I'm staring at my torn down knuckle and want to pop my new races and bearings in. No driver on hand, none in town, and non can be here till Monday. And safe way to get them in?
Bearing race install with no driver
- Thread starter DirtScaresMe
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Long punch and a hammer. Preferably a brass punch. Move around the lip, typically straight across like doing a wheel. many many light hits rather than a few large hits. You'll know it is seated when the sound changes.
And like @ajax1 said.
And like @ajax1 said.
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- #4
I have some impact sockets I could hit with a rubber mallet?
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- #5
brass drifts are a universal tool for sure, get a variety of thicknesses. Eventually they will round out on the lip. If you have a grinder you can cut a small slice off one end to give them a fresh 90 degree angle before starting an axle build. It is usually the first thing I do when preparing my tools for this job.
Go to 3:00 on this video for an excellent tip for using the old race to drive home the new one. I think this is preferable to working a drift all the way around in installments. Less likely to get it stuck at an angle, IMO.
Land Cruiser rear hub/axle service, bearings, axle, seals, gasket etc
Cheers.
Land Cruiser rear hub/axle service, bearings, axle, seals, gasket etc
Cheers.
If you do chose to use the old bearing races make sure to cut through them on one side. That way they don't get stuck and can be pulled out easily.
^^^^^^^^what he said.
brass drift.
Bad idea. Always use aluminum or brass to drive bearing races. Impact sockets are hardened and will damage your races.I have some impact sockets I could hit with a rubber mallet?
EDIT: You don't care about what you're hitting the socket with; it's the socket hitting the race you care about.
A driver which has a diameter close to the race's is always preferable to a (soft) punch or drift. The bore is softer than the race and if you drive one side in too far, you'll damage the bore. That's why a round driver and a press or clamp is always preferable. It's not impossible to use a drift or (soft) punch, you just have to be really careful.
You can check your punch to see if it's hardened. If you can scratch it with a file, it's soft.
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I would add that you really don't need anything the same size or diameter as the race, if you learn to use a brass drift correctly you can quickly seat the race by going in a round manner around the race slowly. Same goes for any seals
Is there a specific size or type of brass drift one should get?
Most are 3/4" or so. this is soft metal, so remember that you will have to cut, sand it back to a flat area from time to time.
Some people just buy a length of round brass stock and cut it to length.
Some people just buy a length of round brass stock and cut it to length.
get a variety of sizes, I think the largest I have is 3/4 inch down to 1/4
Something like this would be good? Mayhew Pro 61360 3 Pc. Brass Drift Punch Set - Hand Tool Drift Punches - Amazon.com
I use short pieces of 6061 aluminum bar and tube stock for drift punches and bunches of other purposes. My local metal supply (Industrial Metal Supply) sells these shorts for close to the scrap price of aluminum or about 80 cents a pound. You can get a bucket of them for a few dollars.
Yes.