How to remove rear axle bearing (1 Viewer)

[backwoodsman]

Rebuilding the rear axles on my 60 and want to replace the bearings. What's the easiest/best way to remove them? and the races if needed. I don't know if it makes a difference but I've removed the third member also for the rebuild, so I'm working with a bare housing.

Thanks all for the help.

 

[slowandsteady BJ]

Ive done it with a camp stove, ice pack and a hunk of Alder. (in the bush)

More preferably use a slide hammer to get the race. A little heat with a quench and itll fall right out. Good luck.

 

[KLF]

There is a slide-hammer tool that can be used to pop them out, but it's kinda pricey if you don't need it more than once. Maybe a place like AutoZone will rent one to you.

I did mine with a long piece of 1" pipe stuck thru the housing, pound on it from the other side. Crude, but it worked pretty well.

 

[2mbb]

I did mine with a long piece of 1" pipe stuck thru the housing, pound on it from the other side. Crude, but it worked pretty well.

I think this is the easiest, if you have the space.

I rented a big slide hammer. It worked, but there were times that I thought I was going to pull the truck off the jack stands (not that I'm strong enough to!) There is no race, or I guess the race is part of the bearing.

I used a bearing race & seal installation tool to put the new one in. Harbor Freight has a 10-piece kit for $30. I think the 81mm is what works.

 

[Tapage]

I think this is the easiest, if you have the space..

I did it that way .. and space required aren't any different what you need to pull your axles from housing ..

 

[franklin40]

i actually used a gear puller with the teath backwards. i placed a piece of steel flat bar across the opening to tighten against and it kinda poped out. crude to use the wrong tool but it worked. there is indeed a race and you should change it if you are changing the bearings. i used the old race a s a flat surface and worked my way around the new one with a happier as it presses in. this was on my 40. now im doing my 62 this weekend

 

[Chris Wilcox]

I also used the pipe method. Have two people. first holds the pipe against the bearing race and moves it around as required to pound out the race evenly. The other person stands on the other side of the truck and hits the end of the pipe gently with a 5lb sledge. Person 1 directs person 2. This is a 2 minute job this way.
Plus no special tools required. Take care not to introduce debris into the axle when you put the pipe through. I believe i used 3/4 pipe which measures ~1" on the OD.
Chris

 

[lehiguy]

Those bearings are super tough, are you sure it needs to come out? If you do it, make sure that the bearing that goes in is NOT Chinese.

 

[Pin_Head]

The other EZ way to get the outer race out is to weld several stringer beads on the inside of the race all the way around. When it cools, the race will just fall out.

 

[lovetoski]

I used a slide hammer. It took me many many "hits" to get the bearing out. I found it very hard. Full disclosure...I am a bike rider/runner guy...don't have a beefy upper body. If the third was out, pounding from the other side with a long pipe sounds pretty appealing. Either way, that bearing race is in pretty tight.

To re-install, I kept the bearing in my freezer for 24 hours. It still took time/patience to get it installed right. But, now 40,000 miles later it's still fine.

 

[2mbb]

I did it that way .. and space required aren't any different what you need to pull your axles from housing ..

I did this in my small 2 car garage. I had to do one side at a time from the middle of the garage. 1/2 way through, I used FWD only to turn the car around to get to the other side. At the time I was pulling the differentials to get ARBs installed.

 

[slowandsteady BJ]

The other EZ way to get the outer race out is to weld several stringer beads on the inside of the race all the way around. When it cools, the race will just fall out.

Yep. Good method.

 

[backwoodsman]

Thanks for all the replies...I used a slide hammer and they came out pretty easy. But now, how do I install the new ones? I don't want to pound them in, or is that they way. Or are the pressed in with a press. Thanks all for help.

 

[2mbb]

FSM say's to pound it in. I used a bearing race and seal installation tool.

 

[LAMBCRUSHER]

Ive done it with a camp stove, ice pack and a hunk of Alder. (in the bush)

More preferably use a slide hammer to get the race. A little heat with a quench and itll fall right out. Good luck.

you win the MacGyver Award! that is some mad scientist/bush-mechanic shtuff right there!

I may do this for the next semi-floater I do...I did the last one with the pipe thru the diff, and used the old race and a big socket to drive the new ones in...slide hammer would work for sure, but I like the idea of the bush fix> just like using a bead of weld, but without the fancy tool required. GOOD TECH...

 

[franklin40]

borrowed a slide hammer and went at it tonight. they are tight. i have one half way out and my arms are sore. i'll give it a go tomorrow after some wheaties!!

if that doesnt work i may have to try my camp stove!!

 

[KWalkerM]

Take a hi lift jack, remove everything but then long post and put a bolt through the end hole. Then use it as a makeshift slide hammer with a the bolt as the catch. It works wonders and is my best tool in a pinch for those.

 

[Michael Hanson]

Hi, Pin heads trick has been used on the farm for years to get out tractor races, works easily. Mike

 

[ashack2004]

I also used the pipe method. Have two people. first holds the pipe against the bearing race and moves it around as required to pound out the race evenly. The other person stands on the other side of the truck and hits the end of the pipe gently with a 5lb sledge. Person 1 directs person 2. This is a 2 minute job this way.
Plus no special tools required. Take care not to introduce debris into the axle when you put the pipe through. I believe i used 3/4 pipe which measures ~1" on the OD.
Chris

Chris, this is the way I did mine on my rebuild and I would agree took 2 mins and worked like a champ. If you are going to pull the third member out this is by far the easiest way to get the bearings out!

 

[KLF]

...as long as you have a piece of pipe lying around to use. I seem to remember I took apart my big woodworking clamps to get a pipe long enough. Put them together with a coupling so they would reach.