Bearing stuck on front spindle

Stinch

Stinch

Senior Member
I'm helping a friend work on his A this afternoon. Went to remove the drum only to find the outer bearing stuck on the spindle. Should mention pieces of the bearing carrier came out. Any tips to get this off?
 
You could try a rear wheel puller, the kind that bolts to the lug nuts(3) with a screw in the center, best thought right now.
 
You might try stretching the cone/race.. If you heat a spot on the race/cone until its red hot then have 2 hammers at the ready.. Put the peen end of the smaller hammer against the hot spot on the cone and whack that hammer with the larger hammer.. That will dent and therefore expand the race/cone[and don't be afraid to hit it].. If that doesn't work [I'm sure it will though] then you'll probably have to cut it off..
 
ive had similar berings stuck before , and had to just grind into the race , not getting into the spindle . then wack it with hammer till it breaks. then it will slide right off... good luck, let us know how it comes out....kevin
 
When I read your post I assumed the drum came off,, did it?? If it didn't, then just cut the cage and remove the rollers and the drum should then come off allowing you to get at the race/cone..
 
It took five hours of work to finally get the bearing off the spindle. We started with a torch to heat up the spindle side of the bearing race. Got it red hot creating lots of smoke but it wouldn't budge. Then I took the air chisel to the race hoping to split it but all it did was deform. We used the torch to heat the edge of the race to almost the melting point and rolled down some of the edge that retains the rollers. The air chisel smoothed out the roller edge just enough to be able to pull each roller out. Then the entire hub with drum came off leaving just the race on the spindle. A couple of cuts across the race with the cut-off tool allowed the air chisel to split the race. There is some minor scoring on the spindle and inside the race indicating at one time the race spun on the spindle. We were able to get another good bearing on the spindle and fortunately is a tight but not a difficult fit.

I did discover the roller cage does nothing to keep the rollers in the bearing; they only keep the rollers spaced within the races. Then is an edge on the ends to the race than keeps the rollers inside the bearing. I can't figure out for the life of me how these manufacturers make these bearings but that is for another day.

This all started when I suggested my friend check the brakes for his recently purchased '29 Tudor. Sure glad that's over but satisfied that we got it done. The bearing grease was thin and seemed more like oil than grease. The roller cage was breaking up as well. I have to admit I'm a little nervous about checking the other wheel.

The spindle threads need to be chased as some of them got dinged. What is the thread size for the spindle threads?

Rich
 
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"I have to admit I'm a little nervous about checking the other wheel."

Not to worry! I'd be more nervous if it wasn't checked!:)
 
Tried to remove the right side bearing and wouldn't you know the bearing was stuck. We weren't about to repeat yesterday's nightmare with a torch and air chisel. My friend knew of a well established suspension shop so we called asking about a hub puller. They were nice enough to loan us the type that bolts to three of the five wheel studs. It took only a couple of minutes to pull the hub off. I suspect a previous owner knew of the stuck bearing since most of the bearing cage was missing. Thanks everyone for the advice.

Rich
 
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