EZ Lube / bearing repack corundum

[Yoda]

Nitrile gloves have made clean-up after hand packing bearing a lot easier . . .

Rob

Rob
Your correct gloves might help except every time I use them they magically get holes in them. Especially latex ones I use when I dump the tanks. Besides my hands would not get moisturized - except some grease (blue stuff) gives me a mild itchy rash, so I try to be careful.

[Yoda]

Yoda I have one of those bearing packers somewhere. For me when I used it frequently I got tired of filling it and cleaning it. I went back to hand packing.
For light use it will be handy.

It has a grease zerk for filling and a tight fitting cap for storage - I guess we shall see how it goes

[Yoda]

I'm with Brian, Country Campers about having spare parts, but realizing that many bearing failures have the ability to take out the hub also. I would if at all possible to carry a loaded hub also. Even if the hub remains okay, I vote for changing the entire hub on the side of the highway rather than spending the time driving races in and out. Also another trick is to put the new race in the freezer, then warm the hub before driving the race in. The contraction of the race combined with the expansion of the race seat can often make it possible to drive it in with very minimal force. And, one can of brakleen ain't gonna do it. Working with what you know to be clean Red 'n Tacky will make it not as critical to absolutely get every bit out, but if your seal gets compromised that Red 'n Tacky is going to be harder to get off of the brake parts than the crappy goop sent to you by Dexter or LCI. I vote for a case, or what space will allow. Remember, that will have to be done where the trailer stops and there are no shortcuts for that one.

Jerry what great thought on carrying a complete spare hub. Ill add that to my Alaska trip list. Thanks Now maybe I have a reason for the F450 to carry everything.

This Georgia trip is sort of a shake down before that trip. Packing - what to take, parts, driving distance I can comfortably do. I am going to try and figure out what I absolutely need, what I want to have, and what I can do without - like how many extra folding chairs to take - I current have 4 extra over our two special ones DW and I use.
.
Cate&Rob
Rob - thanks for the tip on the brass punches, etc I have steel drift punches in my tool box. The trick of cooling the race and heating the drum makes sense. I remember seeing somewhere a person using dry Ice and the race just dropped in with minimal effort.

Thanks folks
Keith

[Jlawles2]

Yoda Keith Skip the class 4 ford and go straight to the big boys: https://www.peterbilt.com/trucks/medium-duty https://freightliner.com/trucks/m2-106/

In the long run it will probably be cheaper. And BTW the F450 is rated for less than the F350 towing wise IIRC.

[Country Campers]

They do make actual seal and bearing driving tools. Round pieces of steel with a hole in the center for the drive pin. They are sized for removal and installation. If you have a machine shop around they would whip you up a set for your actual bearings, then there is not need for a punch and a board for this. Another thing to watch when using a punch is to not damage any of the bearing seating areas and the bore where the bearings are pressed into. With the proper tools damage is not likely. I will try to remember to post a pic of the set that I made later ( I did say "try" to remember).

Brian

[Lonestar]

Yoda
Hi Keith,

One thing caught my eye . . . the brass punches. I doubt that you will get a stubborn race out of a hub with a brass tool. The race often has a very thin edge accessible where it is seated in the hub. This will just break the corner off the brass tool. Without heating the hub or cooling the race, it may take a hardened steel drift to drive out the race.

Rob

I use a steel punch to drive the old race out, being careful not to let it hit the I.D. of the wheel. Then use a brass punch to seat the new race.
I feel you are more likely to damage the wheel when seating.

I also use the old race, placing it on top of the new one, and tapping on it to get the new one started straight. Then finish up seating with the brass punch.

[Yoda]

Yoda Keith Skip the class 4 ford and go straight to the big boys: https://www.peterbilt.com/trucks/medium-duty https://freightliner.com/trucks/m2-106/

In the long run it will probably be cheaper. And BTW the F450 is rated for less than the F350 towing wise IIRC.

Joseph - with my Reflection 220RK I have no need to even think about an F450, except the turning radius - but it is fun to dream. Besides the 19.5" tires are only rated for 87mph and cost north of $450 each. Speed limiter is set to 87 mph too and it only comes in 4:30 gearing. I think the F350 is limited to 97 - but I don't need to go that fast. But looking at the lousy Baha seat color - other choice is black - I was reconsidering the King Ranch again - but that puts me back to a CC dually with the lousy turn radius. Then again there are lots of seat covers out there.

[ncitro]

Joseph - with my Reflection 220RK I have no need to even think about an F450, except the turning radius - but it is fun to dream. Besides the 19.5" tires are only rated for 87mph and cost north of $450 each. Speed limiter is set to 87 mph too and it only comes in 4:30 gearing. I think the F350 is limited to 97 - but I don't need to go that fast. But looking at the lousy Baha seat color - other choice is black - I was reconsidering the King Ranch again - but that puts me back to a CC dually with the lousy turn radius. Then again there are lots of seat covers out there.

Once upon a time you could get the wide front axle and reduced turning radius in a F350 dually but no more. Also no TPMS in a 450, and I have grown quite fond of the truck and trailer TPMS on the dash.

[ThePowells]

And another thing...... Crocus cloth aluminum oxide sanding strip to clean up seal mating ridge and spindle should your bearing inner race spin on your spindle.

[Country Campers]

Here is the picture of the simple bearing race tool that I made.


The large one is 3.245" dia. , the small one is 2.310" dia. , both 1/2" thick. Both have a 3/4" dia. hole to accept the driver end which is .745" dia. and about 6" long, 1-1/4" dia. steel. Also pictured is the 1-1/2" socket for the nut. These are for the bearing races in a 5200# axel. The large one is also used to install the grease seal. There are plenty of bearing install/removal kits available online.

Brian

[Yoda]

And another thing...... Crocus cloth aluminum oxide sanding strip to clean up seal mating ridge and spindle should your bearing inner race spin on your spindle.

Are you referring to what I call emery cloth or this https://www.amazon.com/Abrasive-Roll.../dp/B0009RK6HQ seems pretty coarse (180 grit) to take a seal edge off, or is to remove the the built up rubber? Not quite understanding what you mean - sorry.

Thanks Keith

[Yoda]

Here is the picture of the simple bearing race tool that I made.


The large one is 3.245" dia. , the small one is 2.310" dia. , both 1/2" thick. Both have a 3/4" dia. hole to accept the driver end which is .745" dia. and about 6" long, 1-1/4" dia. steel. Also pictured is the 1-1/2" socket for the nut. These are for the bearing races in a 5200# axel. The large one is also used to install the grease seal. There are plenty of bearing install/removal kits available online.

Brian

Thanks Brian - looks simple enough.
Interesting - can you make me a set? Just kidding - I think our bearings are the same but need to do a bit of research. Just to verify the OD of the tool needs to match the OD of the race. Am I in the ballpark?

Keith

[Cate&Rob]

Country Campers
Hi Brian,

Can you drive a race out with the tools in your picture? I had an inexpensive version that did not work. I have seen pullers advertised but have never tried one. Similar to an earlier comment, I have used a steel drift to remove the old race and a brass drift to install the new one.

Brian

[Country Campers]

Yoda

The OD of the tool needs to be slightly smaller than the OD of the bearing , .005" to .010" smaller would be good. Too small and it will only be pushing on the inside radius of the bearing cup. The lips on the cups are not very wide.

Cate&Rob

Rob,

I was going to make a tool that I would be able to slip down inside the hub to drive the races out but did not. I already had the races out with a steel punch. The portion of the bearing race that is accessible can vary as the inside of the hub is " as cast" and not finished bored to a size. The inside of the hub is also tapered to some extent and a tool may fit in one hub but not another. The next time I do my bearing repack I will look further into this to see if a removal tool similar to the install tool would be feasible.

Brian

[ThePowells]

Are you referring to what I call emery cloth or this https://www.amazon.com/Abrasive-Roll.../dp/B0009RK6HQ seems pretty coarse (180 grit) to take a seal edge off, or is to remove the the built up rubber? Not quite understanding what you mean - sorry.

Thanks Keith

I didn't think about specifying the grit. IIRC mine is 100 grit. I'll pop into the shop when I get home and see exactly what I have. Back in the day, we bought it in 10 roll packs and belts. I'll also post a couple of pics showing the difference from when I did repack and seals for a friends horse trailer.