I was pondering the pulling arrangement provided by the $450 Churchill
hub puller. My half-shaft is still kicking around the living room, so
I glare at it all the time and wonder which of the N sucky options I'll
choose...
A normal puller is no good since the hub flange is thin and can be bent,
so the factory puller bolts on with the four wheel studs, and pulls from
those. An idea came to me: Make a simple puller adaptor!
A round plate, like a big flat washer:
OD: 7"
ID: 2 3/4"
Thickness: 1/2"
With four 1/2" holes for the studs (diagonal distance between studs
is 4 1/2"). Bolt that plate onto the hub with moby shoulder nuts.
Its lip sticks out 1/2" all the way round as the real hub is 6" OD.
Use a normal 3-arm puller, but pulling on the lip of the adaptor,
which in turn is pulling properly on the studs.
Voila! This arrangement should pull the hub apart easily as near as I can
figure, and it's a pretty simple one-piece hunk of metal to design and
machine.
I'm going to see if Robb of British Tool Co. fame will make me a pair of
modified ST845's (with the .05" jaw widening) plus the above adaptor, for
a reasonable amount of money. I'm using a real CAD/CAM system to make a
drawing of the adaptor, something a machinist can work from.
How's that sound to y'all?
--ian
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