Author Topic: inner bearing seal seating - a helpfull tip  (Read 2864 times)

Offline p7387

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inner bearing seal seating - a helpfull tip
« on: September 28, 2011, 02:20:32 AM »
this was my first time doing this and thus a great learning experience.
i discovered that driving the inner bearing seal (2wd front rotor) was much trickier than i thought. i do not have a bearing driver or a large diameter socket so i used a square block of wood. no matter how square i tried to hit the block or how careful i was i could not prevent the seal from starting crooked and ultimately seating with a slight ripple. i went through 4 seals before i finally got it right by using this method....

i cut 3 strands of solid copper wire, enough to go around the perimeter or the seal.
 12 gauge with the skin
 14 gauge with the skin
 14 gauge bare
starting with the larger wire and working down, driving each to it's limit with the wood block, the wire acted as a guide to prevent the seal from tilting, driving it down even in small increments. by the time i was finished with the 14 gauge bare it just took one good hit to finish driving the seal to it's even seated position.

worked great

Offline PromiseKeeper

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Re: inner bearing seal seating - a helpfull tip
« Reply #1 on: September 28, 2011, 09:18:36 AM »
trying to get a visual on this....and have to ask ... how did you swap the pieces of wire out? Great idea, just trying to picture how it works. I'm thinking a bearing/seal driver set might not be much more expensive than 4 sets of seals? $16 at Harbor Freight.
1980 C-10 2WD short & wide. 305 auto.

Offline p7387

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Re: inner bearing seal seating - a helpfull tip
« Reply #2 on: September 28, 2011, 04:06:51 PM »
a block of wood was placed over the bearing, in each case the bearing was hit down until the wire was snug, but loose enough to pull the wire off and wrap the next size down around the perimeter of the bearing.

i have never tried a seal driver so i don't know how well they work, how is the seal prevented from going in crooked?  in any case this was a matter of having to get the job done that day with whatever was available.


Offline bake74

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Re: inner bearing seal seating - a helpfull tip
« Reply #3 on: September 30, 2011, 09:14:57 AM »
     A piece of sch. 80 pvc pipe works great, just find the right size and since they are thick wall and sturdy you can tap the bearing in with a soft mallet.
#1: The easiest and most obvious solution to any problem is 99% of the time correct.
#2: There is no such thing as impossible, it just takes longer.
  74 k10, 77k10    Tom

Offline PromiseKeeper

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Re: inner bearing seal seating - a helpfull tip
« Reply #4 on: October 05, 2011, 06:46:30 PM »
great idea bake.....thanks!
1980 C-10 2WD short & wide. 305 auto.

Offline bigchevyc30

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Re: inner bearing seal seating - a helpfull tip
« Reply #5 on: October 05, 2011, 07:11:02 PM »
i didnt have that issue when i did mine. i used 3 pieces of about 1x1x3 inch piece of wood. i used 2 pieces across the bearing and the last on on top of the 2 i held the end with my hand and hit the middle of the top one and it went in straight
1980 c-30 dually R.I.P
1989 R2500 Sub 350/sm465
1984 k10 sub 6.2/700r4