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Re: bearings

To: "Brad ." <brad1184@hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: bearings
From: "Robert M. Lang" <lang@isis.mit.edu>
Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2002 11:03:06 -0500 (EST)
On Sat, 9 Feb 2002, Brad . wrote:

>    hi

Hi,

>   i forgot to add this to my last message about rear hubs...anyway, what it 
> the best way to remove the two bearings in the rear hubs. Thanx
>   Brad

Okay - you should get several types of responses. With heat and without
heat. If you can, you should try the job without heat first. I'll explain.

Using a bearing puller, if you pull on the outer edge of the bearing cage,
the cage will distort and eventually come off, leaving you with the inner
bearing race firmly attached to the axle stub or outer hub flange. In some
cases, the bearing race itself may pull off easily. If this is the case,
you need to inspect the parts carefully, as the inner races may have spun
on the part - this will cause the bearing race to wear into the part and
will therefore weaken it.

If the race will not come off the axle stub or hub flange, you need to
turn up the intensity a bit.

Some folks use the grind and crack method. You grind a flat onto the stuck
bearing race and then using an air chisel, you "hit" the flat. If you do
this right, the bearing race will crack and fall off. Don't hit the part
you're trying to salvage with the grinder or the air chisel!

Other folks will bring out the "heat" now. You can heat the inner race
with an oxy-acetylene torch, but if you "miss" and heat the hub flange or
axle stub, you can damage them to the point of making them unsafe. If you
heat the bearing race properly to "red" hot, you can usually use a pair of
slip-joint pliers to slde the race off. Sometimes you can also pry on the
race with a screwdiver. Obviously, the "finer" flame point you can apply,
the better.

Now, here's the important part of the job. You need to inspect everything
to make sure there are no cracks or imperfections in the metal on all the
parts that you're ging to reuse. It is very likely (probably better than
50/50) that the stub or outer flange is not suitable for re-use. If you
don't have access to crack testing equipment, you should bring the parts
to someone that is before you attempt reassembly.

Flogging the dead horse once more - this is why you should use a competent
shop to have you hubs rebuilt. Either that or start with a pile of hubs,
because you will be tossing parts out in the process of rebuilding your
rear hubs.

See ya,
rml
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