I am going to pull my axles out to replace my differential. I have all new axle bearings/seals/O rings- and of course the differential. I have never pulled an axle before, my issue is a bad pinion bearing. Any tips and tricks to get them out? Figured I would replace the axle bearings while out so the whole thing is new. My plan is to take them (axles) to a machine shop to have the od bearings removed and new ones installed. Thanks for any tips/help
Usually requires a slide hammer. but you might get lucky. (I ***ume it's an original rear end in a 56 Chevy car, if not, then things might work differently)
There are generally two ways guys pull this style axle. Borrow or rent a yoke type slide hammer puller. This is bolts on the lug studs. The second is to bolt a length of chain on one of the studs. The chain is then whipped like a snake. The shock of the sudden change of direction will loosen the bearing in the bore. You have to remove the brake drums and the 4 bearing retainer bolts first. The first one I ever did (with the slide hammer) wouldn't budge. I bet I beat on it for a half hour. I walked away to get a soft drink. When I went back to try it again, as I grabbed the weight, it just slid out!
Its a drop out chuck right? Like the '57? You just pull the 4 bolts out from the retainer, same bolts hold your brake backing plates to the rear end. Then you slide the axles out, Ok actually you will probably have to persuade them. I use about a 6' length wrap it around the axle flange and whip it.
take the 4 bolts off the axle flange, then you will need a axle puller or put a wheel rim only on with loose lug bolts and jerk it back and forth.
1957, Santa Clara, CA.: Mayfield's Garage. A kid came into the shop I started out in... The old man, Red, was in one of his moods, and the kid wanted to know how to get an axle out of his '49 Ford...kid kept saying, "It's got floating axles", must have said it 5 or 6 times. Red was annoyed, so he said, in exasperation: "Son? You've got the 4 bolts out of the flange on the brake end?" "Yeah, all the bolts are out, it's got 'floating axles'." Red replied, "Then just open the fill plug on the differential, and fill it with water. The axle will just 'float on out'." The kid said, "Okay, thanks..." and left. I winced. Poor kid...
Haven't pulled one for years but as a young guy I didn't have access to slide hammers. The old whip chain pulled many, many axles for my buddies and me. Wear gloves and careful of the fender. Not too much slack in the chain to start.
Beauty from Buffalo. Be careful with the chain, if used...I'd look to parts houses that rent tools. Rent the slide hammer, protect those gorgeous fenders! I've had some '36es, 3 window, 5 window, and flatback sedan.
Cut a bicycle inner tube open & slip it over the chain. Also verify you have '55-'56 bearings, as they change in '57. If you're doing pinion bearings & haven't ever pulled an axle, you'll be back in a while ...
I always use a long handled sledge hammer wrapped in the chain connected to the lugs and swing it like a golf club to "whip it" out.
here this is for you my friend. I actually own a slide hammer with a crows foot, I still usually just grab the chain. Old habits die hard.
I never did get good at the chain thing...and I don't have a crows foot puller (like the one in the picture I posted). I usually use a Morgan Nokker, with a right angle hook on the end, and they pop right out.
Actually there are three ways. My second car in high school was a 57 BelAir, one day smarting off in the h.s. parking lot, I snapped an axle off but was able to limp it home. I borrowed a slide hammer from an older friend of mine, a reeely heavy duty homemade one. Guess what, I managed to break the head of it off where it was welded to the shaft. I don't think the axle had ever been out before, had him reweld it and because I felt so bad about breaking it I went easy on it the first try and it popped right out. Kids never learn and a month later, in the same parking lot, you guessed it, spider gears. Axle came out by hand that time, good thing because I didn't have the guts to borrow the axle puller again.
I've done many of these babies, when i was a kid,errr younger,i'm still a kid. I tried for a couple hours with chain no luck.It had never been out. Rented slide hammer. 5 min, out. Now with that said.Poor mans slide hammer!! After you get brake drum off, turn it around slide back on tighten lugnuts on a little ,use brake drum as slide hammer. Get lugnuts even, so it contacts at same time on each side. You can get the slide hammer at H F for nothing. if you keep old cars, you'll need it again somewhere down the line.KEEP US POSTED
Axles hubs all that stuff is funny. Kid I went to high school with had a '46 Ford and sheared the key on the axle. It wouldn't mutate for nuthin. We drug it to my place and I proceeded to try and get the hub off everyway I could figure. Finally out of desperation (anger?) I kicked it. Damned thing just fell off. Sometimes I think its just a matter of holding your mouth right.
The drum-as-slide-hammer trick doesn't work as well as a real slide hammer, because there just isn't enough travel to get much energy into the "hammer", but it's good enough to get some axles out.
Be careful when you are in the process of removing the axle shaft, that the backing plate doesn't come off the axle housing and damage the brake line. As mentioned above, the four backing plate bolts must be removed. These bolts also hold the bearing dust cover in place. The dust cover must be on the axle shaft when the new bearing is pressed on. You might want to make a new gasket for the cover also, this would need to be done when the bearing is off the axle shaft or use the squeeze tube stuff. Mark the axle shafts when you get them out, they are different lengths.
I've done the chain whip thing a lot of times both at home and usually in a wrecking yard when I would go buy an axle with a good bearing rather than buy a new bearing and have it pressed on. I don't think you can go to a wrecking yard and buy an axle with a bearing on it for 3.50 anymore though. As the others said you have to be real careful so that the chain doesn't hit or damage the fender. You also need a real chain and not a light weight chain. I've got a big slide hammer now but as someone said, the parts houses that do the tool loan (pay full price deposit and take it back and get the money back) have them and that is the simple way especially when you don't use one often enough to justify the expense. Remember to put a pan under the center section when you pull the third member even if you already drained the rear end. I found that the baking tray with a 1/2 inch lip that my wife threw out because it was "too ugly to use to bake with anymore" works great as and easy to clean gear oil catcher along with being a great work tray on the bench for working on stuff with small parts.
good stuff guys. I may try to rent the slide hammer Rear end is a 56 ran the numbers and bearings numbers- they have have been in as far as I know of at least 1971.. Need to get a little warmer for me to get in the garage This is a pic of what I got along with the O Ring and gasket to housing differential is rebuilt unit with 3:70 or 3:73 gears
Be prepared for sticker shock on the wheel bearings if you replace them. When I replaced the bearings on my 56 no one in town had any and I had to order them...and they were a lot more expensive than a typical Ford 9" bearing. As I recall, they were ball bearings and not roller bearings. I was told ball bearings were obsolete and more expensive to manufacture.
And get those o rings in good. They can be frustrating. Lots of energy in that dogde hammer removing that 59 axle.
I bought one last year from our local bearing house, in business for 60 years. Told my long time friend I'd like a '56 Chev p***. RWB made in the USA. He found one in a warehouse & said it wasn't easy ... it was $80+ with tax.
Attach short chain to axle other end to drum you just removed. Swing drum between your legs carefully. When the slack comes out you use hammer the axle out. Sent from my LG-TP450 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Rent, borrow, steal, or make a slide type puller. I too have use the "whipped chain" variation a few times; one time, in helping out my younger brother with his 55, I managed to knock myself out when the chain came loose from the axle stud and nailed me right at the base of my skull. There used to be a tool marketed that slipped between the backing plate and inner surface of the axle flange. Expanding lugs pushed the axle out. Have't seen one of those for a while now, but I'd buy one if I could. IF you have a Positraction, and your pinion bearing is a little loose, then it has probably already worn crescent shaped gouges in the Positraction carrier housing. Not important to the strength of the carrier if it is, but because of all the metal filings, everything will have to be rebuilt, and all new bearings used. Use a slide hammer. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
The Jalopy Journal
