In the middle of the process of replacing front bads/rotors/bearings. No failures involved here...just doing a routine brake job and decided to replace the bearings since I have no idea how old they are.

Everything was moving along nicely until going to remove the old bearings. Finally pounded them out.

Next, where I'm stuck, is getting the bearing races out. I don't see them budging. I need to car ready to drive tomorrow and really need to get something done ASAP.

Question...can I safely re-use the old bearing races?? I realize that this isn't recommended, but how big of a No-No is this?

Also, I have already mounted the new bearings (with old races) and got the ABS carrier mounted to the new rotor. I went to mount the new rotor assembly on the spindle but it seems that it stops about an inch or so short.

I took another inner bearing and slid in on the spindle all by itself. It stops short to. It almost makes to the top the the tapered part of the spindle that then doesn't go any farther, by hand. Is this normal? Are you suppose to lighten pound the rotor the rest of the way on??

__________________
Chris
1985 300SD - 'Grace' (198K mi.)
2018 Honda Civic Sport
2018 Honda CRV LX
2010 Honda Fit Sport (RIP)
2013 Honda Accord Sport (Sold)
1996 Lexus LS400 (Retired)
1995 Ford Contour SE (Retired)
1976 Porsche 914 (Sold)
1972 Datsun 240Z (RIP)

Probably not the best idea to use the old races. To get them out though try grinding the end of a chisel to a round shape so that way the whole edge is on the race, not just the corners and give it a few wacks. When you're putting the races back in, freeze them first, they go in a lot easier that way.

__________________
"spreading a trail of obnoxious where ever we go"
1981 300sd w/ 341,500 miles

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My recommendation would be to reinstall the old bearing cones for now, then do the job right when you are not so pressed for time. Installing the new cones in the old races is not really unsafe; but it could cause accelerated wear on the new parts.

It's not uncommon to need a little persuasion to get the hub back on the spindle. Sometimes the grease seal hangs up a bit, in addition to the bearing.

Use heat and a soft metal punch/drift. Put the hub/disk in the oven to warm it up, . it will make it easier to get the race out. If you use a piece of aluminum or brass as a drift and support the hub so the race can pop out you can go ahead and wail away as hard as you can with a big hammer and work around the edge, it will come out. If you use a steel drift (like a screw driver or something) you run a high risk of screwing up the hub. I highly recomend the free race installer tool from autozone (other chain stores probably have similar)for pounding the new ones in, it does a great job and makes it very easy. Just make sure to keep your hub and races clean. Also be sure to get a good high melting point grease, mobile one or better. having recently been stranded by a failed bearing I would recomend replacing the races while you are at it, if you can find the above mentioned tools (heat, soft metal drift, race tool) you can definitally get it done. Good luck!

OK...while waiting for a response, I went back out and started pounding on the inner race again...with a hole punch (now destroyed).

Got the inner race out. No collateral damage in the process.
Feeling confident, I started trying for the outer race. The hole punch longer worked. Found an alternate, and REALLY good, method.

One of my craftsmen 1/2" sockets (32mm) happens to fit dead-balls-on onto that little surface area of the race. This should seriously be a tech-tip!

Put the socket down in there with a short extension piece and started hammering away. Worked beautifully! Now have all new races and bearings installed.

So...went back and tried to fit the old inner bearing onto the spindle...guess what? It's tight also and doesn't go all the way back by hand.

So I'm guessing that this is normal and that I'm just suppose to pound the rotor assembly back into place?

Chris
'85 300SD

Don't pound it too much, you do not want to hammer on those new bearings once it "seats" I can usually get it most of the way on by fiddling with the alignment-it is very exact, and then use the tensioner nut to clamp it the rest of the way.

Got it back in using the two-foot-kick method

Now to the point that I'm putting the new dust cap on....and the tightness problems continue. The new cap is only going on about 1/8" after pounding on it with a rubber mallet. It's centered....it just doesn't seem to want to go on any farther. I guess I'll try and beat on it some more unless someone has a suggestion.

..and just for verification, since this is the first time I've repacked bearings on this car, am I'm correct in only packing the bearings, generously, and not simply filling up the rest of the cavity with grease?
I've also put about 1/4" deep in grease in the dust cover.

[EDIT] Finally got the dust cap back on. Had to pound the crap out of it with the rubber mallet. I DREAD having to ever take that thing off again!


Chris
'85 300SD

Hmmm....I really DO NOT feel like pulling that wheel off again after today's episode. I'll ask my Indy about it and see what he recommends too. If I have to, I have to.

Finally got it all back together and took it for a spin to make sure it was safe for the wife to drive....since I only did one side

So.....that only took me what.....~6hrs to do pads/rotor/bearings on one side
First time on this car. I'll bet tomorrow night when I do the other side I can get it done in 2hrs! Now that I know all the 'gotcha' areas and how to get by them.

On a side note, the PBR Deluxe pads that I used (and used last time) had to once again be sanded down about 1/16" to get them to fit. I really like these pads but having to sand them is a serious PITA!

In any case, thanks everyone for the help today/tonight. I was in a near panic there for a while.

Chris
'85 300SD

Even with compressing the pistons you had to sand down the pads? really?

__________________
1985 300SD "Sady" 235k miles
Wont Start for Anything!

Yep...double checked the pistons...they were all the way back flush.
This happened on the PBR pads last time too. I think I recall a few years back when I installed them that I did a search and found a few others that had run into the same problem.

Chris
'85 300SD

Well....this is the last time I'm doing it. I'd hoped that after about 3-4 years that they would have corrected the problem. They apparently haven't.

I guess I'll start using one of the nasty OEM pads again and resort to frequent wheel cleanings.

Chris
'85 300SD