One of the last things I am doing on my brother's van before I give it back to him is replacing the front wheel bearings on both sides. It is a 83 Dodge B-150 with disc brakes if it makes any difference.

Does anyone have any tips on how to get the inner wheel bearing races out of the hub short of a press? I must admit that whenever I have replaced front wheel bearings before I have wimped out and left the inner races pressed in the hub. I want to do this right thought, so any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

I'll admit to wimpin out alot over the years myself but seems like those times I manned up was with a brass drift and a BFH.Course then I wimped out and had a pro install the new ones

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83 B-150 slant 6,4 speed. 79 B-300 360 pathfinder 4x4. 74 W-300 318 4x4 git-r-done 80 B-100 sl6,4speed

Hmmm. No brass drift punchs in my gargae and the head fell off of my BFH. I feel a wimp out coming on, especially since I have to have this done by tonight.....

Use this photo for reference:



if you look carefully at the seating area of the bearing race, you will see that the opening in the center has two notches cut out of it, on opposite sides. this is for the express purpose of allowing you to walk the old race out from the Opposite side with a hammer and drift. Fix your hammer or replace it, preferably use a 2 to 4 lb hammer, grab a fat steel drift with a pair of visegrips so you dont hit your hand, and walk the race out of the bore with opposing blows. DO NOT FORGET your safety glasses, flying steel and concrete is no joke.

Once you have removed the old bearing race, you can place it on top of the new race and use it as a driver to seat your new race without damaging the cone area. do not hammer on the bearing to seat the race.

you will notice a very distinct ring and your hammer will noticeably rebound from the drift punch when the bearing race is fully seated.

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I've been calling it as i see it for my entire life and that's not about to change. Take it or leave it.

Thanks step! I will file this away in my useful things to know file. Unfortunately, Napa sold me the wrongs size inner and outer wheel bearings, as well as the wrong size seal for the back! Not a single thing right. Anyway, I ended up just repacking the Timken bearings that were on the van and calling it good. I truly do appreciate your help though. Now I know how to do it in the future.

Another tip for installing your new races is to grind some relief around the circumference of the old bearing race (try to achieve a sliding fit) and use the old race to fully seat the new one. Make sure to check the new ones to make sure they fit before you get too happy with the grinder though. DAMHIKT

Best of luck,

Nat

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1970 four-door Dart, 225/A-904/2.45 gears. 0-60 in twenty three minutes!

Put the race in the freezer for awhile to shrink it a little............

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Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

this step is already done at the factory. the bore is ground oversize just enough to house the bearing, the old one will not get stuck.

liquid nitrogen is actually commonly used to freeze bearing cups before installation, but 0*F will not shrink bearings enough for a slip-fit and by the time you get the cup from the freezer to the garage, the benefit is negligible. on the bright side, if you get your welding gases from a place that also carries nitrogen, you may be able to negotiate a deal or even a freebie on nitrogen blocks or pellets, which are discarded if they do not sell within a certain timeframe. i would only bother with this for diff or trans bearings.

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I've been calling it as i see it for my entire life and that's not about to change. Take it or leave it.