I bought one!

[AtomicHillbilly]

I just got home from buying my first Deuce, '71 W/W! Sweet truck, seems to run well, man I love that whistler turbo. Just one small problem (I knew this going in)- I need to replace the front driver wheel bearings. Not a tough job right? Yeah, well things never go that way. Apparently when the past owner drove it last, he noticed it was shaking a lot. He got home, jacked up the front, and the driver's side wheel fell off. As we say where I'm from- "That ain't no good at all". The race and inner nut (one you adjust the preload with) were somewhat fused together. They look almost melted to be honest. I was able to very carefully massage the nut off (git yer mind out of the gutter) with an angle grinder and a few whacks with a chisel. The bearing was a different story. I ground as far as I dared through it at the locknut keyway so as not to damage the spindle threads or cut too deeply into the spindle itself. We tapped and tapped (then beat and beat, then lamblasted and lamblasted) with the chisel but were unable to loosen the race. As you will see in the photos, the cage and rollers are already completely gone. I tried heating it up with a MAPP torch, to no avail. The seller said he has a torch with a 'rosebud' tip at work we might be able to heat it up with. Personally, I don't know that heating the spindle that much is a good idea. I am thinking about just replacing the spindle. However, I can't seem to find one at any of the surplus parts places online. I am hoping to go back in the next few days to replace the bearing and get the otherwise solid truck home. So, I guess this rather long winded and verbose post boils down to two central tenets:

1. Any other ideas on how to get the race off? I don't think a slide hammer is going to do much good as there isn't enough of a square lip on the inside of the race to grab on to.

2. I need to buy a spindle. I live near Knoxville, TN; the truck is located near Rome GA. Anybody in these areas with one for sale?

Thanks for any assistance and pointers you can avail me of.

 

[Recovry4x4]

Save yourself any further headaches and buy a spindle. That one will never be right again. Get on the horn with the crew at White Owl in Kinston NC. Your UPS zone should get it there in a day or two. Then it's just a matter of greasing it up and going home.

 

[dozer1]

Your right, it is an otherwise sweet lookin' truck..If it were in my shop and I had my stuff all handy, I would probably wire wheel the race and spindle clean ( wire wheel on the 4.5 inch grinder) . Then I would take and do some spotwelds on the race with the wire feed being extremely carefull not to weld it to the spindle. that would make it "grow" fast and prob twist it off with a water pump pliers. But that is if all that stuff is at your disposal. Under a tree it would be a different story. Maybe I would consider that rose bud offer for a try....good luck and hello from Mn.

Oh and it prob goes without saying that checking the other one out good when you get home would be a good idea as well as the back axles..brakes-seals

 

[wreckerman893]

Heating the bearing will cause it to expand and it may pop off. Apply the heat to the bearing and try not to get the spindle any warmer than necessary.

One old trick my welding teacher showed me was to get it hot and put a candle on it and let the wax melt all over the offending stuck part. The parrifin will get sucked between the two surfaces and will loosen them up.
Sometimes it takes a couple of times to work. Tapping on it between applications helps the process.

I used this on a trailer landing gear and it worked great.

 

[ctmustang]

I do this for a living if that means anything-REPLACE THE SPINDLE! And then go around and grease and inspect all the others on the truck. If one wheel is that bad then chances are the rest need some overdue attention. You could save yourself a later headache or a long walk or an accident.
CT

 

[flyxpl]

have you cut completly through the race ? I would cut the race at the 6 o clock position , about 180 degrees from the first cut . Hopefully then you could get the race to crack where the cuts are with a hammer and a chisel . Is you slightly cut into the spindle it should at least get it home until you get a new spindle .

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'd make another cut, just like you did, but 180 deg opposite from the first cut. Knock it off it two pieces/halves.

 

[319]

I agree with a new spindle. If you haven't already, better check all of your wheel bearings and hubs.

 

[AtomicHillbilly]

I definitely think the new spindle idea is the best. I could keep fighting with it, but there's always the chance I could warp it, especially if I heat it too much. It doesn't look like it's that hard to replace, gauging from an article I read on here about replacing the axle seals. I was surprised by how similar the wheel set up looks to a Jeep CJ- just scaled up. However, as I said in the initial post, I just have to find somewhere to buy one. I will give the place in Kinston a call on Monday. Any other ideas on where to locate a spindle? The guy I bought it from said there is a fellow in Rome who works on M35A2's and has provided some parts for this truck (btw, i'm already thinking of naming her Danielle the Deuce) in the past. Considering the size of this MV community, does anyone on the forum know this person?

 

[rchalmers3]

Looks to me the outer bearing inner race most likely spun on the spindle before seizing, making it highly likely you will need to replace the spindle. Call George at White Owl for the price on a new spindle, I think you will find it's not gonna be too expensive to replace. He has the bearings, seals and little stuff you need to repair that hub.

Rick

 

[Atwater]

stuck bearing

weld a couple of nuts to the race then drill two holes (about the same distance apart as the nuts) in a piece of heavy plate . place the plate over the end of the spindle . stick some all thread through the holes and thread into the nuts . use two more nuts on the other side of the plate to draw off the race. the welding shouldnt be enough heat to bother the spindle but then maybe the spindle is already toast. good luck!

 

[Recovry4x4]

Trust me, you will not need to look any further than White Owl for the part at a fair price. As far as replacing it, you are right there, 10 more bolts you can swing the backing plate out of the way and knock the spindle loose. Once you get it back to your AO, take them all apart and clean and repack everything. You are not far from being able to do a boot replacement (zipperless) and I'd seriously consider that when you can. All of the advice you had on removing the bearing is all good and you probably could get the galled steel off. In the long run I would consider that a trail fix and correct the problem at the earliest convenience. We are talking a spindle that supports the steer tire and a 13,000# truck.

 

[dozer1]

Looks to me the outer bearing inner race most likely spun on the spindle before seizing, making it highly likely you will need to replace the spindle. Call George at White Owl for the price on a new spindle, I think you will find it's not gonna be too expensive to replace. He has the bearings, seals and little stuff you need to repair that hub.

Rick

Doesnt that just "gall" you when that happens? Yes if the race has spun on there , I would agree completely with this post

 

[DUG]

Trust me, you will not need to look any further than White Owl for the part at a fair price. As far as replacing it, you are right there, 10 more bolts you can swing the backing plate out of the way and knock the spindle loose. Once you get it back to your AO, take them all apart and clean and repack everything. You are not far from being able to do a boot replacement (zipperless) and I'd seriously consider that when you can. All of the advice you had on removing the bearing is all good and you probably could get the galled steel off. In the long run I would consider that a trail fix and correct the problem at the earliest convenience. We are talking a spindle that supports the steer tire and a 13,000# truck.

This is exactly what needs to be done - new spindle, new bearings, new boot - no problems.

 

[rchalmers3]

Doesnt that just "gall" you when that happens? Yes if the race has spun on there , I would agree completely with this post

There's galling when two parts rub and trade some surface metal. Then there's this example. The outer race appears to have past the point of galling, into the realm of fusing. The coloration and mis-shape are indicators.

Any of you guys familiar with that process (used on automotive crankshafts for example) where you twist metal parts together with a lot of force and join them? Whats that called?

If that outer race is not fused, it was well on it's way to being that way!

Rick

 

[clinto]

This is exactly what needs to be done - new spindle, new bearings, new boot - no problems.

Yupp-Recovry4x4's advice here is bulletproof.

 

[AtomicHillbilly]

I do tend to half @ss some things(or did with my jeep), but the idea of taking any chances on the steering of a 13,000lb chunk of 40 year old steel doesn't thrill me. My main thing now is just to get the truck home- after which I will definitely take my time and go through it all. Luckily its only about 3 hours from my house. I thought about changing the u-joint boots and everything else in there, but they are in good condition and its a shame to fix it if it ain't broke. The truck really does look to be in good mechanical shape other than the seized race. I took a buddy with me who is a commercial driver and he was impressed with the truck, given its age. The engine runs waaay smoother than the one in a GL truck I previewed at Redstone a couple of weeks ago. If memory serves, I think Danielle's odo read ~4,500 miles and ~800 hrs... Must have gotten a rebuild not too long ago. btw, how do I tell when the last rebuild date was? I noticed a kind of triangle shaped aluminum plate pop riveted to the Driver's side door threshold- looked like it was pretty new and had some dates or something engraved in it.

 

[AtomicHillbilly]

Just looked at one of my photos- 4,562 miles, 832 hours.

 

[davey8943]

Any of you guys familiar with that process (used on automotive crankshafts for example) where you twist metal parts together with a lot of force and join them? Whats that called?

Friction Welding, Its a pretty neat idea. I have heard of pistons and skirts being put together like this. I have never seen the process though

Dave

 

[stumps]

Cut it opposite your first cut, and put a cold chisel in the cut and give it a whack. A small cut in the spindle isn't going to harm the new bearing hub one bit. After you get the old bearing hub off, look carefully to see if it galled up the spindle. If it did, you maybe able to clean up the spindle with a fine mill file enough to fit a new race.

When you get home, a new spindle is in order.

-Chuck