Re: '54 Rear Wheel Bearing Repack Oddities

Posted by Don Shields On 2013/10/29 17:35:41

I owe O.D. a long-overdue note of thanks for his advice on this project, so thanks, O.D. You spurred me on to find a shim which I thought would be impossible to find. Bob's Packard Parts proved me wrong, he had one .007 shim that is now on the left side.

The right side repack went by the book, although pulling the inner seal was a problem. I went to 2 national chain auto supply stores and neither one had a puller for that seal nor a slide hammer with the screw extension. Attemps at prying the seal were unsuccessful, but I did get it out by chiseling through the seal's front and rear faces in a couple of places, weakening the seal's hold.

The left side was not as cooperative. The shaft will not pull out. Using the hub as a slide hammer worked well on the right but not on the left. Again, a slide hammer with 7/8-14 female threaded end was not available. So I wound up lubricating the bearing using a needle extension on my grease gun. It fit in nicely at the innner race between each roller, and the old grease was pushed out. By the way, the old grease on both sides was not dry, caked or dirty, it actually looked quite fresh. I put the shim on this side so hopefully when making right turns the bearing cup will move, even if only .007 of an inch. That should bring end play within specs and might make it possible to pull the shaft the next time I'm in there.