9" Axle (wheel) Bearings

[SuperRob]

Hey guys, My roommate has a 1967 Ford SuperVan with God only knows how many miles are on it.

Anyway he's doing a highway drive home from work the other day and notices a LOT of smoke coming from the rear drivers wheel, stops and has a look but cant really tell anything cause its after dark. He gets home, and his van gets parked sideways on a hill, drivers side down. We get a flashlight and look, all the damn gear oil is spilling out of the axle tube.

My first assumption is that he fried a wheel bearing (Axle Bearing), which in turn got hot enough to melt the axle seal.

Upon taking things apart I quickly see that I'm dead right. The bearings had literally all disintegrated into tiny bits of almost nothingness.

So he ordered up a replacement for it, and it seems the original was a Ball bearing type of bearing, but the new replacement that I have is a sealed unit, probably roller bearings.

Heres the problem.

I've never worked on a 9" rear end before, and dont have a manual for it. It appears that the seal goes into the axle first, then a spacer, and then the bearing. Also, on the axle shaft that came out, the inner race is still on there with this 'spacer'. I havent tried to get them off yet, but I know that they are on there pretty tight.

When I go about putting this thing back together, I guess I'll have to go get a bearing and seal setter (no biggie) but does the bearing get set into the housing first? or is it first mounted on the axle shaft and then all put in together? and the other question is about this 'spacer'. I"m not sure if thats its sole purpose, or if maybe its one of those dealies that you heat up to expand it and then when it cools contracts and 'locks on' to the shaft? What I'm thinking is that maybe the bearing goes on the shaft, then you heat this spacer, slide it on, and then its used as a retainer on the bearing? And then with the seal already mounted, you would just slide the axle and bearing assembly into the tube?

Like I say I've never done this before and I know it would be best to have a book, but he doesnt have one and I hate buying books that I'll prolly never use again, and I could make him buy it but hes out of town right now and basically I'll do it if I have to but if you guys can straighten me out I'd appreciate it.

Thanks all!

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

The bearings press onto the axle shaft and then the axle shaft and bearing gets bolted onto the housing

 

[SuperRob]

Thanks Ryan!

 

[86XLT]

When I go about putting this thing back together, I guess I'll have to go get a bearing and seal setter (no biggie)

i have seen it done with a flat ended punch and a hammer just work it back and forth all the way down the shaft...make sure to keep the punch on the inner race.

Josh

 

[Will]

When I had one of those fail while pulling a trailer through Glacier National Park, the tiny little backyard shop that helped me gave me a piece of pipe that fit around the shaft and I hammered it down like a fence post driver. He said years ago he made a living off those failed ball bearing 9" axles.

The replacements I put in were also ball bearings. That was 12 years ago so maybe they have made a cone/rollers that replaces it. Or maybe the place you got the new bearing doesn't realize they used to be ball bearings and his catalog doesn't go far enough back.