The Ford Barn

Daves55Sedan · 09-16-2018, 12:04 AM

Okay, so I am having a lot of trouble finding someone in the St. louis metro area who can properly remove the old axle shaft bearing and press on a new one and it's associated retaining collar.
One of the shops I went to that is very well known around here and has been here for many decades borrowed an axle shaft puller from autozone to do the job. That shows what they know. He opened up the plastic case and said to me; this is what they gave me. I looked at it and said, we don't need an axle shaft puller. We need a bearing puller.
All the other places I went (with shop manual in hand) and showed them what needed to be done and what tools were required. Basically a bearing puller and a 5-ton press are the only special tools needed. A 1-1/2 inch pipe coupling is helpful too for pressing the new collar on. They all looked at me and scratched their heads.
Does anyone know of a auto repair shop in the St Louis metro area that has done this work before properly? And by properly, I mean not removing the bearing with a cutting torch or cutoff grinder and hammer and chisel.
If not, I am willing to buy the bearing puller if I can find one. The only one I have seen is made by Fairmount Industries and is sold by Eastwood, but I am very skeptical of the rickety bars that screw together rather than having two one-piece threaded rods. Looks kinda hokey to me.

KULTULZ · 09-16-2018, 05:39 AM

Is there a large NAPA store in your area with a machine shop?

54vicky · 09-16-2018, 10:27 PM

thy offered at least two methods used for more years than you have been alive.blue flame wrench and a cold chisel wearing safety glasses good eye steady hand on blue wrench done leaving no slag or melt cut on axle.thick walled pipe to slam bearing on with retainer you are done.no press no fancy puller.most today if it does a computer model or a port to download data problem.they ( most)look at you have two friggen heads

slumlord44 · 09-16-2018, 11:21 PM

call Doug Carr 314-825-2148. He is a member of the St Louis Chapter of the Classic Thunderbird Club and does reatoration work. He will know who in St Louis can do this.

24ruxstel1339 · 09-17-2018, 04:01 AM

54Vicky is right. I prefer a cut off grinder or a drill to cut the retaining ring off.
Usually if you cut most of the way through, it will crack with a chisel and come right off. Same with the inner bearing race.
I have done literally dozens this way, you can use the old ring and or the race to pound against if you don't have the exact size pipe to drive it back together. I press them together with a bearing splitter on the ring and press against the hub with the shaft down.
Either method is fine.

24ruxstel1339 · 09-17-2018, 04:02 AM

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bobss396 · 09-17-2018, 06:13 AM

I had NAPA do mine to the tune of a $100 press charge.... but they came out okay. I should have taken it over to my buddy's shop, actually 2 of them have big presses. The retaining rings come off pretty easily, you can split it with a grinder or drill a hole into the side of it to weaken it first.

I've seen guys whack the collar on with a piece of fence pipe and a BFH. Then tack weld the collar in place... not recommended.

24ruxstel1339 · 09-17-2018, 03:49 PM

This is a Toyota RAV4 wheel bearing I happened to be changing today.
Same principle as an axle shaft bearing as far as cutting off the race.
I used a cut-off grinder and walked it off with a chisel after the cut...not a mark on the hub.

KULTULZ · 09-17-2018, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobss396

I had NAPA do mine to the tune of a $100 press charge....

54vicky · 09-17-2018, 07:29 PM

I did more than I can count at race track over years for others and my own no fancy press but I did not spend $100.to each their own as some one noted walk it on using 5 point method this was on race car not easy life street cars

Daves55Sedan · 09-18-2018, 02:43 AM

I got no problem with drilling a hole in the top of the collar and then cracking it in half with a sharp chisel. I can do that myself here all day long.
I can also take a 1-1/2 inch pipe coupling, slip it on over the new bearing and set the axle shaft on top of the workbench vice with the jaws a little loose, then use a sledge hammer to beat the center of the axle hub down till the bearing is set, then repeat for the collar.
It's getting the old bearing off I cannot do here. So if I gotta take it somewhere, might as well let them do the whole thing. See what I mean?
BTW, all the 1949 thru 1959 Ford car rear axle shafts had sealed bearings. There is no separate bearing race. Our oil seal goes behind the bearing, whereas the bearing/race arrangement has the oil seal on the outside of the bearing.

Daves55Sedan · 09-18-2018, 03:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 24ruxstel1339

54Vicky is right. I prefer a cut off grinder or a drill to cut the retaining ring off.

I ain't going near this shaft with a cutoff grinder. One slip and bye-bye oil-seal surface. The oil-seal rides about 1/2 inch away from where the collar sits.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 24ruxstel1339

Usually if you cut most of the way through, it will crack with a chisel and come right off. Same with the inner bearing race.

Drill and chisel is safest way to remove the collar without maring the shaft machined surface. There is no bearing race. These use a self-contained sealed bearing

Quote:

Originally Posted by 24ruxstel1339

you can use the old ring and or the race to pound against if you don't have the exact size pipe to drive it back together.

While you might be able to use the old collar, I prefer using a rigid galvanized steel pipe coupling (1-1/2") is perfect.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 24ruxstel1339

I press them together with a bearing splitter on the ring and press against the hub with the shaft down.

At a minimum, a bearing splitter/puller fitting is required for bearing removal and installation of the new bearing regardless of whether a hammer or press is used to install the new bearing. I saw a 210lbs guy pumping the 5-ton hydraulic press with all his might to get a bearing on a Mustang axle shaft. I could stand on the pump handle and not move it, and I don't have a 5-ton press here anymore.
I know all the ways this can be done and ways I think it should not be done, but some might get away with doing. That's not the problem. I don't have the tools. So someone else is going to do it.

Daves55Sedan · 09-18-2018, 03:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slumlord44

call Doug Carr 314-825-2148. He is a member of the St Louis Chapter of the Classic Thunderbird Club and does reatoration work. He will know who in St Louis can do this.

I believe I will give him a call.

Daves55Sedan · 09-18-2018, 10:12 PM

Yeah, he knows a guy. He uses hammer, chisel and cutoff grinder to get the old collar and bearing off. He wasn't too sure about how to get the oil seal out though and agreed the "T" handle puller won't work for this due to the depth.
I measured the combination of the bearing, collar and oil seal. The sum works out to be 2 inches and there's probably a 1/16-3/16 inch air gap between the collar and seal, so say 2-1/4 inches minimum depth from surface of brake plate.
I got out a seal puller I have and examined it. In order to get the jaws jammed at 1-3/8 inches apart to fit in the seal opening, the puller lacks at least 1/4 inch in length to rest on the surface of the brake plate. This might be remedied by removing the main threaded rod and replacing it with a longer one. I will see if the hardware store offers a threaded rod this size and identical threads per inch tomorrow.
If that works, it will solve the problem of pulling the oil seals. New seals can probably be installed using a 2-1/2" pipe coupling with a plug fitting in it.

bobss396 · 09-19-2018, 08:16 AM

Best way to get the old oil seal out takes about 3 seconds. Pull the axle. Then put the axle back in just enough and use it to pry out the seal.

Daves55Sedan · 09-19-2018, 09:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobss396

Best way to get the old oil seal out takes about 3 seconds. Pull the axle. Then put the axle back in just enough and use it to pry out the seal.

I saw where you had mentioned that before. In my case, that will not work for the seal on the passenger side because it was crushed in by the bearing collar. It will need to be removed with a puller. Since I do now have a makeshift puller, I am going to use it on both sides. Less of a chance on scoring the axle housing bore when the seal is pulled straight out.
I have been gypp'd more than once with this rear axle bearing/seal business and now I don't trust any of the mechanics to do the job in all the hokey ways they do it.
I have decided to build all my own tools. Seal puller & seal installer are done. Next is bearing remover.
I will hand carry the axle shaft assembly to a machine shop that has a 5-ton vertical press and have them press the new bearing and collar on.

24ruxstel1339 · 09-19-2018, 09:37 PM

Another trick is to heat the new ring on a hot plate to 400 degrees...it will slip on by hand (with a glove).

30 years in Jeep dealers, you do a few axle shaft bearings. DANA 99-04 is the same. 66 T-Bird I did 20 years ago is still going, it's the same thing in a 9". 73 Torino, bearings and third member swap to 3.89:1 posi, still smokes the rubber.

BTW, warranty time, flat rate is 0.8 hrs to replace seal and bearing on Jeep !!

Herman Munster · 09-20-2018, 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 24ruxstel1339

Another trick is to heat the new ring on a hot plate to 400 degrees...it will slip on by hand (with a glove).!!

Either that or use the oven while the old lady is away from the house.

Daves55Sedan · 09-22-2018, 10:25 PM

Yes, I had thought about heating up the new collar with a Prestolite torch while holding it using a pair of pliers, then slipping it onto the shaft. If necessary, slam it home using a 1-1/2 inch pipe coupling. Could even take the toaster oven out to the garage and plug it in. It can heat up past 450 degrees.

Daves55Sedan · 09-22-2018, 10:36 PM

Just bought a bearing splitter/puller kit from Amazon. The only thing worthwhile in the kit is the actual splitter and the yoke with large bolt through the middle. All those pieces of bar are worthless as they are not long enough. It would need to be an awful short axle shaft for those bars to be any good. I will go to the hardware store tomorrow and see if I can buy two long pieces of threaded rod compatible with the splitter. I will probably need to cut them down also.
Then I should be able to remove the old bearing from the shaft.
After that, I will straighten the bearing retainer in my workbench vice and take the axle shaft and parts to someplace that has a 5-ton press to press the bearing on.
I actually do have a 5-ton press here but the hydraulic jack was no good and I could not buy a replacement for it, so I dismantled the press and stacked up the steel members behind the workbench. I sure wish it was operational, then I wouldn't need to rely on anyone else to touch any of this, nor need to wait on them.

09-16-2018, 12:04 AM	#1
Daves55Sedan Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Granite City, Illinois Posts: 3,008	replacing rear axle shaft bearing '55 Ford Okay, so I am having a lot of trouble finding someone in the St. louis metro area who can properly remove the old axle shaft bearing and press on a new one and it's associated retaining collar. One of the shops I went to that is very well known around here and has been here for many decades borrowed an axle shaft puller from autozone to do the job. That shows what they know. He opened up the plastic case and said to me; this is what they gave me. I looked at it and said, we don't need an axle shaft puller. We need a bearing puller. All the other places I went (with shop manual in hand) and showed them what needed to be done and what tools were required. Basically a bearing puller and a 5-ton press are the only special tools needed. A 1-1/2 inch pipe coupling is helpful too for pressing the new collar on. They all looked at me and scratched their heads. Does anyone know of a auto repair shop in the St Louis metro area that has done this work before properly? And by properly, I mean not removing the bearing with a cutting torch or cutoff grinder and hammer and chisel. If not, I am willing to buy the bearing puller if I can find one. The only one I have seen is made by Fairmount Industries and is sold by Eastwood, but I am very skeptical of the rickety bars that screw together rather than having two one-piece threaded rods. Looks kinda hokey to me.

09-16-2018, 05:39 AM	#2
KULTULZ Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: IN A 'GALAXIE' FAR FAR AWAY Posts: 6,471	Re: replacing rear axle shaft bearing '55 Ford Is there a large NAPA store in your area with a machine shop? __________________ *** - WHY IS IT ... - ... that everything you buy in the grocery store is either wrapped in or contained in plastic but the government doesn't want you to carry it out in a plastic bag? WONDERING IN W(BY GOD)V ... DIAGNOSED CDO** - (OCD In Correct Alphabetical Order)

09-16-2018, 10:27 PM	#3
54vicky Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Oakville Ontario Posts: 586	Re: replacing rear axle shaft bearing '55 Ford thy offered at least two methods used for more years than you have been alive.blue flame wrench and a cold chisel wearing safety glasses good eye steady hand on blue wrench done leaving no slag or melt cut on axle.thick walled pipe to slam bearing on with retainer you are done.no press no fancy puller.most today if it does a computer model or a port to download data problem.they ( most)look at you have two friggen heads

09-16-2018, 11:21 PM	#4
slumlord44 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2017 Posts: 104	Re: replacing rear axle shaft bearing '55 Ford call Doug Carr 314-825-2148. He is a member of the St Louis Chapter of the Classic Thunderbird Club and does reatoration work. He will know who in St Louis can do this.

09-17-2018, 04:01 AM	#5
24ruxstel1339 Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2018 Location: N.E.Ohio Posts: 116	Re: replacing rear axle shaft bearing '55 Ford 54Vicky is right. I prefer a cut off grinder or a drill to cut the retaining ring off. Usually if you cut most of the way through, it will crack with a chisel and come right off. Same with the inner bearing race. I have done literally dozens this way, you can use the old ring and or the race to pound against if you don't have the exact size pipe to drive it back together. I press them together with a bearing splitter on the ring and press against the hub with the shaft down. Either method is fine.

09-17-2018, 04:02 AM	#6
24ruxstel1339 Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2018 Location: N.E.Ohio Posts: 116	Re: replacing rear axle shaft bearing '55 Ford Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) ...

09-17-2018, 06:13 AM	#7
bobss396 Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Posts: 721	Re: replacing rear axle shaft bearing '55 Ford I had NAPA do mine to the tune of a $100 press charge.... but they came out okay. I should have taken it over to my buddy's shop, actually 2 of them have big presses. The retaining rings come off pretty easily, you can split it with a grinder or drill a hole into the side of it to weaken it first. I've seen guys whack the collar on with a piece of fence pipe and a BFH. Then tack weld the collar in place... not recommended.

09-17-2018, 07:29 PM	#10
54vicky Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Oakville Ontario Posts: 586	Re: replacing rear axle shaft bearing '55 Ford I did more than I can count at race track over years for others and my own no fancy press but I did not spend $100.to each their own as some one noted walk it on using 5 point method this was on race car not easy life street cars

09-18-2018, 02:43 AM	#11
Daves55Sedan Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Granite City, Illinois Posts: 3,008	Re: replacing rear axle shaft bearing '55 Ford I got no problem with drilling a hole in the top of the collar and then cracking it in half with a sharp chisel. I can do that myself here all day long. I can also take a 1-1/2 inch pipe coupling, slip it on over the new bearing and set the axle shaft on top of the workbench vice with the jaws a little loose, then use a sledge hammer to beat the center of the axle hub down till the bearing is set, then repeat for the collar. It's getting the old bearing off I cannot do here. So if I gotta take it somewhere, might as well let them do the whole thing. See what I mean? BTW, all the 1949 thru 1959 Ford car rear axle shafts had sealed bearings. There is no separate bearing race. Our oil seal goes behind the bearing, whereas the bearing/race arrangement has the oil seal on the outside of the bearing.

09-18-2018, 10:12 PM	#14
Daves55Sedan Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Granite City, Illinois Posts: 3,008	Re: replacing rear axle shaft bearing '55 Ford Yeah, he knows a guy. He uses hammer, chisel and cutoff grinder to get the old collar and bearing off. He wasn't too sure about how to get the oil seal out though and agreed the "T" handle puller won't work for this due to the depth. I measured the combination of the bearing, collar and oil seal. The sum works out to be 2 inches and there's probably a 1/16-3/16 inch air gap between the collar and seal, so say 2-1/4 inches minimum depth from surface of brake plate. I got out a seal puller I have and examined it. In order to get the jaws jammed at 1-3/8 inches apart to fit in the seal opening, the puller lacks at least 1/4 inch in length to rest on the surface of the brake plate. This might be remedied by removing the main threaded rod and replacing it with a longer one. I will see if the hardware store offers a threaded rod this size and identical threads per inch tomorrow. If that works, it will solve the problem of pulling the oil seals. New seals can probably be installed using a 2-1/2" pipe coupling with a plug fitting in it.

09-19-2018, 08:16 AM	#15
bobss396 Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Posts: 721	Re: replacing rear axle shaft bearing '55 Ford Best way to get the old oil seal out takes about 3 seconds. Pull the axle. Then put the axle back in just enough and use it to pry out the seal.

09-19-2018, 09:37 PM	#17
24ruxstel1339 Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2018 Location: N.E.Ohio Posts: 116	Re: replacing rear axle shaft bearing '55 Ford Another trick is to heat the new ring on a hot plate to 400 degrees...it will slip on by hand (with a glove). 30 years in Jeep dealers, you do a few axle shaft bearings. DANA 99-04 is the same. 66 T-Bird I did 20 years ago is still going, it's the same thing in a 9". 73 Torino, bearings and third member swap to 3.89:1 posi, still smokes the rubber. BTW, warranty time, flat rate is 0.8 hrs to replace seal and bearing on Jeep !!

09-22-2018, 10:25 PM	#19
Daves55Sedan Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Granite City, Illinois Posts: 3,008	Re: replacing rear axle shaft bearing '55 Ford Yes, I had thought about heating up the new collar with a Prestolite torch while holding it using a pair of pliers, then slipping it onto the shaft. If necessary, slam it home using a 1-1/2 inch pipe coupling. Could even take the toaster oven out to the garage and plug it in. It can heat up past 450 degrees.

09-22-2018, 10:36 PM	#20
Daves55Sedan Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Granite City, Illinois Posts: 3,008	Re: replacing rear axle shaft bearing '55 Ford Just bought a bearing splitter/puller kit from Amazon. The only thing worthwhile in the kit is the actual splitter and the yoke with large bolt through the middle. All those pieces of bar are worthless as they are not long enough. It would need to be an awful short axle shaft for those bars to be any good. I will go to the hardware store tomorrow and see if I can buy two long pieces of threaded rod compatible with the splitter. I will probably need to cut them down also. Then I should be able to remove the old bearing from the shaft. After that, I will straighten the bearing retainer in my workbench vice and take the axle shaft and parts to someplace that has a 5-ton press to press the bearing on. I actually do have a 5-ton press here but the hydraulic jack was no good and I could not buy a replacement for it, so I dismantled the press and stacked up the steel members behind the workbench. I sure wish it was operational, then I wouldn't need to rely on anyone else to touch any of this, nor need to wait on them.