Rear axle bearing replacement (leaking hubs)
- Thread starter deskinthewoods
- Start date
deskinthewoods
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Beefed up and did the job. Not gonna lie, it was exciting when it slipped out sideways with a bang! Not the most stable/safest design, even with meticulous lining up of things…
it’ll need some stabilizing.
it’ll need some stabilizing.
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deskinthewoods
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@Growlerbearnz, (or anyone!), is this normal play after installing the new bearing and retainer?!!!
Does it all tighten up when the axel is reinstalled in the van?
deskinthewoods
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So, I’m looking at the rusted back plate and I just can’t let that go. 16gauge steel sheet and a lot of spot welding and it came out pretty good (good enough for me, anyway)
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deskinthewoods
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And the answer is…yes! This is normal slop and everything snugs up nicely on re-installation.
I did replace the oil seal (that was the point of all this after all!)
New brake parts and hook up the parking brake tomorrow…
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deskinthewoods
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deskinthewoods
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And onto the other side. This one came out much easier thanks to @Growlerbearnz ‘s advice, though hitting the studs with a hammer just dislodged the studs. The trick with the cold chisel really worked well.
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Excellent work so far! (I've been busy and haven't checked in for a bit).
Silicone: yes, grey high-strength silicone gasket maker/sealant is the stuff.
Backplate wobble: normal.
Before you apply silicone to the second axle, install it dry and check the end play. It shouldn't have changed, but if it has you might need to add/remove shims to bring it back into spec.
When I installed the retainers I went full redneck: put the axle in the freezer overnight, heated the retainer with a heat gun, and then walloped the retainer into place with a BFH and length of scaffold pipe.
Silicone: yes, grey high-strength silicone gasket maker/sealant is the stuff.
Backplate wobble: normal.
Before you apply silicone to the second axle, install it dry and check the end play. It shouldn't have changed, but if it has you might need to add/remove shims to bring it back into spec.
When I installed the retainers I went full redneck: put the axle in the freezer overnight, heated the retainer with a heat gun, and then walloped the retainer into place with a BFH and length of scaffold pipe.
LOL! That was my thought as well; freezer and rosebud (torch). But then you couldn't measure the seating force is to spec, and he was doing so well...
I was a bit concerned about that. But I figure every day hundreds of workshops install thousands of axle retainers, and I bet none of them even glance at the pressure gauge, if their presses even have one. Plus there's the snap ring to stop anything too exciting from happening.
deskinthewoods
Well-Known Member
Newly augmented redneck press, no gauge. My jerry-rigged puller blew out so I used the press and the old brake drum as a spacer to push the axel through instead of pulling the backing plate up.
