'Do gears!" They said...
"It'll be great!" They said...
"Pull the pumpkin they said."...
"It'll tap right in..."
Guys, Ive spent many hours and calories trying to pound this MFer into the hole it goes in:
I've used 3 different race & seal driver tools, I've frozen the race, I've beat on it with a brass punch and steel punch, I've beat on the driver with ball peen hammer, rubber mallet, big ole hammers, and big effing 10lb sledge. I even tried to press it in with my 20 ton shop press.
The best Ive been able to accomplish is to get the race installed about half way, but super crooked. I know Im using the correct race, it is exatly the same dimensions as the old race.
As a last resort, Im going to try to heat the differential as I place the frozen race into the hole. After that, I am out of ideas and Im coming to GRM with my hat in my hand. This thing is kicking my ass and I need help. 
Is this a Ford bearing and race or aftermarket?
I use threaded rod to pull them in, they have to be kept nice and straight. And use lube. And polish any burrs from the hole.
But before you do all that add some camber while the axle is bare.
Do you have a way to measure the bore to make sure the hole is round? I've done this twice in the car without too much trouble. I put the race in the freezer for about an hour and still had to pound it in with decent effort.
kevinatfms said:
Is this a Ford bearing and race or aftermarket?
Ford OEM uses Koyo - both at the factory and from the replacement 'install kit'. I've used 3 different races - 2 Koyo and 1 Timken.
akylekoz said:
I use threaded rod to pull them in, they have to be kept nice and straight. And use lube. And polish any burrs from the hole.
But before you do all that add some camber while the axle is bare.
Yes, I need to polish the bore a bit. Although I did hit it with some med grade sand paper by hand.
What do you mean by add camber?
Patientzero said:
Do you have a way to measure the bore to make sure the hole is round? I've done this twice in the car without too much trouble. I put the race in the freezer for about an hour and still had to pound it in with decent effort.
I just bought this from Tooltopia:
I cant imagine how the bore would be deformed. This rear end has been on the car for 15+ years and 90K miles without issue. I took the old race off with very little trouble. All I've done since is just pound on it - I cant imagine that it deformed it any. However, Im unable to get the old race to go back on as well.
I see from youtube that the race shouldnt take herculean effort to get on. However, in my case it I have been pounding at it like John Henry with no results.
Since you validated the race is correct and there is typically very little variation on bearing races from major manufacturers, its gonna come down to one of two things:
- Journal is deformed
- Installation error
For the journal, use an inside micrometer and measure at 60 degrees - all readings should be within .001 or less. Ideally .0005 or less. The Fowler tool is great for a gut check but not accurate enough to really confirm this measurement.
Take a dremel with a small grinding wheel and deburr/grind a chamfer in just the very lead in - no more than 1/32 deep. This will help seat the race.
If the race is goobered from hammering on it, and chances are it is, get some emery cloth and polish out any burrs, roll-overs, scratches, etc. Nothing you can catch a fingernail on.
For the installation, the freeze/heat technique will help, a ground lead-in will help, but it really needs to go in square. Some guys make fixtures that draw the race in from the opposite side with a puller to keep it square, other guys are just that good with a seal/bearing driver. If it goes in caddywonkus and you can't striaghten it out with some pressing, forget it, pop it out and try again. Forcing it in will just make it worse and do further damage to the bore.
93gsxturbo said:
Since you validated the race is correct and there is typically very little variation on bearing races from major manufacturers, its gonna come down to one of two things:
- Journal is deformed
- Installation error
For the journal, use an inside micrometer and measure at 60 degrees - all readings should be within .001 or less. Ideally .0005 or less. The Fowler tool is great for a gut check but not accurate enough to really confirm this measurement.
Take a dremel with a small grinding wheel and deburr/grind a chamfer in just the very lead in - no more than 1/32 deep. This will help seat the race.
If the race is goobered from hammering on it, and chances are it is, get some emery cloth and polish out any burrs, roll-overs, scratches, etc. Nothing you can catch a fingernail on.
For the installation, the freeze/heat technique will help, a ground lead-in will help, but it really needs to go in square. Some guys make fixtures that draw the race in from the opposite side with a puller to keep it square, other guys are just that good with a seal/bearing driver. If it goes in caddywonkus and you can't striaghten it out with some pressing, forget it, pop it out and try again. Forcing it in will just make it worse and do further damage to the bore.
Good input! Thank you, I will take a closer look at the bore to see if I can get a better reading on the integrity (roundness) of the bore. I hadnt thought of constructing a lead in, that sounds like a good plan of action as well.
Whewwww!!!
Got it to go in!
The trick turned out to be de-burring the bore and using some motor oil to lubricate the race and the sides of the bore. Still took some decent pounding but an liberal use of the brass punch, but after a few minutes of some effort, was able to get the race seated!
Thank you Mobil 1, you never cease to impress!
akylekoz said:
But before you do all that add some camber while the axle is bare.
Do not do that. You'll break the actual differential carrier in half. I did it twice in my 8.8 before we figured it that it had accidental camber from being hit.
Javelin said:
akylekoz said:
But before you do all that add some camber while the axle is bare.
Do not do that. You'll break the actual differential carrier in half. I did it twice in my 8.8 before we figured it that it had accidental camber from being hit.
Sounds like a case of a little too much camber.
With a bare axle I always like to verify any built in toe or camber, positive or negative. End plates and axle tubes can be a little off, if they are some heat and quench will bring them back straight. IAt that point adding a half degree or less camber appears to hot hurt anything, more will tear up axles or gear spines. I haven't asked if my local axle shop can intentionally cut a barrel shape on the splines.
Nice work getting the race seated. I have to agree with adding gear for performance, it's a lot of bang for the buck.
