Wheel hubs/Tone Rings puller

[Metallo]

Hi guys,

I own three Volvo cars, I do most of their maintenance myself but there is always something missing from my tools, currently, a gear puller.

I live in Canada, due to the salt used in winter it is very hard to work on cars and I need good tools.

I noticed that Harbour Freight sells a 12T hydraulic puller, but I am not sure it is the right tool for me on certain occasions.
For instance, I removed a wheel hub and I need to extract the tone ring, it would be difficult to use the hydraulic puller because I have no base to push.

The attached picture gives you an idea.

I would like to buy something that really works, not necessarily hydraulic, but I am totally new to this kind of tools and I need your experience to avoid me a mistake.

Any recommendation is much welcome.

Thank you,
Alex

 

[Rlfd213]

I think that the hub and tone ring may be cast into 1 piece. If it’s not try heating the tone ring and see if it comes off.

 

[nbruno]

As Rlfd said, heat the ring and use a 3 jaw puller with a race/bushing driver as your base for the forcing screw. Make sure it's not cast as one piece first.

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[Metallo]

I think that the hub and tone ring may be cast into 1 piece. If it’s not try heating the tone ring and see if it comes off.

Those are two pieces and I have already tried the heating stuff, a circular part it's hard to lock it in a vise, I am thinking to something with separating jaws and mechanical pullers.

 

[Metallo]

As Rlfd said, heat the ring and use a 3 jaw puller with a race/bushing driver as your base for the forcing screw. Make sure it's not cast as one piece first.

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Do you mean a mechanical 3 jaws puller?
There are wheel studs locked in the hub, I need to block that part to get the 3 jaws puller to work, I guess??

I was thinking to something like this:

https://www.harborfreight.com/bearing-separator-and-puller-set-62593.html

But I also need a short pipe with the same diameter as the hub edge as a base for the yoke.

 

[WhiffySpark]

Buy a bearing with the tone ring?

I imagine they would be brittle

 

[Metallo]

The whole purpose of this conversation is to look for advice on which tool to buy for this kind of work.
With 3 old cars, wheel hubs etc. are often to be removed, not necessarily because they brake, for instance, the wheel hub in the picture is 21 years old and it works perfectly, but I need to replace a wheel stud.

No, I will not cut the head of the stud to circumvent the problem with the tone ring, I want to be able to remove hubs and tone rings.

You cannot hammer a tone ring because they dent, so I need something clean to do the job.

 

[WhiffySpark]

Cut the head of stud with a grinder. When installing grind one side off of the stud.

Just my opinion but you’ll probably break that ring any other way.

 

[2ndGearRubber]

Buying a bearing with a tone ring would be ideal. In some applications, you can notch the edge of the base of the stud and tap it past.


If you wanted to give it a try, you need a press and a bearing splitter. Support the ring with the splitter and push the rest of the bearing assembly down. If you're going through the trouble, replace any questionable studs.

EDIT: As wiffyspark said, you will likely break the ring. It's a press fit or a hot fit. Press fit means it's gonna be very stuck. Hot fit means they heated it to press it on, basically making it non-serviceable.

 

[2ndGearRubber]

Got a picture of the bottom (base of ring facing out) and some more angles? You're in a difficult situation based on the pic provided.

 

[BillK]

Bearing spreader plate on the press like Scott said. To be honest with you when I do them I just punch all of the studs through and use a brass hammer on them to beat the ring off. I have never hurt the tone ring doing that.

 

[matt_i]

Why not remove that assembly, then use an H-frame press and a driver of appropriate size to press out the hub?

Eventually it has to go back together and the bottle jack press can presumably be used in reverse.

Using an arbor press (up to 12T) or an H-frame hydraulic press (up to 30T) is how I would approach this in my shop.

 

[Metallo]

I am aware of the risk, it is certainly a hot fit, torch first and then press.
The tooth ring can be purchased separately.

Below some additional pictures.

 

[2ndGearRubber]

As we say in my shop "you gonna leeaarrnn today". Use the bearing seperater like I mentioned, heat lightly/evenly around the ring if required, hopefully that won't smoke the bearing. If it's a ***** coming off, and doesn't want to go back on, hitting the hub with a cookie disc might take off the thou or so needed to make it a press fit, instead a stupid tight press fit.

 

[4x4gearhead]

As others have said, heat is the answer, a press may not be necessary if you have a good set of torches, prop the hub on a fixture, something round it can sit on with the speed ring faced down towards the table. Something that it can be placed on that the speed ring will slide over. Heat the speed ring and tap at it with a brass punch, if this doesnt work immediately, then you may need to try heat again but with a bearing splitter and a press, or a puller with a plate can be used to push against the hub. I have done this with deutz flywheels before, most things like that will come off easily if heated quickly enough while hub is still colder

 

[Bobioz1]

Cut off all the threads, knock the stubs out, put bolts in from the top with nuts on the bottom, turn the nuts and push the tone ring off.

 

[WhiffySpark]

Why over complicate this and make more work for yourself?

 

[joecon]

Use a 3 jaw puller with a step disc to support the forcing screw. If the tone ring
is damaged and brakes you way need something like a bearing splitter to back it up.

 

[454ragtop]

Personally, I think the answer is to be more careful with your wheel studs. How did that end up like that? I'd say do what you have to do to fix this one, and don't plan on stripping any more out. Those unit bearings have a finite life, probably no sooner replace the stud and the bearing will fail. Might be better off replacing the assembly anyway.

 

[anndel]

Maybe a bearing separator or an OTC Hub Grappler using the rotor/drum tool. PM me with the year and model and I'll check the Hub Grappler book (it's at work) for a configuration if it'll work for you.

 

[kb1982]

A hammer and a vice always seems to work for me. Be sure to whack it all the way around instead of just in one area.

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[Metallo]

It's all done.

In order to avoid any risk, I took the whole assembly to a mechanic, he has a 25T press, he heated and removed it in 15 min.
I took the whole thing back home, I cleaned everything, put the new wheel stud(s) and re-pressed myself using a vise and a piece of wood to hammer the tone ring back in.
It's all working like a charm.

My car is a 21-year-old Volvo 940, the wheel hubs generally last at least 1M Km, considering I am now at 250K, I think I won't need to change it as the car will last longer than me

However, I still want to equip myself to do these jobs myself, any suggestions on a good extractor with jaws and hydraulic pump, I am talking about quality stuff, not junk.
I am not a shop, so I need something that I may use one or twice a year.
Do you know of any specific manufacturer I should look at?

Thank you, guys!
Alex

 

[WhiffySpark]

A new moog bearing with studs is $80. How much did you have into that?

Was just trying to tell you to avoid other problem. There’s no reason to take tone ring off for wheel studs.

 

[matt_i]

I really think you need to think about getting an H-frame press. Rather than spending $1000 for a hydraulic puller thats good for a few things, spend considerably less and get a tool that can do this and more. If you have extra money buy a lathe as that's what you need to make all of the custom bushings and pins for pressing.

 

[Metallo]

A new moog bearing with studs is $80. How much did you have into that?

Was just trying to tell you to avoid other problem. There’s no reason to take tone ring off for wheel studs.

20C$ = 16 US$ and Moog is middle range stuff, they have never been on my list of parts to be purchased, they have nothing to do with what I have in place right now.

The car is old, I cannot complain if a wheel stud stripped after 21 years, but if it happens again on another wheel, I will do the same job, I do not like the idea of partially cutting the head of the stud to fit it in, let's say I take the opportunity to clean the parts, I never cleaned the ABS wheel before, therefore I do not mind doing it.

Alex

 

[Metallo]

I really think you need to think about getting an H-frame press. Rather than spending $1000 for a hydraulic puller thats good for a few things, spend considerably less and get a tool that can do this and more. If you have extra money buy a lathe as that's what you need to make all of the custom bushings and pins for pressing.

Thanks, Matt.
At the moment, I have no space for a H press, I need something to work on my bench.
Any brands you would recommend?

Alex

 

[WhiffySpark]

They make work bench presses. Dako has one o think