

only if I get the Wayne best diagram of the week award.. :-)

[hcoles]

here's a tip for the DIY'er on this... after the bearing is in... STOP and put every possible other thing on there are a couple of flanges and brakes/etc.

I didn't do this and toasted a new bearing.

BTW - the bearing went in just as nice as pie.... heated the arm with a shop light and then heated with map gas. The bearing was in the freezer and I hose clamped the old bearing with one inner race to the new bearing as a pusher... the bearing slid in about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way and then I pulled it in with my home made puller. Worked great. I was feeling so proud of myself until I saw that I couldn't get the other parts on over the hub.

So right now I don't feel too much like working on Visio to do the steps for disassembly and assembly.

[KTL]

Originally Posted by hcoles

here's a tip for the DIY'er on this... after the bearing is in... STOP and put every possible other thing on there are a couple of flanges and brakes/etc.

I didn't do this and toasted a new bearing.

Welcome to the club.

I got you beat though. Remember I toasted a bearing because I didn't properly support the inside of the bearing when pulling in the hub? That was dead bearing #1. #2 was when I did the same thing as you........

[derek murray]

Is this thread, and in particular Wavey's DIY puller (post 21) applicable to early years cars as well... like my '70?

[hcoles]

when I emotionally recover I'll post my puller parts/etc. I ordered 2 more bearings...I hope the Pelican FAG bearings are as good as the SKF original..

Let's see if I can be smart and not mess up this time.. I'll try freezing the hub next time and warming the arm with bearing... this should help start the hub deeper... when I put the hub in at room temp. it grabs right away. I pulled then spun it to see where it is high... then pushed the puller over and it pops in... then crank a bit more, spin and adjust.. this reduces the binding as you pull in the hub. I was only pulling on the rear inner race. So I was getting real good at this and feeling smart... then noticed.. "how am I going to get those other parts on"... dang.

[sbrown.nw]

I think my 72 is doing the same thing as yours with the suspension "pop" (usually happens when making slow 90 degree turns like when in a parking lot). Is this what yours did? Any idea what the shop labor amount would be to have both the inner and outer bushings done if this indeed fixes the problem? I got new torsion and sway bars installed with new bushings so I don't think it is those.

Thanks,

Scott

Originally Posted by North Coast Cab

Some may have seen my ongoing suspension knock saga. Anyway, I decided to remove the drivers rear wheel bearing and look around. Easier said than done. Spend $250 on the factory puller or go to Home Depot. There have been lots of descriptions but no pictures so I cataloged the removal and Home Depot tooling.
Wheel off, 30mm nut off, caliper off, rotor off, disconnected e-brake cable and here we are. Two pry bars on either side of the hub and a few healthy grunts.
Off comes the hub.

Next remove plate securing braking.

[KTL]

Originally Posted by hcoles

when I emotionally recover I'll post my puller parts/etc. I ordered 2 more bearings...I hope the Pelican FAG bearings are as good as the SKF original..

Let's see if I can be smart and not mess up this time.. I'll try freezing the hub next time and warming the arm with bearing... this should help start the hub deeper... when I put the hub in at room temp. it grabs right away. I pulled then spun it to see where it is high... then pushed the puller over and it pops in... then crank a bit more, spin and adjust.. this reduces the binding as you pull in the hub. I was only pulling on the rear inner race. So I was getting real good at this and feeling smart... then noticed.. "how am I going to get those other parts on"... dang.

Pelican bearings are likely from Brazil if FAG brand. I bought four bearings recently and they were all Brazil. The original bearings I pulled from my 80K mile car were FAG Germany bearings. I bet the SKF ones you would get new are Italy since that's what a lot of other people have mentioned.

I put the hub in the freezer and it helped a little. It's worth it if you've got the space in your freezer.

Scott,

If you're in Seattle area and plan to have a shop do it, you'd be crazy not to have John Walker do it for you.

[initial]

I think I just wasted $220 bucks!

I built a puller last week and gave it a go. The cheaply made in china cast 1" floor flange I had started bending inwards as I tried to pull the bearing out. A little pissed, I logged onto to pelican and ordered the bearing puller.

The puller arrived today, and I started analyzing this thing. I now realize that the home made tool with the conduit I was using on the inside of the bearing (to push) was actually the size of the bearing. This would mean that I was pushing against the arm(?!). Which would explain why I broke the home made tool!

Comparing the two, the expensive tool has an extractor washer which will only push on the smallest diameter race of the bearing. Is this proper? It's not clear to me from the thread that all that is required is to push on the smallest inside race. I was afraid this would break apart the bearing and leave the outer race into the arm. Would this not be the case? Will the bearing hold together?

[hcoles]

yes, your car may be different than mine... to pull the bearing out you can pull on the inner race..
I don't know why the 3" conduit coupler was mentioned somewhere... the 3" conduit coupler should fit inside the hole in the arm... on my car the hole in the arm on the back is 74.75mm.
If you use a "thin" section back there I don't think it will grab the outside race of the bearing, it just pushes on the seal... which IMO is not so great, better to push on the inner race. Your not going to reuse the bearing anyway.

If you check my diagram above you see that you can't get at the outer race. ID of the outer race is about 75mm and the hole is 74.75mm, so you can't get to the outer race.

[KTL]

initial,

When you destroy the bearing by pulling out the hub, look inside the bearing and you'll see that there's no way the pulling action will pull the inner race of the bearing through the bearing. When you pull on the inner race, the ball bearings bear on both the inner and outer race. So you've got steel on steel contact with very little play. So, yes, you definitely need to, and can reliably pull on, the inner race.

[hcoles]

in all likelyhood the bearing is not damaged on the last pull out using the inner race.. you already messed it up by hammering out the hub... angular contact ball bearings are very strong for side loads... hence used for wheel bearings.