Rear hub carrier removal?

[Mark D]

I can attest that all of the advice that Dave has given in this thread is sound. (Not that anyone is doubting him )

I replaced the bearings in my rear hub carriers last year and had similar questions about pressing in and out. An air chisel worked wonders for getting the inner hub out from the carrier. That little dimple in the center of the shaft is perfectly set up for this tool and the shaft will come out with minimal issues. The air chisel also worked great for getting the inner race of the bearing off the shaft, and getting the outer race out of the hub.

To press everything in and out I purchased a bearing press kit from harbor freight:
http://www.harborfreight.com/fwd-fro...ers-66829.html

This kit includes all the various sizes of plates you'll need to properly press the new bearings in. You'll also probably want to go out and rent a ball joint press/removal kit from your local advance auto or auto zone that has a bunch of different sized metal sleeves that are helpful in the press.

I have step by step pictures that I took that I can post a little later on if anyone is interested.

[Ron]

I have step by step pictures that I took that I can post a little later on if anyone is interested.

Post em!!!

[Jeff K]

I can attest that all of the advice that Dave has given in this thread is sound. (Not that anyone is doubting him )

I replaced the bearings in my rear hub carriers last year and had similar questions about pressing in and out. An air chisel worked wonders for getting the inner hub out from the carrier. That little dimple in the center of the shaft is perfectly set up for this tool and the shaft will come out with minimal issues. The air chisel also worked great for getting the inner race of the bearing off the shaft, and getting the outer race out of the hub.

To press everything in and out I purchased a bearing press kit from harbor freight:
http://www.harborfreight.com/fwd-fro...ers-66829.html

This kit includes all the various sizes of plates you'll need to properly press the new bearings in. You'll also probably want to go out and rent a ball joint press/removal kit from your local advance auto or auto zone that has a bunch of different sized metal sleeves that are helpful in the press.

I have step by step pictures that I took that I can post a little later on if anyone is interested.

Thanks and yes, please post them!

[Mark D]

I'm missing pictures for a few of the early steps, but this is what I've got.

Let me also start by saying I was rebuilding the entire suspension so I had the hub carriers completely off the car. It would be much more difficult to do with them installed, and then you'd need a bearing puller tool. Also in all of these steps I used a thin coat of grease when reinstalling all the parts.

Here we go with the photos:

Hub carriers off the car w/ outer hub still intact. To remove the outer hub I supported the whole assembly by the outer hub on my work bench using a few blocks of wood. Then I used an air hammer/chisel to push down on the inner shaft and the whole works dropped out from underneath the outer hub.



The round machined center in the shaft is set up to receive a cone shaped attachement for your air hammer If you don't have an air hammer they're only 15 bucks a harbor freight.




Here's a photo with the outer hub off:



Next comes presing the inner shaft out of the bearings. I set the hub carrier on my bench top and use the air hammer again to push down on the shaft. The small blows from the air hammer are less likely to damage the hub than trying to put the whole thing in a press and push out the shaft. The abnormally shaped casting of the hub makes it dangerous to support from below without stressing areas that weren't designed for constant high pressure load you would see in a hydraulic press. Here's a photo showing the shafts pressed out of the carriers.



Note the shaft on the left shaft still has half of the bearing race pressed onto it. To get the race off the shaft you'll need the chisel attachment for your air hammer. I worked around in a circle from the sides being careful not to damage the shaft with the sharp chisel. Once you've got the race worked up the shaft slightly and there is a gap you can use blunt tools and work the race the rest of the way off.


At this point you will also have the outer race of the bearing stuck inside the hub carrier casting. To get the outer race out I supported it from below by stacking up some plates and metal sleeves from the ball joint press kit I had and pressed down on the circular outer face of the hub carrier. This part of the casting is strong enough to take the load of a press. Alternatively if you had a puller tool you could use it here also. Or use the same chisel method as before.

Here are the inner half shafts after sand blasting. I masked off the press fit surfaces during blasting and afterwards polished those surfaces by hand with a scotch brite pad. Both bearings have been pressed out of the hub carriers also at this point.



POR-15 on the half shafts.



Powder coated hub carriers...be sure to have the inner press fit surfaces masked off if you go this route.



Ready to install a new bearing. The black disc is one of the parts that comes in the bearing puller kit I linked to above in my previous post.



I used an air hammer to install the new bearing. In this pic the black disc is larger in diameter than the bearing.... I worked it half way down into the carrier, and then when the bearing was flush with the outer surface I switched to a different disc that was slightly smaller in diameter than the bearing but was still large enough to be only resting on the outer race of the bearing. You do not want to press on the inner race or you'll separate the bearing in half and then you'll need to go buy a new one.




Bearing installed with new circlip. (Note: go buy yourself a nice set of snap ring pliars. Spend at least 25 bucks on a good set. It'll be worth the savings in frustration)



Ready to install the half shaft and hub.



To install the shaft I set up the press with a sleeve that was approximately the diameter of the inner bearing race. Here you want to support by the inner race only.







I had my outer hubs plated in yellow zinc so they also needed to be pressed on. If your old ones are loose enough you may be able to just slip them on.



I set up the press with a large sleeve to support the half shaft from below. Then used a hollow ball joint cup to push down on the hub.




And I added some extra grease on the spines to keep them rust free.



aaaaand....Done

[Morpheus]

Wow. Great work and beautiful pics! Well Done!

[Jeff K]

Thank you Mark for that great post. I got the air hammer today.. I'll post my results!

I appreciate everyone's input as well
Jeff

[Jeff K]

Ok, I got the outer hub off.. but the air hammer will not budge the out-drive at all. How hard do I push or lean on it? I'm afraid to break the carrier.

[Mark D]

I had to lean into mine pretty good with the air hammer to get the shafts to break free from the bearings. One was rusted in there and I spent a good 10 minutes going in bursts trying to bust it loose. Eventually the bearing will fail and separate from behind, splitting the bearing into two halves. The lower half of the inner bearing race will stay stuck on the outdrive shaft and you'll have to carefully chisel between the two pieces to break the inner race free. Then switch to a more blunt attachment for your chisel and work it the rest of the way off the shaft. Or insert some C shaped plates (like some large washers cut in half) in the gap you've opened up and use a hydraulic press to push the inner race the rest of the way off.

Working on your bench top with an air hammer isn't going to exert nearly the forces you'd see in a press...I wouldn't be too worried about breaking anything with the air hammer method. The hub carriers are strong parts but awkwardly shaped. The way they would be supported in a press isn't ideal because all of the load would be concentrated at the outer extremities. If there were a good way to support it more towards the center then it would be less of an issue.

Using an air hammer works just as well as a press though. Just spray on some penetrating oil on the bearings and let it sit for a while and then come back and try again. A little heat from a torch will help as well... Eventually the parts will come loose.

[BABIS]

very nice work!

[Jeff K]

I guess I gave up too early Mark. After leaning on it and trying for a few minutes, I figured it was out of my scope.

I took it to my local parts/machine shop. These guys are the real deal. My friend there picked it up, turned it over (outdrive facing the floor)

He smacked it twice on the carpeted floor and it popped right out! Maybe the air hammer did weaken it enough, but we got it out!

What you did to yours is great, I might have to plagiarize your rear hub resto!

Jeff