Thread: It was only a matter of time

Originally Posted by Chops

The rollers themselves look to be in good condition, as in not deformed, so I'd think "they" are not that badly effected. I'm not sure what would actually "hold" it on so well if its all spinning well.
Does the wheel look to be on an angle at all? The only thing I can think of is if it has actually collapsed at the rear and worn a fair lip to which it is now catching on. If they weren't put on properly to start with, it could be it has just worn like that, without necessarily damaging the rollers themselves.
Put the car on its wheels gently as Weeds said, it'll probably dislodge at that point.
Hope that all makes sense.
I've had to fix a welded up unit before (old Valiant),, ended up having to replace the whole lot,, but had to give it a try first,, as you do Also had a bearing (ball type on an old trailer) completely collapse, still managed to get a few miles out of it, but alas

I'll be giving that a crack this morning. I'll post up how i go

Originally Posted by Nick6273

It spins around with the greatest of ease when I spin it.

Does the inner race of the bearing spin on the stub axle or do you mean the hub spins on the bearing OK ?

Hub by Colin Radley, on Flickr


The inner race of the bearing should be able to be rotated as it's only a light interference fit on the stub axle.
If it's managed to friction weld itself to the stub axle or, as John mentioned, been Loctited then that would stop you getting it off.

If it's Loctite then heat should release it, if it's welded then you have a bigger problem.

Best of luck,


Colin

Another thought - a Dremel or similar, used carefully, should enable you to dismantle the outer bearing, although it would probably take a while. And once you get it off, you would probably still have the issue of removing the remains from the stub axle. (It may be possible to destroy the cage holding the rollers - in this case the rollers can be removed one by one with only a small notch ground in the race

Actually, I suspect that about now you might want to check prices and suppliers for stub axles (make sure you get the right one - they changed during S3 production, and what you have may not be original). If the price is suitable, bearing in mind the stub axle may need to be replaced anyway, a small cutting wheel on a Dremel would fairly rapidly remove the last couple of inches of the stub axle.

Right.....no luck. I dont know who put this on but by God if i ever meet them.....

YouTube

Ive just grabbed a quick vid of the hub turning.


Im open to suggestions. I just cant get this devil off..... i was considering drilling a couple of small holes in the inner race and seeing if i can get that turning with some pliers

Humm, they certainly don’t sound to be in good condition.
I think I’d be trying to belt the inner race with a chisel to see if you can free it that way. Both directly in, and to the sides.

Right..... im going to find a press.....

Originally Posted by Chops

Humm, they certainly don’t sound to be in good condition.
I think I’d be trying to belt the inner race with a chisel to see if you can free it that way. Both directly in, and to the sides.

The bearings are all getting turfed and replaced with some shiny new ones. With replacing every nut and bolt I'm not going to be putting old bearings back in.

I've belted it with a chisel and have tried the gas wrench to heat it in case some bright spark used loctite.

I have a friend with a press and I'm going to head round there and see if that works. Thankfully I have a full rear axle if I need to go after parts. . . .

When you get it off, let us know what is holding it!