On Aug 10, 12:03*pm, wrote:
On Aug 10, 7:23*am, Randy333 wrote:









On 10 Aug 2011 04:21:39 GMT, "DoN. Nichols"
wrote:

On 2011-08-10, wrote:
I want to replace some wheel bearings on a traditional RWD
"live"axle. *In the past I always took them to my local automotive

* *[ ... ]

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.

* *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.

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

Randy
Remove 333 to reply.
Randy- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

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

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