The next time you need to remove an inner wheel bearing race from a hub, put your grinder and chisels down and reach for the Steck Inner Race Hub Saver instead.
The Steck Inner Race Hub Saver gives you the ability to safely remove the interference fit without damaging the reusable hub in five minutes.
Removing the inner bearing race from the wheel hub can be a frustrating task due to tight tolerance and the need for expensive special equipment. Many technicians opt-out of buying expensive specialty equipment and attempt removal methods that are dangerous and potentially destructive. Damage to the reusable hub leads to additional costs and lift downtime while waiting on parts.
Steck’s new Inner Race Hub Saver is a 6” steel cone cylinder with an integrated bearing in its base nesting in an 8.5” heavy base to allow a technician to place the hub on the tip of the cone to rotate the hub with one hand while applying heat from an oxyacetylene torch. While rotating the hub the oxyacetylene torch will raise the temperature of the inner bearing race evenly and quickly a few hundred degrees causing the race to expand and release from the hub due to its tight tolerance. This allows the technician to remove the race from the hub in about 5 minutes
The Inner Race Hub Saver allows the technician to easily remove the interference fit instead of trying to use a grinder and or chisels to break hardened steel as well as using bearing splitters under extremely high pressure.
Here’s How to Use It
- Unbolt or press out the wheel hub and bearing assembly from the knuckle on the suspension arm of most (many late and older model) Toyota, Honda, Ford, Acura, Mazda, and some Subaru, VW, Audi, and BMW applications
- Clean spindle both before and after interference fit removal with emery cloth and remove grease with brake cleaner or solvent.
- Assemble Inner Race Hub Saver steel cone into base and place hub on top of the cone. Place CLEAN hub and inner race assembly on assembled cone and base.
- Put on proper PPE, such as goggles, gloves, etc. to light the oxyacetylene torch.
- While slowly rotating the hub, hold the torch at a 45-degree angle, concentrating heat in the center of the bearing race for approximately a minute or until it slides onto the cone. If the bearing does not release from the hub within 2 minutes, let assembly cool down to room temperature and repeat starting at step 2.
- Turn off the torch and invert the Inner Race Hub Cone to remove the interference fit before it cools.
Labor/Material Savings:
The Inner Race Hub Saver allows the technician to replace the bearing assembly for around $45-70 cost versus $200-500 cost or more in about 5 minutes versus 30-45 minutes.
SKU: 71310
See your local jobber for pricing.
