Outer Wheel Bearings

gary_bath_jr · #1 02-09-12, 04:16

Hey All

I took the hubs of the front of my C-15A to look at the brakes and thought that I aoule be able to make due with the current bearings, that was however until I set the hub down on my deck and heard a clunk and a bit of rattling. I flipped the hub over to find that the bearing was secure until I set it in the worst possible location as the oter part of the bearing that holds the rollers was sitting on the deck and most of the rollers were sitting beside but a lot of them slipped through the cracks.

I found the document on the forum with the modern part numbers and ordered the new bearings, my problem is that the inner part of the old bearings is still on the Hub. I have removed the 3 screws on the face and tried to hammer the bearing out but it is not moving at all.

Does anyone have any ideas on how I can get this part out without destroying the hub? Or a really cheap set of front hubs for a C-15A as this is the only thing stopping my truck from rolling on it's brand new tyres.

I plan on locating my original post stating that I got my truck and adding pictures of the before during and after resto pictures, I had a lot of help from people here and would like to show them where the info and parts went to.

Thanks
Gary

rob love · #2 02-09-12, 07:04

Bust out any remaining rollers and cage, and wipe out all the grease you can get out of there. Pressure wash the hub or clean it in the solvent bath. Once it is reasonably clean, heat the cone race with an oxy acetylene torch and quickly punch it through the three holes. Propane heat will likely work too, but you really want the heat in there quick, so it does not have time to get onto the hub. If the bearings failed, it may have been because of water contamination, in which case the bearing may be rusted to the hub. Or it may have spun a bit, in which case it also will be on tight. Or it may be cocked ever so slightly.....you would then have to figure out which way it is cocked and punch the opposite two holes.

You could also try some long threaded bolts and tighten them equally to force the cone out. While metric bolts are available threaded all the way, you may end up having to thread the standard bolts to get enough thread to get you anywhere. Oil the threads for extra force.

If the outer bearing is bad, then you may want to do the work to get into the inner bearing and properly repack it. And of course, the opposite side. And once you go for the inner bearings, you will usually find that the upper kingpin bearings are shot too, and they can be pricey and hard to find.

T Creighton · #3 02-09-12, 07:37

Hi Garry,
Just run a bead of arc welding right around the centre inside of the race. It will fall out once it cools and the weld shrinks.
Regards,
Terry

Private_collector · #4 02-09-12, 11:23

I agree with Terry!!!

I have done this on my CMP rear end, and it works VERY well.

rob love · #5 02-09-12, 15:16

I have heard of (and used) this method for the outer races, but in the case of the cone, won't it make it even tighter?

T Creighton · #6 02-09-12, 21:27

Hi Rob, You are certainly right about that.
I understood Garry was trying to get the cup out of the hub. For the cone I grind a big flat on it (keeping well clear of the axle surface) with the angle grinder. One hit with a cold chisel should loosen it.
Cheers Terry

gary_bath_jr · #7 02-09-12, 23:13

Hey Terry and Rob

Sorry if I caused any confusion but I took a picture of the part I am talking about. If the welding idea is still plausible I will try that out very soon.

Also I took my tranny to a "Professional" who really hosed me and made me miss the AC12 Convoy he also had my transfercase but was unable to get one gear of so he could not remove the cover. Is there a special puller to get this part off?

Phil Waterman · #8 02-09-12, 23:16

Hi Gary

I hear what the guys are saying about heating etc. But lets get back to the three holes and how the manual says to tap out the bearing. Here is the trick I have used with success.

1. Take a punch that will slip down through the three holes easily. Not a tight fit just in case the head mushrooms you want to be able to pull it out. Make a punch head for your air chisel, find a piece of tubing to hold your punch square on the punch head of the air chisel.

2. Vibrate the bearing using punch and the air chisel, keep working around the three holes. Don't really lean on it you just want to vibrate it at first. After you have vibrated each point a couple of times then you can increase the pressure.

Keep an eye on how far your punch is going it so that you don't end up cocking the bearing race.

This approach has worked every time for me.

Heating the bearing race may actually be counter productive because it will make the race expand hard against the hub. Though heating and letting it cool may help. Think this is what makes the welding bead trick work. Or if you can heat the whole assembly and then cool just the bearing race that may let you tap it out.

Let us know what works.

Cheers Phil