What's your trick to get the pinion bearing out

[jeepwm69 7,599]

This morning I decided to tackle a couple of diffs I have that need bearings.

 

One is an 07-13 420 diff and I have no idea where it came from. LOL.  Gears are shot, but cases are good.  Got the pinion gear retaining wire out of that one, but could not budge the pinion gear.  Tried my blind bearing puller.  No luck.  Tried drilling in from the back and knocking it out with a punch ala Ray  Could not budge it, and was scared i was going to shatter the case.  Any other hints other than welding a bolt to it and using a slide hammer?  Think heating the case around the bearing race would loosen it up any?

 

Set that one aside and tried to get into a 500 rear diff I had.  Couldn't even get the wire to move where I could grab the end of it.  I tried using a tiny flathead to rotate the wire around to grab the end and can't even get the wire to move.

 

So, chime in here with your rear diff pinion bearing tricks.  There's always more than one way to skin a cat.

 

Edited to add, after watching that video again. looks like he did in fact use a propane torch to help get the race out.

 

Still interested in different techniques though, especially on rotating the wire where I can grab it.

[Fishfiles 20,145]

Find a Leprechaun at the end of the rainbow  or a magic lamp with three wishes , maybe a  Laser beam or dynamite  , light some candles at church , send them to Shade , lol 

[retro 4,048]

I would try smacking the old bearing like I was driving it into the housing to shock the bonds loose, then try again to get that clip out of there.

[AKATV 820]

I think D-ray should have tried to pull that wire out, not sure if just pressing it on the top would release the ring all the way around the rest of the race?

Seems like it would press it harder into the groove on the opposite side? I think thats why it shattered-just my thoughts though

I thought originally the wire clip should compress to let the race out kind of like the clip on an axle shaft when you tap on it, but I have never been able to tap one out with wire clip in place

Maybe the groove is deeper and it designed to actually lock in place more so than the axle clip style

 

I have had no success pulling race out if I could not get wire out, but as long as I can get the wire out, I have had good luck, so far

I know you did not want to weld, but I have had the best luck tacking a bolt in there and pulling, or tacking a nut then screwing in a bolt/slidehammer 

Also once you tack or screw a bolt in there you can use the rear center hole to tap it out also without having to drill

But I mostly liked doing that way as I did want to drill

I would try heat and penetrant to to get that wire moving and out of the way first

Also, you might try to snug fit a bolt in the race and heat the outer case  and hit the bolt with freeze spray(or upside down can of compressed air) to tranfer cold to the inner race that might give you a thousandths or two clearance to shock/ loosen the grip and then tap it out

I think with some heat and vibration PB Blaster can get that wire moving and out of there

My best tool for moving that wire once loose is a small screwdiver that I filed a sharp chisel tip onto for bite, then I pry against side of the hole to scoot wire a bit at a time until the open ends show in the hole. Then i use the same screwdriver to lift/bend one end up and grab it with a small pair of locking hemostats and yank it out of there

 

Edited April 8, 2020 by AKATV

[jeepwm69 7,599]

I was using a large eyeglass screwdriver today to try to move the wire.  Couldn't get it to spin.

 

I've had limited success by screwing a large bolt into the bearing, then putting an impact on the bolt, which would screw into the race and then spin it in the bore.  Once I got to that point I could turn it slowly (again, big socket on the bolt, using a 1/2" breaker bar) until the end of the wire showed up, then pry it up, and spin the race a hair more and the wire would spin right out on its own.

 

But my bolt trick didn't work on either of these.  When It got tight it just ate the lip off of the race instead of spinning it.

[AKATV 820]

Boy thats a good trick to spin the race and have the wire feed right out the hole, as much as I hate doing these cant wait to try that out next time

I think some heat and penetrant are best right now

I was looking at D-Rays  video and saw how loose his clip was and I wonder if it possible to get underneath the clip from  and lift it enogh to get under it with steel wire (lockwire)

to thread under and yank it out that way or lift enough to grab at least will try next time I guess

Maybe if you have been tapping on it from the rear, the clip might be locked tight against the edge of the groove, tapping it back in a bit like retro mentioned might help take pressure off?

 

[shadetree 5,877]

getting the pinion needle bearing out is a shot in the dark bro !. toss salt, say a prayer, donate to your church..whatever ?, aint gonna make this job any easier !. this is why honda ( way back ! ) always said to just replace the whole case ?!. its a matter of pure freaking luck getting that wire to rotate, enough to get the end to show up in that tiny hole ?!?. i've had some that took less than 30 min's to get out ?, and others over 2 hrs !!!. its PURE LUCK !!. you WILL NOT  get that bearing out, without destroying the case if you do not get that wire clip out !!!!.

[shadetree 5,877]

on another note, i've got to rebuild a rear diff, lets see how i luck out ?, i'll post to here if i think of taking pic's ?..lol.

[toodeep 1,758]

I  tack weld a long rod to the race and lock that into the vise to spin the race to aid in removing the locking ring. Once the lock ring is removed a few taps on the housing and the race is out. Aluminum expands faster than steel so a little heat will help.

[LBZ 75]

Jeep, I use a tiny carbide burr on a dremel and "score" the wire then you can get a better bite to spin it around. I also fill hole with brakecleaner and use compressed air to blow through and try and get the crap out then pb blaster to lube the wire. 

[jeepwm69 7,599]

Good idea LBZ.  I'll try that before I break out the cheap wire welder.  I can't weld for squat.  LOL

 

 

[shadetree 5,877]

believe it or not, what you see is the diff full of crap , that i have no idea what it is ??, lol. got the ring gear out, and under all this was plumb full of whatever it is ???. the cases are rotted all to heck, ring gear and pinion gear '' could '' be used if ya had no choice ?, but the end of the pinion gear had a ton of rust, wear on it, i'd never use it, my bud would i bet !..rofl.

[Fishfiles 20,145]

Nothing wrong with that diff , fill it with some grease and send it !!!! LO ---Looks like a couple of case bolts broke off , I won't touch that stuff too much , it looks alive ,  some kind of iron fungi  !!! 

[Fishfiles 20,145]

Welding a bolt into the bearing race is a sure fire way to get the race  out after the ring clip is removed  ,  what you might be able to do is after welding the bolt in place ( and I grind the head of the bolt round to get a better fit and weld )  , you could double nut the threaded end of the bolt and maybe get the race to turn with a wrench , after welding it will be hot , a good time to spray it with some Kroil and try to turn it while it is still hot 

[Wheeler 2,525]

We are talking about the little needle bearing? When I rebuilt my diff a year a go or what ever it was... I could't get it out... I tried everything.. Finally just took it to Specialty Motorsports & paid them to do it. Only cost me like $30 if memory serves me correct. Either way it sure was worth it!!!!

[jeepwm69 7,599]

Yep.  That's the one.  It's a PITA for sure.

[shadetree 5,877]

jeep, if ya drill on the right spot at the back of that bearing ?, large enough to get a long drift punch in the hole ?, its always best to try to whack on the back of the bearing from two sides, this means, your shooting to hit the bearing out of there evenly !!. if you get it sideways ?, your wasting your time !. always try to smack on both sides of the bearing when hitting it from the drilled hole. DO NOT HIT IT WITH THE WIRE CLIP STILL IN THERE !!!, all that will do is bust the case out, then its ruined.