Having a problem seating a bearing race, any tips?

[wfochris]

It's the pinion bearing race that you see when looking straight into the open pumpkin.

It's gotten me down for hours!

I tried freezing the race, but that hasn't worked. It's a bit cumbersome getting into the housing to try and drive it home as well. I'm going to try both freezing the race and heating the opening to see if that will help.

The old one was a bear to get out. I should have known this was going to be tough after seeing what it took to get it out of there.

Any tips? I'm about sunk.

The bearing race on the opposite side went in somewhat well, took a while but finally went. It's probably got another mil to go before it's 100% seated.

 

[BlindViper]

A proper bearing race driver will help a lot. Are you sure its not some trash under the race holding it from seating?

 

[scooterseats]

How are you freezing the race? If you are using the house freezer then you are not getting it nearly cold enough. Try getting some dry ice to freeze it. This along with heating the housing should help. As was posted, a good bearing race driver will help also.

 

[nate379]

Dremel and sanding wheel and remove just a tad on the OD of the race. I'm talking just a little like less than 0.0005".

 

[Busted_Knuckles]

What are you using to drive the race ?

 

[reinhardt]

get a bigger hammer. dont be a girl, hit it harder. j/k. couldnt help myself.

 

[gte718p]

Pull the axle. There is nothing worse then working at those horrible angles trying to get something lined up. I'll second or third make sure you have the right tool, a socket is not the right tool. Even the hf drivers are not to bad,. Make absolutely sure your straight, even a little angle and your screwed on the tight fits. I would only recommend sanding it as a last, last resort. It should fit and be tight.

 

[wfochris]

Sorry to leave this thread hanging. Those angles are horrible!

I was going to try dry ice at a recommendation from an engineer at work.

Didn't have any locally. I had left the race in the freezer over night, not sure if that helped or not.

The local autozone rental bearing race driver had a size too small and a size too large.

Fortunately, tonight I tried to make sure I was seating it evenly, and after about an hour it was seated along with the one on the opposite side. What a bear!

I couldn't stand the thought of paying $250 to have this ring and pinion gear put in. I'm on the home stretch now

 

[Busted_Knuckles]

Glad to hear it, I was asking what you where using, because the right size driver can make it allot easier to "whale" on it, if its not moving around.

 

[jsaw]

Take the old race and grind some material off the outside diameter so that it fits loosely into the bore where the new race is going, so that it does not jam in the hole, Then use some scrap metal make a handle to weld on to it. use it as a driver to drive the new race into place

 

[wfochris]

jsaw- things I see in your post that I envy:

You can weld. I need to learn.

You have a lift- I need a place to put one!

 

[Brad54]

This is a perfect example of wasting a ton of time and effort trying to save a little time and effort.
Had you spend an hour and a half (total) disconnecting the brake line, pulling the rear end, then hooked it back up and bled the brakes, you'd have been time WAAAAY ahead. How many hours/days have you dinked around trying to do it with the rear end in the car? More importantly, how much time have you wasted sliding under the car, checking things, sliding out from under the car, getting tools and sliding back under, trying to hammer the old one out at awkward angles, trying to hammer the old one in at awkward angles, and then setting up the ring and pinion with it under the car?

Pull the rear end assembly, do it all on a couple of jack stands, then put the rear end back under the car.

This is why I always take an extra 10 minutes to pull the front seat out of a vehicle when I'm working under the dash.

Plus, the quality of your work is ALWAYS better when you're working comfortably. If you are uncomfortable, you are rushing the job to get it done, or taking short cuts. Working comfortable allows you to be fussy.

-Brad

 

[trbomax]

I know I'll get flamed on this but here goes anyway. You should never beat or hammer a bearing race ,they should be pressed or pulled. Hammering on hardened steel can crack it and you will never know it untill the crack eats up the bearing rollers or balls at a later date.If the race is cocked in the bore even a few thousands,it is even easier to crack it.

 

[Professur]

Brad ... you must only work on new cars. Try that up here and you'll have to add in the time to put in new anchor bolts. I've yanked plenty of seats, and I've yet to have one where at least one bolt didn't snap on me.

Not that it's any great deal to drill a hole in the *** end and weld a new bolt in place ... but it's hardly the sort of thing I want to have to waste time on when it wasn't part of the initial job.

 

[Brad54]

Brad ... you must only work on new cars. Try that up here and you'll have to add in the time to put in new anchor bolts. I've yanked plenty of seats, and I've yet to have one where at least one bolt didn't snap on me.

Not that it's any great deal to drill a hole in the *** end and weld a new bolt in place ... but it's hardly the sort of thing I want to have to waste time on when it wasn't part of the initial job.

I don't even own a new car.
My daily driver is a '61 Chevy Suburban, my wife's is a '61 Corvair wagon, I've got a '56 Chevy project, a '54 Buick project (that was my daily for a year and a half until the Unobtainium Manual Trans died), a '73 Duster on a rotisserie and a '57 Chevy wagon race car project.

We DO own a 2001 Dakota with 210,000 miles on it, that's been lowered etc, but haven't driven it in over two years. My 15 year old son has decided that's to be his first car, so I guess we do own something new.

But no, other than all that, I don't work on old cars, or know anything about how to work on them a little quicker. And having grown up in Michigan and Ohio in the Rust Belt, I'm not at all familiar with how not to snap off bolts with a shot of PB Blaster, Kroil, etc.
-Brad

 

[nate379]

I have done them both in and out of vehicle and really about the same effort. With it in, don't have to mess with trying to hold axle from moving when torquing on stuff.


Last one I did on the vehicle I put the vehicle on my trailer with the rear end right near the edge. I was able to sit under it that way
Was one of those dark, cold nights... 3AM trying to get it together for racing that morning deals too. I used whatever semi decent parts I had laying around and threw it together. That diff made a few over 500hp dyno runs even!

 

[CraigFL]

I know I'll get flamed on this but here goes anyway. You should never beat or hammer a bearing race ,they should be pressed or pulled. Hammering on hardened steel can crack it and you will never know it untill the crack eats up the bearing rollers or balls at a later date.If the race is cocked in the bore even a few thousands,it is even easier to crack it.

Agree... And if you put it in dry ice first you may be at or near the NDTT (nil ductility transition temperature) which would make it even more easy to break.

 

[rockchucker]

I know I'll get flamed on this but here goes anyway. You should never beat or hammer a bearing race ,they should be pressed or pulled. Hammering on hardened steel can crack it and you will never know it untill the crack eats up the bearing rollers or balls at a later date.If the race is cocked in the bore even a few thousands,it is even easier to crack it.

100% Well said.


As for not pulling the Rear Axle Assembly for this job...Refer to my Sig.


Even with a little bit of researching you would find this job to be much easier by pulling the Assembly and doing it right.

 

[nate379]

Disagree. Don't hit directly on it, but with a driver, block of wood, another bearing race, etc it's find to hit.

My Dad is close to an expert on bearings... his primary job is keeping an OSB woodmill going and they go through TONS of bearings. I'm talking I needed a bearing for my snowblower last winter and over the phone he told me all the specs and the part number with me just telling him roughly what it was!

I know I'll get flamed on this but here goes anyway. You should never beat or hammer a bearing race ,they should be pressed or pulled. Hammering on hardened steel can crack it and you will never know it untill the crack eats up the bearing rollers or balls at a later date.If the race is cocked in the bore even a few thousands,it is even easier to crack it.

 

[wfochris]

Thanks for all the tips, positive and negative.

I've read tons of info on doing this job, and no one has mentioned pulling the axle. It was going to be my last resort.

Knowing what I know now, I could save tons of time on this job the next go-round.

Gotta learn some how.