installing wheel bearings

[94power_ranger]

today i finished putting my axle back in on the driver side, and i packed my new wheel bearings full of grease. then when i had em in the rotor to push em in they didnt wanna go on the spindle shaft, its almost like there the wrong size but i know their not. i think its from were i was beatin on the spindle to get it off. Then i got a file and tried to smooth it up but its takin a while....
do you guys think im doin it right?

 

[Insanejughead]

You had to beat on the spindle to get the wheel bearings off? That doesn't sound good. The whole rotor with both bearings should slide right off with minimal effort from you.


When taking a file to smooth up the spindle, only smooth up what feels rough under your finger nail. You'll be able to tell where any burrs are at (if you had to beat it, then burrs are probably there) and from there you only need to hone down what you have to. You shouldn't have to, and please don't do too much, file on the seat for the bearings.

Sometimes when putting the bearings back on, you'll have to just wiggle (carefully) them up, down, left, and right a bit before they slide on. I've seen some bearings needing a slight bit of help with a soft mallet, and other went on with a thousandth to spare...


Does that help you at all?

Oh, and Welcome to TheRangerStation.com!

 

[94power_ranger]

yeah, kinda, i had the axle out cuz i put new ball joints in it. the bearing will wanna slide on about half an inch then it wont go no farther, and then its a bear to pull it off.

 

[Insanejughead]

Hmm... that sounds odd.

Especially since the bearing is the same one that just came off of that spindle.


Use the file a little bit, but don't do more filing than you need to.

 

[94power_ranger]

oh no, im putting new bearings on it to.

 

[Insanejughead]

Oh, then it could be expected to be VERY tight. If you have a caliper and micrometer, I suggest miking them to see how much difference there is.

That's the best I can help you with now, dude.

 

[94power_ranger]

alright thanks, would it help to freeze the bearing?

 

[Insanejughead]

No. It would only make it smaller by a very miniscule amount. Heating it would be better, but you shouldn't ever have to heat a bearing to get it on.


The principle is that you freeze something that goes INSIDE of something else, and heat something that goes OUTSIDE of something else.

 

[greenpus]

when i put my 3 inch spindles on the front, I put the old bearings on the new spindle. One side for what ever reason was tight. I had to force the bearing on the spindle. Once I did that it slid off and on like it should. Not sure if there was a bur or something. Scared the crap out of me becuase I had the front end apart and I thought Id have to put the old factory spidles back on

 

[feellnfroggy]

Your spindle is out of shape. I beat the ones off my donor axle pretty good and could not get the bearings on, if you get them on you wont get them off. Look at teh spindle for dings and dents from where you were beating, this is where you need to file, but youll prolly need a grinder instead. thats what I had to do. One of mine wasnt beat so bad so I used a grinder to lower the high spots. Your best bet is to get a new spindle from junkyard and beat it with a block of wood between the spindle and hammer next time, or use a flat head screwdriver behind it instead of hitting it directly. But like I said your prolly too far out of round. The spindle is cast and not very strong against stuff like smacking with a mallet.

 

[94power_ranger]

alright guys thanks i think ill use sand paper or something

 

[94power_ranger]

yeehaw!!! i finally got em on there and got my truck put back together!

 

[daveguy]

file in till it fits its not like its spining on the shaft itself. or go to the junk yard and grab one.