Removing bearing races

[Mike]

I had a hard time removing a bearing race from the axle tube of my rear Dana 44 tonight. I kept fighting with it for a while and then did what I always do when something isn't working for me: I Googled it!

I found several sites that recommended running a heavy weld bead on the inside of the race to make it break loose. I was a little skeptical because most of these examples were doing this to remove a race from an aluminum housing. After fighting with it for a few more minutes, I broke down and put the welder to it.

The trick works! You need to pull the race out quick before it cools though. I had to do the trick twice before I got the race free. When I moved quick, the race popped out easily.

Just thought I would share in case you hadn't heard of this handy option. :2:

[RAT]

You know, now that I think back at how badly deformed that bearing was, I wonder if the race may have cocked slightly in the bore from all the wobbling around that bearing was doing. It doesn't take much. Normally the race isn't all that difficult to remove... Glad you figured it out.