useitorlooseit

my rear dana 44 driver side axle walked out and destroyed the retainer seal and bearing i remove the old race from the axle tube and inner race off the axle. to install new bearing do i just slide on and hammer down with a long pipe?? any suggestions?

5-90

Don't hammer the bearing - you'll damage it. Press it on instead.

You can also try heating the bearing (heat the cone only, 350-400*F, oven for about twenty minutes to fully heat-soak it) and freezing the shaft (find a freezer big enough, or pack the flange end and bearing seat in dry ice for a minimum of twenty minutes) and slip the two together (the shrinkage due to cold and expansion due to heat should just about take care of the interference fit that would normally require pressing on.)

DO NOT heat the bearing past 400*F - you'll wreck the temper of the thing.
DO NOT hammer the bearing on - the shock can cause microfractures in the bearing elements
DO thoroughly inspect the bearing seating surface on the shaft to make sure it's not damaged or deformed. You can either have a machine shop repair it (grind smooth or weld/fill and grind gouges & cracks) or replace the shaft outright (suggest you replace both at the same time, if you have the means.)
DO find out why the old shaft "walked out" - and correct it.
DO replace the retainer plate
DO inspect the bearing bore in the end of the axle tube, to make sure there are no defects there either. Repair or replace PRN.

For checking the shaft and bearing bore, you can usually find a dye-check kit for $25-30 at well-stocked local parts houses or MRO houses, and they will give you a better inspection than you can do with the unaided eye - or even light magnification. I highly recommend them (if you're willing to spend a bit more, a dedicated welding house usually carries the cleaner, dye, and developer as larger separate aerosol cans - which isn't a bad idea if you do plenty of dye-checking. Expect to spend $45-50 for that, I figure I go through my set every 12-15 months.)

Also note that, with some work, a press can be usefully improvised with a decent jack and your environment. I've successfully pressed on bearings, in a pinch, using the cement footers of garage walls, a hydraulic bottle jack, and a long pipe, for instance.

nismo5

i went with caution and payed to have mine pressed on but i heard a big piece of pipe is the way to go on the cheap did the retainer bolts come loose ?? im interested too on how it walked out ??

wow 5-90 rocket science much lol

useitorlooseit

i was thinking of using a ball joint press but not to sure it opening on c-clamp press will slide over axle diameter. pipe is the way to go i think if that dont work.

i was at a light on my b day and the truck wouldn't go anywhere it has trac lock. i put it in 4 x 4 and it makes it home i heard a bearing noise a few days ago i went wheelin and it went away. so when i get home from where i was stuck not hearing any noises except the usually tire hum. i was about 1 km or 2 i look see no fluid i smell like burnt gear fluid and some weird smell almost like a clutch. i look at the drum its about a inch farther from the backing plate then the other side. next day i take tire of i noticed the metal retaining bracket was a little rotted the bolts are on tight the bearing had smashed the retainer plate opening the mouth enough for the bearing to walk out almost right out probably later that night or next day it would of flew off.

plus 39" tires on the axle figures! ***** axles need rockwells!

5-90

What can I say? I'm a practical mechanic who has spent twenty years digging into ICE theory, and fifteen working on practical mechanical engineering (no engineering education - just loads of practise and experience!)