rear wheel hubs

[terc 26]

Hello All  I'm going to replace the rear axle seals on my 314-8. The first side I was able to remove with some stubbornness, how ever the second one is refusing to move. It's been soaking for a week with PB Blaster and tapping with a hammer and punch still no movement. So I ask here for other members that have had this problem, what was there go to for removal.

[mrc 1,071]

most of the guys here make a puller.. i used an old beat up hub.

 

DO NOT USE A 3 JAW PULLER!!!   YOU WILL MOST LIKELY BREAK THE HUB.

 

others will concur

 

best of luck to you.   hub pulling and steering wheel pulling are the worst wh jobs

[ineedanother 2,067]

And don't use a hammer. The axle is secured with a clip inside the uni-drive and you can dislodge it which means you'll have to open the case to fix that. This is a really cheap puller that I made from an old hub. Works great with an impact wrench.

[702854boy 649]

28 minutes ago, mrc said:

 hub pulling and steering wheel pulling are the worst wh jobs

Don't forget the hitch pin

[sqrlgtr 2,623]

47 minutes ago, terc said:

It's been soaking for a week with PB Blaster and tapping with a hammer and punch still no movement.

I have had a lot better luck with Kroil and most definitely use a puller like something listed above. I have used a 3 jaw puller before but bolted a wheel spacer good and tight to hub first and it worked. Best of luck and like already mentioned kinda a rite of passage in the Wheel Horse world.

[Racinbob 12,899]

I picked up a couple round steel plates and made these. I also have a third plate with plans to make a back plate with a smaller center hole to hug the axle going behind the entire hub. That might be nice in situations where there's enough gap between the case and hub. 

 

[ri702bill 11,885]

A few questions...

Did the hub "walk" from its original position flush with the end of the axle? If it walked inward towards the case and the grub screw was retightened, it most likely rotated the woodruff key. That jams the opposite end upwards into the hub keyseat. And that locks it in place. I had one like that this year - had to cut the hub off.

Did you remove the grub screw completely and spray PB in the hole? That helps juice up the middle portion.

Is there any up & down or side to side movement in the axle bearing?? (In & out is normal) If so, just replacing the seal is a waste of time & money. It will fail again until the bearing (and perhaps the axle shaft) are replaced. That requires removing the Unidrive and splitting the case.....

[ri702bill 11,885]

10 hours ago, mrc said:

most of the guys here make a puller.. i used an old beat up hub.

 

DO NOT USE A 3 JAW PULLER!!!   YOU WILL MOST LIKELY BREAK THE HUB.

 

others will concur

 

best of luck to you.   hub pulling and steering wheel pulling are the worst wh jobs

As Mike mentioned, a 3 jaw puller is NOT the right tool for this job. I made up one using a large bearing seperator, an existing Snap-on fine-pitch (preferred)  puller screw with stationary tip, and machined parts. It pulls from behind the hub just outside the shaft... Had to add stiffener plates as pictured. It works well. 

ALSO - while the puller of choice is installed and under tension - tap the end of the puller to shock the hub. Sometimes, that makes the difference to get it to move...

 

Edited 2 hours ago by ri702bill

[953 nut 65,330]

1 hour ago, ri702bill said:

Did the hub "walk" from its original position flush with the end of the axle? If it walked inward towards the case and the grub screw was retightened, it most likely rotated the woodruff key. That jams the opposite end upwards into the hub keyseat. And that locks it in place.

I have run into this problem before. I drilled into the key using the keyway as a guide with bit the same size as the key, this weakened the key enough to allow it to crush down and come free. 

[WHX?? 56,155]

There are a ton of threads here on hub pulling. Search on hub and puller and you will find them. Anything from store bought hydraulic to homemade ones. Check those threads to see if you can come up with something you may already have. If you have the thicker steel hubs a three jaw puller will not hurt them. The more fragile "star" type cast ones you will break them.A heat wrench will sometimes come into play. 

As mentioned DO NOT pound outward on the it and check the bearings. 

 

[ri702bill 11,885]

18 minutes ago, WHX?? said:

A heat wrench will sometimes come into play.

Good point. Since the seal is "toast" already, generous localized heat on the hub portion closest to the axle cannot hurt the failed seal.

Did the seal allow the gear oil to get out onto the exposed axle and under the hub?? If so, that actually helps.

Allow the newly made "space heater" to cool sufficiently and respray with PB - that helps the liquid migrate deeper into the joint.

These can be quite stubborn after 35 or more years of being together to remove.