AWR-Fix: Remove Stuck Axle From Hub

[andrewwynn]

Well it finally happened to me. About the tenth time I've had to remove an axle from a hub and it was completely fused together.

I've never needed more than 6 hits with a 4# hammer using a 1" bolt as a "pin" punch, but this was bad enough I was pretty sure the hub was about to be cut into pieces with an angle grinder.

After it wouldn't move with a few dozen blows with 3# hammer, I hooked up the 5# slide hammer (and held three 3# hammer on the slide for 8#), pounded with that for ten minutes or so: long enough that the slide hammer threads were toast; I had to cut the last half inch off and clean up the threads so at least that wasn't destroyed.

Fortunately I had a replacement axle so it didn't matter if I mushroomed the end as long as I didn't make it too big to fit though the hub (spoiler alert it was close).

I realized the inevitable I'll probably have to replace the hub so now I can just swing full tilt with 3#.

I heated up the hub with a propane torch and spend about 90 minutes "I've been working on the railroad" pounding away.

So that's the end once I did get it out, but that did not happen in hour one two or three. It didn't happen on day one either.

I had to go to Chicago to work so I borrow a car and go work for a day or two and on the way back it dawned on me, take one of the big steel plates from my bearing press and some M14 bolts and washers to hold it to the hub and push that sucker out with a 1" bolt and 1000 ft·lb impact.



So: three hours for the first 1" and 30 seconds or so to finish it up effortlessly with the giant bolt and M18 impact!

So; the question becomes how do I clean up the rust from inside the hub so it's remotely possible to install the new axle?

Answer: cut the end off the mushroomed old axle and make a tool to scrape the rust out.



Take a close look; there is a ring about 1/3" where the splines are original height; the rest I turned down about .002" with a bench grinder.



Pound that through a dozen times or so, turning 3-5 teeth over each time.



Eventually I could push through with my thumb.

I didn't take a picture but at the end I put a little bit of steel wool in with the spline just over about 4-5 teeth at a time working my way around.

When I was done, the hub will go all the way onto the axle with zero effort!

So: as it turned out that was a very good practice for round two: