d180 wheel bearings

[tommyg 152]

Well, I was pretty excited to start reassembling my transmission after seating in axle seals on my d-180. As I slid the axle in, it started to get a little tight. So I coaxed it a bit with a deadblow hammer only to find it getting tighter and tighter. Finally decided to take it back out and see what the heck was going on. In the process, managed to destroy my wheel bearing! Argh!!! I just can't win!

Now, I'm faced with having to get the old bearing race out and put in a new one. Anyone know the best way to get it out? Is it pressed in? Which end do you get it out from? I'm at about the end of my rope with this thing. (I'm also not very happy about some of the words that came out of my mouth.)

Tom

[Trouty56 567]

I've only worked on a 4 sp tranny. I knocked the bearings out from the inside.....Better get some more rope...some of these jobs take a good bit.

[JamesBe1 82]

Darn, sorry to hear that happend Tom. I'd have expected the axle to slide in with a nice even resistance all the way. At least that was what happened when I replaced my axle. Maybe I just got lucky.

I think Bob is right, you just need to knock the old bearing out from the inside. They are pressed in, but my opinion (not my advice) is that new ones can be tapped into place with a piece of wood and a hammer.

For what it's worth, I have done much worse things and lived to tell about it.

[wheeledhorseman 574]

Hang on in there Tom, you'll get there in the end and btw I'm pretty sure we've all been there

I've not had to do this but looking at the exploded diagram it does look (as the other guys have said) like the bearing has to be removed by knocking it from the inside out.

As James has mentioned the axle should be a firm slide fit so the offending axle(s) needs to be examined for damage. I think I mentioned in one of the other threads that the set screws that secure the hubs on the axles can damage / distort the metal on the axle to the extent that a hub won't slide on and off. I used some fine abrasive paper lubed with a bit of oil to shine up the axle which soon revealed the high points. Any part of the axle shaft that is normally exposed could also have been struck by something. The two, axle and bearing, are a close tolerance fit. I think I might also want to check the axle(s) with a straight edge to make sure they're true. ( I can't recall if you've replaced one or both)

The other thought is that I'd have left installing the seals until after the tranny had been put back together again

Andy

[JamesBe1 82]

Tom, I've been itching to ask, but felt bad about asking. But did you order an extra shaft seal or two?

If not, then you might want to grab an extra along with the bearing. I order extra stuff 'just-in-case' all the time. It's saved me often, but on the flip side, I have lots of little parts all over my garage/barn that I may or may not ever need again. Oh well. I consider money well spent.

And as Andy says, hang in there. You're going to be even more of an expert by the time you are through!

James

[tommyg 152]

Thanks for the encouragement everyone. I just had to walk away from it for a day, take a deep breath and lick my wounds. Believe it or not, I think an abundance of paint is what caused all my grief. The replacement axle had red paint where there would normally be that plastic cover. When it started to get a little tight, I thought I'd just coax it a bit with a dead blow hammer. When it quit moving, I decided I'd better back it out. That's when the bearing went south. I'm gonna have to clean off all that paint and try again.

In the meantime, I ordered another seal and bearing. Inthink the seals come a pair, so I'll now have an extra. I'll have to try and get the rest of the bearing out tomorrow. I just didnt want to try without knowing what I was doing and screw something else up! One of the gear bearings was giving me fits as well (the little needle bearings kept falling out) so I'm going to replace it as well.

OK, so I'll report back once I have everything back together. Thanks for the info.

[tommyg 152]

The other thought is that I'd have left installing the seals until after the tranny had been put back together again

Andy

Yeah, that's a good idea. Would have saved me the cost of a new seal. I'm actually wondering if it made sense to install the axle (assuming the differential gears weren't assembled yet) by putting it in from the splined end then reassembling the differential once the axles were through. In my head it makes sense to avoid the buggered end of the axle altogether. But I'm not sure I could assemble the differential that way. I'm sure I could at least install one side that way.

Tom

[Hodge71 664]

Smear a good gob of grease on those needle bearings and they'll never fall out again. Its a trick my brother and I use when rebuilding trannys and has served us well.....

[JamesBe1 82]

The other thought is that I'd have left installing the seals until after the tranny had been put back together again

Andy

Yeah, that's a good idea. Would have saved me the cost of a new seal. I'm actually wondering if it made sense to install the axle (assuming the differential gears weren't assembled yet) by putting it in from the splined end then reassembling the differential once the axles were through. In my head it makes sense to avoid the buggered end of the axle altogether. But I'm not sure I could assemble the differential that way. I'm sure I could at least install one side that way.

Tom

That's the way I did it on my C-120 8sp. It never occured to me to put the hub end through first. I never considered it due to the roughness of that end of the axle. Also, I figured that I should just reverse the order in which it came out (hope that makes sense).

Good point from Jeff about using grease to hold in the needle bearings. Grease is often handy for holding parts in place.

[tommyg 152]

Got the old axle bearing housing out of the casing this evening along with the one gear bearing. You you guys were right. Came out fairly easily tapping from the inside out. Now I just have to wait for the replacements to get here. In the meantime, I got to work on the paint on the axle. Used a sharp wood chisel and it came right up. Then, took a piece of emery cloth to it to get off the remaining paint. I came up with a good test to see whether or not the axle is ready to slide past the bearing. Using the outer differential plate, I slid it along the axle to see if there was anything that would bind it up. If it got tight, I went to work checking for any nicks or burrs. In both cases, the ends of the axles were problematic. It was likely that someone beat on the end and mushroomed it. It wasn't even perceptible just feeling it with your hand, but it was there. Took it to the grinder and just gently touched up the end followed up with emery cloth. Lubed it up and slid it into the other bearing and seal like butter. Sure learned my lesson on that one.

[JamesBe1 82]

Nice to hear that you are making progress. Post some pics for us when you get a chance, they are worth a thousand words.

What did you mean by "Used a sharp wood chisel . . ."? Was that to remove paint? I'm having kind of a hard time visualising it.

Thanx,

James

[tommyg 152]

Yep, just to remove the paint. I have an old chisel for stuff like that. Great for removing old gaskets as well. If it gets nicked, I just touch it up.