I have a winters qc rear end and I'm trying to get the axle tubes out of the bells. I have it in a press but that is not doing anything. Is there something that I should be doing to help this come out?
House of Fab did a kick ass tech post on this... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=363221 Be reeeeal carefull with the heat, 'spessially with magnesium. Good luck, -Abone.
If you do not need to re-use the axle tubes, you can cut them off 2" from the end of the bells. Weld a piece of 1/4" flatbar to cap the end of the remaining tube stub. Place the bell,tube down in a press with a short, loose fitting ,thick steel sleeve around the tube stub. Now you can push the tube out of the bell, from the inside out, pressing on the the inside of the flatbar cap. Using a torch and a heat stick crayon, buy a 300 degree stick at a welding supply. I sometimes use a propane Weed burner, however we built an oven using a steel barrel split down the middle and hinged. It is insulated and steel lined, it uses an element from a kitchen stove. It works great for quickchange repairs and setup.
Thanks Marty. That made it look like I knew wath I was doing. Now I need to know how to get the bearing race out.
Toby, Do you mean the race in the side bell? That is where the oven comes in handy. Position the bell with race down and heat it up,it should fall out. Here again if you do not need to save the race, weld a crossbar on the race. Push it out through the axle tube hole. Always heat the bell before pressing anything out of aluminum as you will gall and destroy the aluminum bores. I have been told aluminum can loose it's heat treat after 400 degrees, so be careful.
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