HELP!! Can't get rear hubs to budge!!

This is a repost from the Plymouth social group.

I need serious help finding a hub removal method for my '55 Plymouth Belvedere. Tapered hub to axle fitting with a woodruff key.

Have tried :

1. bolt-on-hub-puller (bohp),
2. bohp with propane torch heat,
3. bohp with heat and 2.5lb sledge (bfh) on end of bohp,
4. bohp/bfh/heat & repeat every hour over four hours,
5. and finally have left the bohp under tension all night and day.

Still no budge. The drums are already removed due to researching a latemodel replacement drum. The drive it around with the axle nut loosened is not an option, the whole reason the drums came off and the hubs need to come off is a drivability and control issue.

Before I go get malicious with the BFH on the backside of the hub flange and potentially ruin my hub.... any other ideas?

Here's a couple links I found for removal guides....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=AcI-Di8BPI0

http://www.moparfins.com/repairs/Rea...moval.htm#drum

 

http://www40.addr.com/~merc583/mopar/framesets/techtipframeset.html

Scroll down to drum removal.

 

Ummm, am I stupid or is it only the drum that's tapered on and the hub is just keyed on the axle shaft?...pull the axles and press the hubs off in a hydraulic press?...

 

my uncle was a mopar tech for decades. he says good luck, sometimes you'll damn near yank the car off the jacks before it budges. you are on the right path, but the journey is hard. he said there is no perfect method, and sometimes you can f** it up. use that special puller for best results.

 

Trust your uncle, he is correct. Mopar tapers must be just a bit different, because they are the toughest ones out there to remove.

 

Post a picture of your BOHP.

Tooling needs to be massive in order to be rigid. It must be rigid to put the hammer energy into separating the taper instead of just flexing the tooling.

Make a 1/2" thick puller plate that fits the wheel bolt pattern and then weld a big fine thread nut (like 1" threads) in the center. In your case the nut may need to be on a piece of pipe spacer to clear over the axle shaft end. Install your homemade puller onto the hub (with the 5 wheel lugs not drawn up all of the way) and run a fine thread bolt into the big fine thread nut and up against the axle end. Tighten the 5 wheel lugs evenly (to put the whole works under tension) and then give it a good whack.

My homemade puller has worked very well for me on every single thing I put it up against, including rusty MoPar tapered axle hubs in Wisconsin junkyards.

 

use the puller, a little heat, and lots of beer!

 

Soak the joint in the kerosene/atf combo overnight with the puller on it.

 

I have had driveshaft end yokes that were seized onto a splined stub that wouldn't move with a puller and heat applied with a rosebud. I have had a couple of them pop loose during the cooling process overnight with the help of penetrating lube. This does not always work. Sometimes repetition will make it happen without damage to the tools being used and the parts being wanted to be saved.

 

I'm in Dallas...where you at?....have won many a fight with Mopar and Ford's keyed hubs....just sayin...send me a PM if your close...

 

(1) were ene nuts a little loose if so you can have a fight on your hands
that will leave groves and rewen key way will bure
(2) i have the heavy Snapon hub pullers it is the best i have found
leave the nut on the axel at the end helps to keep from deforming it
with puller bolted on and tightened you may have to beat on the end of the puller
(3) BFH on the back side will not help
if you were closer i could help
(4) last resort put key up drill a rowe of holes some times all you lose is the hub and key

 

Grind / cut them off and get replacments?

 

We had the "good brand" one that this ebay item was copied from 380399542973 in the high school shop and I used one in another shop and usually it worked better than anything else. I don't remember the brand though. It usually worked to put a couple of turns of pressure on the puller and then hit the end of the screw with the bfh.

An old Bluepoint unit. 230724320247 You can tell that one has taken a few good licks with that bfh.

New, 180781176080 first rate equipment.

There are a number of that style on Ebay. Everything from some that make HF look good to the top of the line ones.

 

There was a great thread where a guy built a super nice puller. It could be adaptable to the Chrysler rear. Maybe the OP will step up and give a link.

 

I totally believe the "yank the car off the jack stands" sentiment. I'll keep at it. Thanks for the moral support.

 

Hey, thanks. So it sounds like a couple days and nights of heat, lube, re-tighten, cool-down and repeat until it pops could be successful. That's alot better than buying whole new pieces. I'll keep at it.

 

Aww crap. Beer budget was gonna go to milling hubs to fit late model drums. Well, guess it'll wait another month.

Thanks for the love.

 

Thanks for the recommendation. You have a ratio for the kerosene/atf combo, or just make it think and slippery?

 

Good link. Thanks. whack-a-hub tool is in search.

 

50/50 ATF and kerosene.

 

I use one on Jeep tapered axles.This is the tool that will work,mine is the same only a Ken-Tool brand name.In the worst situations you will have to heat the hub to about 300-400 degrees.The hub can come off suddenly,do not stand in front of the puller and for added safety throw a towel over the hub to contain it.
http://www.handsontools.com/OTC-7394-Universal-Hub-Puller_p_12786.html

 

50/50 ATF/Acetone works really well too. Still, the issue is the tapered shaft to the hub where there is ZERO gap. There's a lot of surface area making full contact, it's also possible that over years of microscopic movement, some of those pesky little "welds" have set in. The heat thing could be more of a problem. You're expanding the axle right along with the hub. To combat that, you need really FAST heat to the hub and then get right on that puller the very moment that it's hot. Use an impact to hit the center up as well. That hammering is creating the vibes you need to get started. Short version? Pulling old hubs can be a real bitch as you're finding out right now. Looking forward though, DO NOT LUBRICATE OR GREASE THE TAPERED AXLE WHEN YOU RE-ASSEMBLE. Just get it nice and clean. The added pressure of the lube on the axle will actually expand and crack the hub under the severe pressures of seating it on the taper.

 

One more thing I forgot to mention...

Axle endplay is a factor. You are trying to drive the axle out of the hub when you give it that solid whack. If the axle is at the inwards limit of the endplay, more of the blow will be absorbed by the differential. If the axle is at the outwards limit of the endplay, more of the blow is absorbed by the inertia of the hub - which is much more effective.

Not sure if you can remove the axle/hub assembly from the rear end on your '55, but if you can, it will help. If it isn't possible, I would hold the hub at its outward limits by placing hardwood or steel blocking between the hub and axle housing. If the brakes were still on, people used to pull the axle out and then solidly apply the brakes, then give it a whack. Makes a big difference. My experience is with the '57 and later 8-3/4 axles.

 

I had the same concern on a dodge truck from that era. Got a big ol puller for a jeep and put it on and under tension and heated it with good penetrating oil...not WD40.. let it cool over night ...more oil then heat and more tension again and then hit the center bolt of the puller with a really big hammer, kinda made a big loud noise and came off.
Had an axle bearing from a Jag 120 that I had to load with about 28 grand psi before it blasted off. The biggest noise I ever made in the shop.

 

Propane torch heat ?
Are we talking about a hand tank and plumbers torch? If so that's really not enough heat and doesn't count.
Plumbers acetylene torch might do it but just barely with enough time.
500,000 btu weed burner and a gas grill bottle might do it with enough time.
Propane and oxygen torch will do it too.

 

A good sized rosebud is what works for me

 

That gives me a great thought, now to find a metal shop to build it. Make a hub puller with enough clearance for a large bottle jack to get between the axle and the tool or push away form the axle without applying pressure to the axle. Or using a come-along anchored to something very sturdy. Don't have anything in my toothpick and brick veneer garage, but it's a thought for one of y'all in a steel built shop building.

 

That's great advice to block the movement of the axle to the outer limit of endplay. I have been concerned that my consistent whacking with the BFH would damage the thrust block in the diff. Thanks for the GREAT TIP!!

 

Throw a few four letter words in there for good measure.

 

If you're leaving tension on it overnight, and using the lube and stuff, check out what this guy did.

http://jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=541848

The ramp thing might really help put a bit of sideways pressure on it, and that might be the key. Would explain why the driving/sliding thing works better than just pressure.