Hub & Bearing Pullers

So the FSM suggests I should use a special hub puller for removing the rear hubs, and then a friend says I have to use a bearing puller to get the rear axle shafts out. Time to ask more questions.

Will a claw puller work for the hub, or should I go with something more specialized like the one Kaiser Willys offers? Or just a generic Harmonic Balancer puller?

What kind of bearing puller should I get to remove the shafts? Most of the ones I've seen pull from the inside; is this the right kind for pulling the shafts out of a Dana 44?

Hopefully this will be the last tool buy in a LONG time.

 

you will need a large puller that bolts on to the lug nuts to get the hubs off. a bearing or pully puller will not work. to get the shafts out you can use a slide hammer.

the puller you need looks like this.

 

Here are a couple pics of the one I built a few years back...its ugly but it works. I welded it up from some 1/2 plate cut out in a circle with some schedule 80 4" pipe for the cylindrical part.





Don

 

Plus some heat to the flange when you have pressure applied!!!

 

Ok, first question. Will THIS puller work? This is the least expensive puller I've found; the others are either part of a super-expensive slide hammer kit, or are the kind that grabs the hub from behind.

Also, how do you use one of these to pull a brake drum, or does it just slide off on its own once the castle nut is removed?

And do I necessarily have to have a slide hammer anyway? They're real expensive but don't look like more than a long hand crank.

 

Yes, THAT is the type you want for a tapered axle hub, or something like Don made. Anything less can damage the drum. The hub and drum may be one assembly.

 

Hang on, if the hub and drum are one assembly then how do I service the brake parts inside? o.0

 

Do you have an actual Jeep "Factory" FSM or one of the generic aftermarkets? The Jeep FSM has very clear pictures of this.

Removing the hub/drum unit will leave all the interior parts accessible.

 

I have a reprint of the Jeep one, not a Haynes one. The pictures are a bit dark, but I can usually make out what's going on. I guess it'll make more sense when I have an actual one in front of me; one problem I keep running into time and again is that I'm 180+ miles away and can't always look at what I've got.

 

How about rental for the puller?

 

Nearest FLAPS is too far for me to be making that kind of thing on a halfway regular basis. We're talking the next town over.

Edit: And if something breaks, I'd rather not have to pay for a broken $200+ slide hammer kit than a $80 or so piece I ordered myself.

 

I was able to find one at my normal rental store but had to talk with the guy who repairs the returned equipment to find it. $10 a day.

 

put your location in your profile, there might be a member near you that can lend you the tools. look for a used hub puller on ebay. i found one for around $40 shipped. it was greasy and rusty but works great. i rented a slide hammer from autozone for free just had to leave a deposit.

on my axle the rear drums were attached to the hubs with the wheel studs. to remove the drums i think you need to press out the studs. once you have the drums off use a step drill bit and open up the stud holes slightly so the drum can be removed by hand. that way you can service the brakes without pulling the hub off.

 

Remove the wheels, adjust the brake shoes away from the drum (loosen) pull the drum off. You will need the puller you linked to, or one like it. I actually bent one of the arms where it attatches to the ring pulling mine. Also bent the hub! But replacement's are easy to find

 

Checks out Walcks website they have various tutorials that I believe that are archived . They made any excellent one on removing the rear hubs

 

I didn't find his website, but I did find the video on Youtube. Looked pretty straightforward, although they did include the warning about hubs getting blasted across the shop. Still didn't quite explain how the axle shaft assembly (hub plus drum plus shaft) stays where it belongs, but it probably will make better sense once I've gotten things disassembled and can look at them. Reassembly is supposed to be just a reverse of assembly, right?

Also looks like I'll have to go bug dad about where he hid the sledgehammers. They're probably at the bottom of the tool pile, knowing my luck, or maybe I can make do with a rubber mallet and a rigor mortis possum.

 

"didn't quite explain how the axle shaft assembly (hub plus drum plus shaft) stays where it belongs"

The drum/hub is retained by the nut on the axle. The axle is retained by a shoulder or flange behind the bearing. The bearing in turn is retained by a bolted collar (and shims) under the grease seal, which you will see after removing the hub.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=UUit1Q7k75yVBekpLfJ9ahKQ&feature=player_embedded&v=PQQvFK4B6pY this should be the walcks how to on hub removal