Seating the bearing races

[Sloop John B]

I'm banging the races into the hub, tapping them with a hammer. Not too bad until the race ain't sticking up anymore. Appears the race has to go down to the inner ledge. Seems to leave a lot of room for the bearings to float around, but maybe not with the spline ridges, so I thought I'd better check.

If the race has to go deep, down to that inner ledge, what's the best procedure? This long flat 'punch' I have will take an awful long time. I was thinking of looking for a piece of iron pipe that would fit over the race and clear the hub and pile drive the thing down.

[Chip Hindes]

Pros use a "bearing installer" machined to fit each size, and a press.

"Banging" is an unfortunate choice of words. I would prefer "tapping"

To avoid damage, I would not recommend using anything steel or iron. Get a brass drift, or any hunk of brass or aluminum rod, and continue to tap them in. A little at a time, keep moving the drift and hit only the highest point. Make sure you keep checking and quit when it bottoms in the hole.

[Moe]

I cut through an old race with the Dremel, and use it on top of the new race, with a block on top of it, to drive the new race into the hub. Put the wider side of the old race on the narrow side of the new race, and you'll have a lip to push the old race out of the hub with. With a cut through it, like a piston ring end gap, the old race has very little grip on the hub.

--
Moe

[on edit] I worded that last part poorly. Actually the old race DOES have some grip on the hub, and will need to be tapped out with a brass drift on the lip.

[Sloop John B]

Okay, so I decide to take it to the 'pro's'.

Theres a dusty field full of old trailers and a leaning tin roofed work shed. Out front is a worn yellowed plastic sign with flat tires. Some of the letters are cocked or missing but it reads: Trailers for sale or rent. Rooms to let 50 cents.

There's a guy, looks like an old time movie blacksmith, in a t-shirt and coveralls. One eye surveys the traffic out on 98 and the other studies me.

I tell him I have a hub that needs the races to be seated. He nods and waves as he turns and trudges back to the work bench under the shed.

He plops the hub down, takes a 1 and 1/2 inch socket and places it over the race. Big mallet. Bang. Bang. Flips the thing over. 1 and 13/16" socket over the inner race. Blam. Blam.

I say, "Gees, five bucks, that's it?" (This is a hilarious reunion quote after our group photo was taken)

He says, "No charge, kid"

I feel sort of obliged so I ask him if he puts wash out systems in hubs.

He says, "Don't bother with them $40 dollar kits. Do it yourself."

He then tells me what to get up at Ace Hardware and how to do it.

I went up and got all the stuff, less than $10 for the brass and plastic and tubing.

I'll post shortly if I'm successful in installing this simple system in our stock back plates

P.S. For taking races out, he uses a hard metal punch ($5) with the thing ground down on the side and bottom so that at an angle, it fits snug against the wall of the hub and the top of the race. Its important not to score the side of the hub because whats scored sticks out and screws things up later.

[lee308]

Bearing number on the side of the outer wheel bearing is L44649, just sort of FYI, in case you KNOW you have to change them. I suppose those numbers are somewhere on this site, I just don't know where.

Had my 2002 trailer bearings checking them for the first time and all seems well.