Transfer Case Output Bearing

[jazz]

Output bearing is making noise. I determined this as there is a bit of play at driveshaft. It only makes noise if both wheels are in locked position so basically when truck is in 4 wheel drive. I had a spare transmission on floor so opened up the transfer case just to see what is involved and do I have the proper tools. Pretty basic, only thing I am lacking is a press to put bearing on shaft so I ordered parts.
Anyone else done one of these? Any tips or horror stories?

 

[kennythewelder]

One of the things we do at work, is press bearings. Normally, the outer race is a slip fit, and the inner race is your press fit. Sometimes its all tight, and needs to be pressed. To remove that bearing, I would most likely weld a pipe to the inner race, and a slid hammer to that, then slide hammer it out. To install the new one, I would again use a pipe that fits the smaller race, and try to tap the new bearing in with a hammer before I would try to set it up in a press. Also I always smear greese on the contact points. Because of the way the case is made, it will be difficult to set it up on a press so that you can put backup on the case, so you are not putting pressure on the housing. If the new bearing wont hammer in, the I would press it, but 9 out of 10 times it will.

 

[kennythewelder]

More info. If the bearing wont come out, I would take a torch and cut the cage that holds the ball bearings, then split them to remove them. After that the shaft can be removed. To remove the outer race, I would weld a bead to the inside of that race. This will shrink the race, and it will almost fall out on the hole. The inner race on the shaft, can be heated to be removed. Take the shaft and stand it on end so that the race will fall off when heated. You may need to get the inner race cherry red but we do this all of the time at work. We get a lot of things at work that people can not get a part. Someone brought an axle shaft in that they could not get the bearing off the other day. I put a split plate behind the bearing, and set it up in the 250 ton press, because it is horizontal, and with the length of the shaft, the set up was much easier. Well once I started pressing, the outer race broke under pressure. Ball bearings went flying everywhere. Glad we have a cage around the press. The inner race was still on the shaft, and I had to heat it cherry red, then tap the shaft with a hammer to get the race to fall off. You could tell it had be on the shaft for a long time. The axle shaft was coated with dust, not oil as it should have been.

 

[kennythewelder]

Sorry for all the long post, but there is one more thing that you need to know. If you don't back up the case, and try to press against it, you will crack the case and this is why I would try to hammer the bearing in. You will have to take the case apart to put a back up in on the seat where the bearing goes into the case. One more thing, you never want to press where the ball bearings are in a bind. This will scar the races and the bearing will be ruined.

 

[jazz]

From doing a practice R&R on the floor unit there is no race, we were expecting one but bearing sits in casing housing. The bearing came out quite easily by tapping on the shaft towards casing. A press will come into play installing new bearing on shaft.
Machine shop at end of street will press the bearing. A generous donation to their coffee fun R&R's bearings