Removing hub woodruff key ...??

[Crow Horse 8]

I finally got around to making a puller and was able to remove the hub on my B-80 without much of a problem. My goal is to replace the oil seal, but the woodruff key is stuck in position. I've gotten this far without doing any damage and was hoping for some guidance on removing this little bugger. I have new ones to replace the old. Any ideas? Thanks in advance....

[squonk 41,345]

I usually use a small chisel and catch the edge. A few light taps with a hammer normally gets it started and it rolls out of the groove.

[Martin 2,133]

soak it with some pb blaster and give it a tap on one end, straight down until it rocks in the axle. keep tapping it until the other end is up high enough that you can grab it with something or get something underneath to pry it. dont hit it too hard.....

mike's way works good too......

sometimes i end up damaging the key when doing it that way...

if you have new ones to replace, i guess it doesnt really matter......

[Crow Horse 8]

I've been soaking it with PB. Got it to reluctantly "rock" but even with a vise grip on thye high side and tapping it up, no dice. Glad I have new ones to replace these as they are pretty well mangled. What do youthink about getting a small dremel cut off wheel in there to make a relief in the middle of the key?

[squonk 41,345]

If it's coming out that hard and mangled I'll bet the slot in the axle is mangled too.

[Crow Horse 8]

I'm thinking (or rather, hoping) that it's just a rust issue. While the key is soaking, I tried to remove the oil seal. It's not giving that up easy either. Geez, I thought the difficult part would be to remove the hub, so I made a puller from 1/2" plate. Worked like a charm. Wish the rest was as easy, but it's not by a long shot.....

All Good Medicine,

Crow

[can whlvr 993]

i use side cutters and squeeze them real hard and pry up

[Crow Horse 8]

WoooooHooooo! Got it out! I tried the side cutters and couldn't get a real positive grasp. I used a larger pair of vise grips and ball pein hammer to tap it out. I was a little gun shy as I didn't want to damage the axle clip (more problems than I wanted). Thanks for everyone's input!!!!!! Added bonus - slot in the axle is perfect!!!!

[Tankman 3,518]

Nice job! New York, anything's possible!

I broke a cast hub once, now, use a puller everytime!

Key out, no damage to the keyway, all's well.

[Crow Horse 8]

Epilogue ....Tackled the other side today. That hub was really stuck on there. It was almost off when the threads stripped (grade 8) on my home brew puller. I was able to use a shorter bolt with a spacer to get it off. Woodruff key came right out by hand. Could have reused it but installed a new one. Installed a new seal and buttoned everything back using a generous amount of anti-sieze compound. LIfe is good.....

I'll have to look into making a bullet proof puller. I used a 1/2" x 20 grade 8 bolt. I guess the stress of the stuck hub and the use of an impact gun did in the threads I cut. A 6" tap bolt wasn't available, so I purchased a 6" "shoulder" (?) bolt. It got the job done but just barely.....

[sorekiwi 761]

I always find that there are pro's and cons with all this hub removal/woodruff key thing. I guess it comes down to whether you are are a glass half full kind of guy or a glass half empty...

If the hub just falls off, then I always think "Oh crap the axle is worn and the bore in the hub is oversize, and its always going to keep coming loose on me"

Whereas if the hub fights you every step of the way, at least you know there is a decent chance that the parts arent flogged out, and they'll be fine with a clean up and reassembly.