Bearings in Front Diff.

[Lynn D. Brown]

Well, I have the Front Diff. apart and was going to change the bearings on each side of the Ring Gear / Side gear assembly as someone suggested. I wish I had'nt gotten into it.

These tapered roller bearings R on there w a pretty tight press fit, and I can't find a puller to get them off. There is nothing in the center for a puller to push on, and there is a very tight space to get puller jaws in there. I tried a slide hammer and have screwed up one of the bearings.

Has anyone done this ? How did U get them off ? I may have to go w the backup set of gears from the '85 Blazer FD that I bought from the J-Yard.

 

[ItsMyTy]

You're probably going to have to find a shop that will let you use their hydraulic press for a few minutes to remove the bearings.

 

[Lynn D. Brown]

Frt Diff bearings

Frt Diff bearings

I can see a press being useful to press on the new ones, but would it help Pull off the old ones ?

 

[bigtime]

The easiest way without the proper tools is:
Break off the cage, use a good pair of dykes
grind or wizzer a slot across the pressed on bearing
hit the middle of the ground out spot with a good chisle
It will crack since it is hardened
pry it off
MAKE SURE YOU WEAR YOUR SAFTEY GLASSES!

 

[Lynn D. Brown]

Side Bearings in Frt diff.

Side Bearings in Frt diff.

OK, Bob, I already destroyed one cage w rollers flying all over the place. So w a chisel, maybe I can get the inner bearing support off. But I'm still stuck w trying to press on new ones w/o F'ing up the bearings.

I can see this job should not even be attempted by anybody but professionals - and very well equipped ones at that. I guess I may go w my backup gear set. However, will I get in trouble trying to use the used Ring Gear from one FD w the used Pinion from the other FD ? Do these gears have to "wear in" together ?

 

[bigtime]

Just emry cloth up the carrier and use a socket to hammer
the new ones on. Or if your vice opens up far enough you can
use that to 'press' them back on. I always just use a hammer.

Forgot your second part.
NEVER use a mismatched gearset! If you want to send me
your carrier I will put your bearings on for you.

 

[ericguy320]

They will go on a little easer if you put them in the frezer for a while, I always do this on the pinion bearing races, sometimes i will put the case in hot water for a while. You want the races to go in easey and stright or as they go in they can roll the metal if front of it and can cause the pinion bearing perload to change over time.

 

[Lynn D. Brown]

Well guys, I got lucky. I couldn't get the Side Bearings off of the Ring Gear/Side Gears Assembly. I didn't need to replace them, but at 100K, while I had it out, I thought I should.

There is no lip to pull the bearing off with, just 2 small little slots. I couldn't find any Puller that would fit into those little slots. I tried a slide hammer, but all I did was destroy the bearing cage and rollers, as I mentioned before. If I went w my backup gear set, the Propshaft flange is different on this S-15 Front Diff., so I would have to replace it and have the Pinion Gear preload redone for a coupla 100 $.

So, I checked around at machine shops in the area, and only one guy at a NAPA would fool w it. Well all he did was put the gear set in a big Vise (which I don't have here) and used a pneumatic chisel to drive the inner bearing support off by alternating pounding on the 2 slots on each side. Then he pounded the new roller bearings on with alot of little blows around the periphery from a hand punch. It took a very fine touch, and the guy just knew what he was doing.

And get this, it took 5-10 min, and he charged me a whole $5. Every once in a while U get lucky find a real Pro. I'm used to getting screwed.

 

[Lynn D. Brown]

Frt Diff.

Frt Diff.

Hey Guys - just got the Frt Diff together and thought I would add some more observations that might help the next guy.

On the Side Bearings that set the Ring/Side gear assembly into both sides of the case. The Races that the new Roller bearings sit in - the one on the Pass side just fell out, but the one on the drivers side was really tight and it wouldn't come out.

I tapped on this old race w hammers, screwdrivers, wedges, etc., and considering that it's a hardened steel (chewed up my chisel) in an Alum case, ya don't want to pound too hard. Then I looked at the manual, and there is a screw-in brass retainer on the outside of each race in the case. That piece has lugs on it, and all I did was tap the lugs so that it was being forced into the Race and driving it outwards. A few full turns here forced the old race out ! I guess that's what the retainer is for, but the manual doesn't say sh*t about it.

The case halves have no gasket and no sealer, which I didn't like, so I used the special Anaerobic Gasket Maker that the manual recommends for the front axle plates. Had trouble finding it, but Napa tracked it down for me. I used the same stuff on the Drivers side axle plate and installed this axle (the short one) also. I will install the Pass side axle (long one) after I mount the Diff assembly in the car.

There R no torque specs on the 10 -15 MM bolts holding the case together, so I went w 32 Ft-Lbs. Don't want to torque too hard on Alum threads ! I went w 20 Ft-Lbs on the Drivers side axle seal flange.