I have a inner wheel bearing that's torn up and i'm having trouble getting the race out, is there a special tool needed? or procedure? also who has the best price for new bearings, i was going to replace all of them but got a shock when i started looking. i'm seeing prices between $250.00 to $400.00
Thanks
Scott
Whats usually recommended is to kiss the race with an arc welder, it will shrink and you can pop it out. On later hubs there are notches to remove the race with a punch. Early hubs have no notch but you can make a tool to knock the race out by grinding an end to contact the little bit of lip that's exposed and drive it out. You may need to experiment on grinding the end of the rod to give you the best contact.
The new Timken outer bearings are available from Rock Auto for about half the T vendor price. The inner bearing and seal are common items and available from any good auto supply or bearing house.
Your outer bearings may be good and not needing replacement. On the other hand they are not likely to become more available or less expensive.
You will need to grind the end of a steel rod to contact the lip of the race.
Clean out the hub and you should see two cutouts in the casting behind each race (aka: cup). Use a punch or drift and a hammer to knock them out by alternating sides. If you have a MIG welder, you can also put a large bead across the race. After it cools it will practically fall out.
Here's a link to Langs catalog for bearings.
http://www.modeltford.com/pl.aspx?t=s&v=wheel%20bearings&page=1
I guess I type too slow. Sorry for the duplication.
Gentlemen, thank you for the helpfull tips, i do have a mig welder, i'll give that a shot.
and check rock auto.
I commented on this before and some disagreed with my explanation. I'll try again. If you are using the punch method, be careful and not be too aggressive. It is easy to distort the hub from the inside which then makes the threads impossible to put the hub cap on. I know this as I DID IT!!
Make sure the inside of the hub is clean and straight before trying to remove the race with a hammer and punch or chisel or you could split the side of the hub in the hubcap thread area.
-Keith