OK fellow gear heads...
I am replacing bearings, seals, races. I got the hubs off, apart, and 1/2 of the races knocked out. The inner races are being *&^@#. It is like there is not enough of a diameter difference between the hub and the race for me to get any bite on the race to knock it out. I even bought a couple longer skinny flat screw drivers to get a better angle on the race, and still they just slip off when I strike it.
Any ideas?
mitt
No notch in the hub for driving out the races?
Quote from: ducpainter on April 19, 2010, 04:16:38 PM
No notch in the hub for driving out the races?
Not that I see. Do they usually have a notch to get things started?
mitt
Quote from: mitt on April 19, 2010, 04:18:09 PM
Not that I see. Do they usually have a notch to get things started?
mitt
Not sure about trailer hubs, but automotive hubs do.
Quote from: ducpainter on April 19, 2010, 04:27:10 PM
Not sure about trailer hubs, but automotive hubs do.
I just looked again, and for sure, there is no groove.
It has been a while since I have worked on hubs - does heating them up with a torch ever get the race loose enough to come out easy?
If I am putting new races in, is there any "destructive" way to get them out - dremel, etc? I have seen welding a bead on them to shrink the diameter, but I don't want to get that crazy yet.
mitt
Quote from: mitt on April 19, 2010, 04:30:44 PM
I just looked again, and for sure, there is no groove.
It has been a while since I have worked on hubs - does heating them up with a torch ever get the race loose enough to come out easy?
If I am putting new races in, is there any "destructive" way to get them out - dremel, etc? I have seen welding a bead on them to shrink the diameter, but I don't want to get that crazy yet.
mitt
I suppose if you can get the hub hot enough without heating the race they'd come out.
It's worth a try.
Also I suppose if you could cut a slot in the race...even if you 'nicked' the hub it wouldn't make much of a difference.
Dremel with a rotary carbide cutter maybe?
your hubs are more than likely not designed to be rebuilt. You can get replacement hubs with bearing seals etc for under $50 bucks each
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Got access to an arc welder. If so lay a hot bead all the way around the bearing race. When everthing cools down it'll fall out.
You're going to throw the old race away, so a bead of weld won't hurt a thing. Ever laid a bead across a flat plate, when it cools, not flat any more. Same thing.
Quote from: gage on April 19, 2010, 05:11:34 PM
your hubs are more than likely not designed to be rebuilt.
That could be, but what a waste of parts. I am 80% of the way to finishing them if I can get these inner races out and buy a $20 rebuild kit with bearings, races, and seals.
If you buy a pre-greased assembly, then what grease do you use to top it off? I thought one recommendation was not to mix greases.
mitt
Quote from: sno_duc on April 19, 2010, 05:21:32 PM
Got access to an arc welder. If so lay a hot bead all the way around the bearing race. When everthing cools down it'll fall out.
You're going to throw the old race away, so a bead of weld won't hurt a thing. Ever laid a bead across a flat plate, when it cools, not flat any more. Same thing.
I don't have a welder, but maybe I could get someone at work to do it. I had read that method, and it sounds promising.
I am going to work on them a little more tomorrow with a fresh start and some sharper punches and see what happens.
mitt
Quote from: mitt on April 19, 2010, 05:22:25 PM
That could be, but what a waste of parts. I am 80% of the way to finishing them if I can get these inner races out and buy a $20 rebuild kit with bearings, races, and seals.
If you buy a pre-greased assembly, then what grease do you use to top it off? I thought one recommendation was not to mix greases.
Any good grease and you'll be fine
I also lied about the price - they are 36 bucks... I gladly spend the extra 16 bucks to save all that hassle and the good chance of having to buy the complete assembly anyways
Quote from: mitt on April 19, 2010, 05:23:44 PM
I don't have a welder, but maybe I could get someone at work to do it. I had read that method, and it sounds promising.
I am going to work on them a little more tomorrow with a fresh start and some sharper punches and see what happens.
mitt
I've used it, it works well [thumbsup]. The other welder trick is to weld a hunk of scrap across the bore of the bearing race, then you can put a large punch against it and beat the puppy out. ;D
are the inner races F'ed up?
if not just use em
Quote from: Mother on April 19, 2010, 08:53:21 PM
are the inner races F'ed up?
if not just use em
The bearing kit will come with new races, so I would rather get the old ones out.
mitt
I've heard of the weld bead trick, luckily never had to use it.
Angle grinder & a cold chisel.
You don't need to go the whole way through, halfway is good enough, then lay into it with a cold chisel.
It should pop right off.
I used a carbide attachment for my dremel when I did it once and cut little nicks around above the race so
I could get a bite on the race with a punch. Worked good. didn't take much.
Quote from: VisceralReaction on April 20, 2010, 07:17:19 AM
I used a carbide attachment for my dremel when I did it once and cut little nicks around above the race so
I could get a bite on the race with a punch. Worked good. didn't take much.
That was the exact idea I was leaning toward trying tonight.
thanks for all the feedback!
mitt
Well, a nice sharp hardened punch did the trick the normal way. It was able to get a bite. I was surprised how well it did compared to a "sharp" screw driver.
mitt
You know to get a similar effect with a screwdriver that you get with a punch would be to get one with the tang through the handle. ;)
Quote from: Wood Duck on April 20, 2010, 02:54:54 PM
You know to get a similar effect with a screwdriver that you get with a punch would be to get one with the tang through the handle. ;)
It wasn't the blow that was different, it was the bite. I think the punch had such a flat and sharp face on it, that it didn't "roll off" the race edge.
mitt