Differential questioon

[BBillyC]

I took my dif into a shop to get the bearings pressed off the old dif and put onto the new. the bearings are in great shape. They said 120 bucks, I said great. They phone me back and say can't press off the bearings because it will bugger the the cage, and now want 400 bucks to put on new bearings and set it up. In reading on line bearings have to go on and off for shimming. I am thinking (I may be wrong) that the old skills have been lost to these new shops and they just want to sell new stuff....or bearings can't be taken off. What are your thoughts? :stooges: Bill

 

[george68hemirr]

you said the bearing are in great shape so why are you getting them replaced??and why didnt you just bring them the pumpkin and axles for bearing replacement.....the axle bearings will have to be pressed on and the races in the axle tubes are poped out with a slide hammer tool that you could do yourself.....the pinion bearing is another story since they need a crush sleeve in front of the bearing and 2 axle bearings and then they have to reset the ring and pinion for clearance and alignment....thats why they want all that money......which is about right.....dont forget to replace your inner axle seals....good luck

 

[BBillyC]

I brought them all the stuff and asked them to remove the bearings from the old carrier and pinion and place them on the new dif and new pinion. They tell me that they can't take them off without breaking them. Yet everything I read says that if you have the proper tools taking them off without breaking them isn't a problem. If I have to replace the bearings then the price is about right...I was just pissed that they tell me one price then they tell me another. I think their just trying to up their profit margin and that they really don't have the old fashioned skills. If I had the puller I'd get them off in perfect shape. When I was a kid we'd heat them up with a heat gun to expand them slightly and usually we'd get them off. I was just trying to save myself the time and effort and focus on the narrowing and mini-tub. Yep, I am going to use green bearings on the axles. Have to press the old bearings off and pull the races from the axle tubes.

 

[george68hemirr]

IF YOU ARE GOING THAT FAR YOU MAY AS WELL REPLACE THOSE BEARINGS TOO

 

[mcmopar]

I'm not sure what the problem is if we are talking axle bearings. Back in '03 I had my local Goodyear store press off the old bearings and replace them with the Green bearing setup. It was a piece of cake.

 

[69hemibeep]

Billy. I have dealt with several places and it seem none of them save the bearings. One place may have tipped me off as to why. He said cut the bearing with a dye grinder as far as you can and finish it with a chisel. Then debure the old piece which will now fit loose and use it as a spacer for setting up the gears with shims. When you get that figured out you can then press the new bearings, do you think they keep all that old stuff? No they need yours to do it again. I do save mine and now and I set up my own. But the price is about right

 

[BBillyC]

Thanks guys. I told the guy to go ahead and do it. Too busy with the other stuff to worry about it. I had a week off work and trying to get as much of the work done to the car as possible. I should have the dif back on Friday.

 

[george68hemirr]

well you are kickin ass on your runner for your week off

 

[moparchris]

Bob is on to something. The carrier bearings specifically are pressed onto the carrier with an interferance fit. The bearings usually need a couple of tons or more to remove. The only way to grab them to pull them off is with a bearing plate and it only grabs the very edges of the bearing and puts most of the load on the race and rollers. This deforms them a little and even though they look okay they will be noisy. I never reuse carrier bearings. They are not that expensive and its really worth your while. They pinion bearings are a different story. They can be pressed on and off with relative ease. Its true that the bearings are pressed on and off to set the pinion depth. Most diff shops take a new bearing and turn a few thousanths off the inside diameter and are able to slide the bearing off and on to get the proper amount of shims. I guess what I am getting at is that you made the right decision. Car looks great, good job.