Can anyone tell me what size hydraulic press is required for removing/replacing wheel bearings and misc. auto applications? Thinking about buying one, I never see specs in any of my manuals when using a press is called for. I see affordable hobbyist ones usually at 10, 12, or 20 tons, would this be enough? Thanks for any info.
20 would be a good start. You want a tall one...it's a bitch to discover your press is too small for the job you want to do. also get a bearing separator or two. make sure it's high quality, not typical chinese crap.
I'm on my 2nd 20 ton Harbor Freight. (Left the 1st one behind when I left Sunny California.) Worked fine for removing and replacing axle bearings. The HF bearing removal tool used in conjunction with the press works well too. One of my friends has a 12 ton HF and it does what he needs hot rod-wise. I see more than a few of these in shops around town. Far as I'm concerned, presses are the scariest tool in the shop. Wear safety goggles. Along with things failing like the disc brake hub shown in a recent HAMB post, the bearing proper can fail. I had a bearing let go and shoot the big round bearings all over the shop when the outer race failed . . . my fault on this one. Get yourself an old motorcycle tie-down strap and wrap it around the axle and both sides of the press frame in case the axle wants to come shooting out sideways.
Another thing about having a press is you'll discover you can no longer throw away any round steel tube....it's a press tool now! I have a drawer full of different sizes of short lengths of pipe.
I also picked up a habit of grabbing pieces of steel with holes drilled through them whenever I spotted a likely sized one...more good press tools. This is a permanent hobby, since obviously you need to find one of every possible hole size...
I have a cage to put around bearings so if they blow up they won't kill you. I had one blow up once, and it was like a little hand granade going off, Get the biggest press you can afford--size matters
Yeah, I already started thinking about pieces I should have saved! Is full face mask protection overkill? Any other safety tips other than common sense? Thanks for the fast, reliable information, guys.
no, it's not overkill. flak vest wouldn't hurt, either. old inner bearing races are keepers, too. split 'em and they're easier to remove when they get stuck on whatever you're pressing. i finally bought one for home, use to just haul what ever needed pressing to work.. pain in the ass...
I haven't ever had a bearing explode, but I try to always support them by the inner race, not the outer race.
So one afternoon I got some spare time and I'm tired of borrowing and hauling my shit to another shop. I drew up the plans for this and off to the metal store we go. It has exactly 24' of tubing in it so 1 stick made the entire thing. Cut,drill,lay-out,weld. The most expensive part was the 12 ton jack when I built this one. But I'll bet the steel would be higher priced now. I would get a couple of spreaders like squirrel mentioned. I've had this press in the shop for 28 years and it is on it's 3rd jack >>>>. I will add this. Size does matter as in don't get too big of a press cause if you do all these dick-weeds will be carting shit in your shop that will require a fork lift to move around. And the bigger the press the higher the risk factor of shit going wrong>>>>.
Me too, but I didn't have the bearing separator where it should have been. I note one thing on the HF 20 ton presses. The one I left behind was taller and built of slightly heavier metal. The new and shorter one is a touch lighter, but so far it's working ok. First use for the darned thing was pressing the steering wheel off a shaft. Regular pullers wouldn't phase it. No column involved, I found shaft and wheel lying in the dirt at the junkyard - which was cool cuz that was all I wanted. You can build a nice steering column with the 37" (usual length) shaft and cutting the steering wheel off of the hub and cleaning up the hub with lathe or grinder gives you a piece that has enough room to take the typical hot rod aftermarket three bolt steering wheels. A little drilling and tapping and you're in business. 37" is an excellent length for the shaft, no cutting required. Ergonomics are great and the long shaft makes for a good angle on the steering U-joints.
To add to the collection of press "tools "... Find a couple of old d4 or d5 cat wrist pins. ( yup , they are big ! ) The absolute best tool to support axles and hubs when pressing studs. And what ever else your mind can dream up. Dave
Yeah we used one for axle shafts also. Easy to make. a short piece of 5 or 6" pipe with a 1/8" plate over one end. The plate has a hole that lets the axle come through. Drop it over the axle just before you start to press. It traps any projectiles. Simple, easy and safe.
I bought a used HF 30t press from a guy at work for 100$, He used it on 1 set of axles bearings .... now friends and neighbors use it more than I do.
Lots of HAMB folks just chipped in on this 30# one from Grizzly for Ryno who has come to the rescue of many HAMB members over the years. We also got him a bearing seperator and Slide/Slap hammer. http://grizzly.com/products/30-Ton-Shop-Press/H6228
Like Tomslik said, keep old bearing races. Hit the O.D. all around with a bench grinder and they are just the right size to press in the new bearings without getting stuck.
Personally I would go with a 30 ton press. The smaller ones seem to not have enough room between the sides (uprights ) of the table to slide an axle thru from the bottom. Makes the job alot easier. Also the height between the bottom most position and the ram can be too short at time on the smaller presses. jerry
A good size length of heavy wall roll bar tubing about 1 1/2"-2" in diameter works real well for installing axle bearings/retainers on axles (like 8-9" Ford). I have one with a thick plate welded on one end to push against.....works great. Seems like as time goes by you devise more "tools" and uses for a good press.
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