Tight Fit for Inner Wheel Bearing
 

I'm going through the bearings for the front of my car and found that the inner wheel bearings do not come off easily. I had to chisel them out which took the better part of an hour for both sides. The diameter of the front spindles seems to be too wide to accept a bearing without having to force it on. One of my club members said that a modification could have been done (I think he called it preening?) to make sure that only the outer part of the bearing was spinning to the hub and not on the spindle.

Does anyone have a good way of taking the bearings on/off?

Re: Tight Fit for Inner Wheel Bearing
 

You need to buy more tools ! Or possibly rent from a local parts store, a bearing splitter and a puller combination

Re: Tight Fit for Inner Wheel Bearing
 

That bearing should be a slip fit, not too loose and not too tight.

Re: Tight Fit for Inner Wheel Bearing
 

All the little dimples are where a punch was used to raise metal to mak for a tighter fit,many time it was done after a bearing failure that damaged the spindle,look. at the bottom to see if it is damaged,as has be said,the bearing should be a slip fit.

Re: Tight Fit for Inner Wheel Bearing
 

Yes, it appears that spindle shaft has been peened (not “preened”), that’s what the dots are. As mentioned, likely because a bearing has spun in the past. Hand peening like that can lead to the bearing being stuck on, as you found, and also the bearing not being centered on the shaft. I’d think about replacing the spindle, there are plenty of them running around cage-free. Contact Steve Becker at Burts if you can’t find one locally, I’m sure he has tons of good used ones.

Re: Tight Fit for Inner Wheel Bearing
 

If you are not worried about saving the old bearing, you could weld something on to it so that you could use a standard puller. Like a big washer or collar.

Re: Tight Fit for Inner Wheel Bearing
 

I was looking into the above issue a few months ago when servicing the front bearings. I may need to use the same technique or knurling. Is my memory tricking me? I was thinking that the backing plate could be removed and then a bearing puller could be used in the future?????

Is this reasonable?

Re: Tight Fit for Inner Wheel Bearing
 

There are Loctite compounds that are designed for mounting bearings. These have the advantage that they loosen when heated, so that removing the bearing is possible. The shaft and bearing have to be grease free when using these compounds. A few bearing mount compounds to look into are 620, 641, and 680.

Re: Tight Fit for Inner Wheel Bearing
 

Rob I don’t think you can remove the backing plate over the stuck bearing, I think the inner hole is smaller than the bearing outer diameter.

Re: Tight Fit for Inner Wheel Bearing
 

Thanks, Ted.

JayJay, I think, I read a post by Brent Terry in which he said he would knurl or peen and then turn the spindle to the correct size in the peened area. He had a way to center the spindle using a dog attachment. Maybe he will post here again.

The next likely worry will be the steering arm fitment. If you send one off to have the ball restored, perhaps one should mark their arm so that it can be identified by the restorer in case it is set near others and gets mixed up. Ask for yours to be sent back to you. I sent one in once that was a tight fit, .750-.7505????. I got back one that was .006 under. Not good.

Re: Tight Fit for Inner Wheel Bearing
 

That inner bearing should be a slip fit, not locked on.