Any Ideas On Removing A Stuck Axle Bearing In Dana 44?

I have been trying to remove the driver side rear axle in my 67 CJ5 but the bearing will not budge.

Before you ask, yes I have removed everything down to the flange.

I have a pretty heavy slide hammer that usually will pop one of these out with just a couple or three whacks, but I nearly wore myself out trying to pull this one and it just won't move.

This is a Dana 44 tapered axle. The only difference with this one is it has the PowrLock differential.

Rather than beat the heck out of it I stopped and checked to see if there is any difference in procedure with this setup but the TSM doesn't describe anything other than what I have tried and that is removing the axle with a slide hammer.

The Jeep only has 33k miles on it so the bearing is probably good, but I want to clean out the 54 year old hardened grease, repack the bearing, and replace the inner seal, but I have to get it out first.

There is no grease zero on this one, so have to remove it to service the bearing.

I thought about applying a little heat, but thought I should throw this out to the crowd in case someone smarter than me has ran into and solved this problem before. I have done this many times on CJ2A Jeeps without ever having this much trouble.

Any suggestions ?

 

Not specifically. But many times I have found that what I call 'reverse shock' can break things free.

In other works, a sharp hard blow, or three, in the opposite (inward) direction, on the outer race. That can convey more force than the slide hammer - and what's to lose?

Also, an air hammer applied to the housing while pulling - the vibration may help.

 

Maybe cooling (shrinking) the bearing with aerosol coolant?

 

Howard's idea has some merit, but unfortunately I do not have a welder here, and my buddy who does is out of town.

I like the idea of "reverse shock". I will remove everything on the other end in the morning so there will be some wiggle room, and give that a try. There were no shims on this side (driver side), the bearing was flush to the retainer. I expect to find the shims on the other end, so should be able to walk it back and forth maybe.

If that don't work I think I will apply a little heat to the housing, might ruin the seal but I am going to replace that anyway.

 

Warm up the bulge for the bearing at the end of the housing with a propane torch, then try the slide hammer again. They usually will pop out with just a bit of heat. You already have the other side out? If not, switch to the that side just to know what to expect.
There should be a Zerk fitting to grease these bearings. There should be a "cup" on the outside of the backing plate to keep excess grease off the shoes.
-Donny

 

I agree there "should" be a Zerk fitting to grease the bearings as every older Jeep I have owned had, but this one does not have them and the only way to grease the bearings is to pull the axles. I guess Kaiser saved about a dollar on every 10 Jeeps coming off the line. It will have them when I am done.

 

As I recall this is an early vs late production change. The FSM addresses greasing procedure and interval for both types.

 

Success!

I heated the housing but still would not budge with the slide hammer. I removed the hub and all on the other side and gave that axle a couple of whacks, with the threaded end protected of course, and saw some outward movement so tried the slide hammer again with no luck, so I gave that end a couple of whacks too, and repeated it on the other side. Several sequences of side to side and this finally worked. When the bearing cup was about half way out I tried the slide hammer again and after a number of good whacks with that it popped on out. The other side came out fairly easy. I have the axles bearing end down in a bucket of Diesel to soak a bit then will clean them up and inspect. At first wipe down the bearings and cups look pretty good.

So, a combination of "reverse shock" heat, and dogged determination was all it took, and it only took me two and a half hours!

Now to get those dang stock seals out. Then I can start putting it back together with new 11" brakes.

Unfortunately the passenger side hub was ruined. These were new hubs too. The previous owner had taken the Jeep to reputable 4X4 shop, They did the back brakes, evidently replacing the hubs then, but they never finished the job when the owner balked at what they estimated it would cost to get the Jeep drivable, so it sat there a year before I bought it.

The driver side hub, which is the one with the stuck bearing, looked real good, but when I pulled the other I immediately saw the Woodruff key ramped up with the end against the bearing, and can see an indication of stress on the inboard side of the hub at the keyway. It isn't split but I wouldn't trust it to stay that way.

Neither axle nut was torqued to spec, nor were the correct size cotter pins used. Both nuts came off with a light hit with an electric impact wrench, when I usually have to use a breaker bar.

The owner of that 4X4 shop is the son-in-law of a friend of mine. He knows what he is doing, but has some young kids doing the grunt work. They don't work on a lot of older Jeeps, but I am going to mention this to him so he can educate the younger guys working for him about these old tapered axles. Maybe avoid some trouble down the road, and keep his good reputation.

 

[QUOTE But many times I have found that what I call 'reverse shock' can break things free.

In other works, a sharp hard blow, or three, in the opposite (inward) direction, on the outer race/QUOTE]
Many years ago, in the 80's, I worked at a front and and brake shop, and aligned many 4x4's. We had a superb mechanic we nicknamed "Mr. Goodhammer" for his prowess with the tool! He had a rollaway drawer filled with carefully sorted weights and types of hammers, lead, steel, brass, etc. I'd be sweating with a okie-rigged puller, and he'd saunter the drawer, select a hammer, and a single swing would work. Dude was the best intuitive mechanical genius I ever worked with.

 

I had the exact same problem with a stuck bearing race on an AMC20 axle. Nothing I tried worked. ITLKSEZ suggested welding dots around the inside of the race to cause it to shrink. It took more than a few dots, but the welding trick worked and the race came out. I used one of those Harbor Freight $99 welders.

 

Glad I didn't have to go to that extreme, but this was the most trouble I have had so far in getting one of these out. The inside of the housing where the bearing sits was a little rough with machine marks. I polished that out a little with a Dremel tool and it went back together perfectly. Now I just have the other side to do, but have to wait on a hub to finish that job. It was really hot out there anyway and I was glad to call it a day.