Has anyone put axle bearings in? I have a 72 Grabber I'm gonna do it on this weekend and was wondering how hard it was. Thanks!
You will need to take the axles and have the bearings removed and pressed back on. Other than that not a bad job. Jack up and support car on stands Remove wheels Remove brake drum Remove 4 retaining bolts from the axle retaining plate. There is a hole in the axle you can go through to reach the bolts. Pull axle (you might have to remove the brake shoes for clearance) If the axles don't slide out place one of the drums backwards over the stud and retain with wheel nuts. Use the drum as a slide hammer to remove the axle.
I cut mine, but not all the way. Then I use a chisel and wedge it in the cut and hit it with a hammer. It will break and you can slide it off. Only slice one side. To install I use a thick wall pipe that fits the shaft. I place the axle on a block of wood using the center part not the studs. If the pipe is short slide it like a hammer if long enough use a BFH. If too short you may not get it to work without alot of effort. Here you can see the hole mentioned for removing the bolts. Reading the posts after this one reminded me of this. Use the old ones to beat on. I use only the race.
Yep, just like maverick1970 said. They arent that hard to do but you will have to take them to a shop and have the bearings removed and replaced. They take a press with a special tool and remove the old ones, but they dont use the press to replace them (at least where I went to) the guy used a torch to heat up the bearings so they would just slide onto the axle when dropped over it and then when it cooled it would be a tight fit. He done this to keep from damaging the bearing. He said that he had seen them break when trying to press them on.
i cut and split them with the chisel. then press the new ones back on. dont heat the bearing. it has a plastic seal and is packed full of grease. if you heat it with a torch it will melt the plastic. the hardest part is removeing the old bearings.
The bearings should go on fairly easily, maybe a few light taps. It's the retainer rings that need the press. Make up a ziplock bag with saltwater and chipped ice, place it around the axle shaft above the (installed) axle bearing. Now stick those rings in the oven @ 450° for 15 minutes and they should literally "fall" in place. Just be sure the ring & bearing have no slack space in them, the ring should be tight against the bearing, which should be tight against the shoulder in the axle. As noted above, once that ring is set, there's no moving it, you'll need a chisel or bearing press to remove it. Russ
honestly if you brought the axle with the bearing already removed in to my shop i would press in on for free. it only takes 5 min to press it on. its the reomovale of the old bearing that takes time. now i cant say what other shops will charge but it shouldnt be very much.
I'm doing my axle bearing today. Here's a quick question. Do you have to open the pumpkin to get the old axles out? They are being a real PITA!! Haaa... Thanks guys!
Ok. Thanks. I did that but the damn axle is really fighting to stay in there! Haa....I'm trying to use the drum as a slide hammer.
