Rear Axle outer bearings

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jhdeval

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I am preparing to replace the rear axle outer bearings. My question is do they NEED to be pressed or will they slide on? Is there any gotchas you guys can suggest I need to watch for.
 
yes they will need to be pressed and replacing the axle seals while youre in there isnt a bad idea either, SKF # 13418. the bearing is pressed and theres 2 ways to do the locking ring, its setup very similar to an 8.75, i prefer to heat the ring up till its red hot, drop it on the shaft, and cool/shrink it with wet rags, be careful though because its easy to contaminate the grease in the bearing this way, or you can press the ring on cold but that tends to be a bit more harsh on the shaft.
 
I have the seals and bearings but now I have to figure out how to get the axles to a machine shop with just my car. I do not own a press.

Do the seals need to be pressed in?
 
sadly. seals are one of those things im NOT a fan of to begin with, try to find a seal installer tool. If not ive used empty paint rattle cans before. Rather crude but works pretty good. Even a good sized exhaust pipe section will do.
 
Awesome I have empty cans. If they don't need to be pressed then maybe I can use a block of wood.
 
This is a job for a shop manual:

A free 66 Plymouth manual:

http://www.mymopar.com/downloads/servicemanuals/1966_Plymouth_Service_Manual.zip

Page 3-2 by the printed page numbers, but in your viewer, page 76

This shows a puller few people have. The way we used to do this is to start as shown in the manual, that is, take a large chisel and notch the bearing collar. This should expand it and allow it to come off with little effort.

We used to either torch off the outer race, or cover it with a heavy cloth while clamped in a vise, and break it. That will all the bearing to fall apart, and you can remove the retainer

Now you will only have the bearing inner race left. We used to heat this in one spot to soften it, and tap with a hammer to expand. Normally, you can coax it right off the axle

You should use an approiate driver to install the seal. If you don't have a seal driver set, go to a plumbing store (Lowes/ Home Depot) and get a short piece of pipe or pipe coupling that will work. If you have a 3/4 drive socket set, usually you can find a socket the right size as a driver.

Many parts stores have enough of a shop that they can change axle bearings for you

You WILL need a press or the special Mopar tool to get the bearing back on
 
67Dart273 Thank you. That makes it a lot clearer. I did read the shop manual for the 65 year and unfortunately it really just talked about the speciality tools and made it hard to follow.

I think since this is may daily driver I am just going to allow my machine shop to take them off and put them back on but thank you for the advice.
 
I successfully pulled the rear axles and I pulled the seals now the question is which way does the seal go in? Cup facing in or out?

The rubber seems to be angled cup in.
 
The spring side of the seal goes in or angle in, that's what keeps the lube from coming past it, pack some grease around the rubber if it has the spring to help keep it in place while you seat the seal. Otherwise it could pop out.
 
Also there should be a ridge where the seal comes to rest, don't drive it past that point.
 
I wasn't sure on the spring, 8 3/4 rears do have a spring on the seal. Typically the cup should go in if you face it out then gear lube could work past it.

Also when you put the axles back in it's a good idea to tape a piece of newspaper around the splines with scotch tape so when you slide it through the seal it doesn't nick it. As soon as you can see it in the center pull the paper off.
 
Badsport don't do that you scared the crap outta me. Lol she's my daily driver I could not have waited for a part.
 
jhdeval said:
Badsport don't do that you scared the crap outta me. Lol she's my daily driver I could not have waited for a part.
Click to expand...

On the spring thing??? LOL

I've not messed with the 7 1/4 to much, in past years I would just replace the whole rear, they were plentiful and it was easier.
 
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