[riggs]

Hi all. I'm about to attempt the removal of the outer half shaft bearings on my 2600 spider. I see the locking ring and lock tab, but as yet have not tried to remove anything until I get the bearings. Any advice in advance most welcome. I can only assume the bearing will need to be cut for removal avoiding damage to the shaft and back plate.
Thinking of using a 5" disc cutter at an angle to avoid cutting of the back plate, is this the tried and tested method other than using the unattainable Alfa correct puller?
Also how tight is the locking ring likely to be?

 

[DPeterson3]

There are special Alfa tools that make this job easy. It can be done with non-original tools, with some difficulty, but in either case I don't recommend cutting the bearing off. Even a slight nick on the axle shaft would worry me about a future fracture.

I use a "spanner" type wrench to remove the nut. Please resist using a drift and hammer.

You can also take a piece of pipe the right size, and using a cutoff tool and grinder, create "teeth" that fit into the nut slots. Then, weld on two, stout handles. With two of the lug studs carefully secured in a vise, you can loosen the nut and remove it.

You can fabricate a replica of the factory tool for pulling the bearing. A little fussy, but possible.

I use a "bearing spitter" plate under the bearing, and a hydraulic press. Your press must be tall enough, but these are not that expensive, and are a fairly necessary tool even in a hobbyist shop.

 

[Ruud]

This looks similar to a 101 Sprint. I used a Gedore tool, about €10,00 see picture. I removed the bearing tapping with a 20mm round piece of steel from the wheel side.

Regards,

Ruud

 

[riggs]

Ok thanks for the advice. I have a C spanner that should fit the retaining nut, also have a 10 tonne press.
DP. What bearing splitter are you using?

 

[lpalmer]

Interesting that unlike later cars with disk brakes, the four bolts that attach the bearing retaining plate to the axle housing appear to held captive by the axle flange, unless there's a big hole in the flange that we can't see in the photo. If no hole, how do you get the bearing splitter in there with the bolts present? (And if no hole, don't forget the bolts before pressing the new bearing on!)

Edit:
Upon more careful examination of the photo, those appear to be studs, so no worries about forgetting them upon re-assembly. But same question about the bearing splitter.

 

[DPeterson3]

The name "splitter" is misnomer. Mine is Harbor Freight.
It is two flat plates, held together by two long bolts. You spread them apart, slide down the axle and past the bearing, screw together. Then drop the press table as low as it will go. Using blocks to straddle axle flange, press off bearing.

 

[boxandboat]

This is interesting to read. Thank you for this thread.

 

[riggs]

The male "splitter" is misnomer. Mine is Harbor Freight.
It is two flat plates, held together by two long bolts. You spread them apart, slide down the axle and past the bearing, screw together. Then drop the press table as low as it will go. Using blocks to straddle axle flange, press off bearing.

Thanks DP, unfortunately my bearing puller kit is too small. I'll see at the weekend if I can get the shaft to fit under my press.
Thanks for your help 👍

 

[DPeterson3]

I removed the four studs pointing inward from the flange.

 

[riggs]

I removed the four studs pointing inward from the flange.

Yep, that's the next job after replacing the oil seal in the axle tube.

 

[lpalmer]

Yup, removing the studs makes sense. As my brain slowly activates, I realize that newer cars have studs as well, but ATE-disk-braked cars may have a little room to maneuver, given the e-brake mechanism between the bearing retaining plate and axle flange.

Do 102 cars have a three-piece rear axle housing like 105s? If so, an alternative is to remove the the smaller of the axle tubes (or a spare if you have one laying around) and use that with a three-arm puller, per below. But maybe 102s have the one-piece "pumpkin" type rear end?

 

[DPeterson3]

102/106 have a one-piece axle housing plus pumpkin rear end. The one piece axle is a welded-up unit, not purely cast, so remarkably light, once the pumpkin and axles are removed.

Alfa, being historically performance-minded, generally used a type of stud with slightly large threads on the fixed end that better ensures both alignment and security against unwanted backing out. So, the four studs that secure the bearing retaining cover can be a little tight to remove, but careful double-nutting or a collet will work.

 

[DPeterson3]

BTW, the square bearing retainer plate can be warped with too much pressure in the wrong places. Carefully think through how to set things up, and maybe some torch heat on the bearing inner ring to expand it.

 

[riggs]

Update. I threw everything I had in my puller box plus a few improvised strategically placed spacers and with the aid of beer and a hammer Success. Kept increasing pressure whilst tapping the splitter with a small hammer and off it popped.
I was very aware of the retainer plate, no damage done.
Very pleased. Now I know what to do for the other side 😕

 

[DPeterson3]

Bravo!

 

[riggs]

Bravo!

That's what I said 😄.
New bearings will be here tomorrow. So I will attempt re-fitting maybe Thursday.

 

[DPeterson3]

Installation much easier. Remember the bearing retainer plate.

 

[riggs]

Bearings arrived today slightly earlier than expected. I decided to re fit today so I can re- assemble tomorrow and make a start on the other side.
As DP mentioned, fitting is much easier than removing.
I smeared a small ammount of grease on the inner surface of the bearing and the bearing seat, i also used two lengths of 10mm threaded bar through the two holes on the flange with just a little tention to hold the bearing square against the bearing seat. I also used a stainless flanged bush to push against the inner edge of the bearing, although this was not really necessary.
Once I was happy the bearing was sitting square I attached the puller and started pulling the bearing home. The 10mm threaded bar is redundant at this point and can be removed.
The bearing pulled up nicely, re-fitted the lock tab and locking nut and re installed the four retaining studs.
The whole process took about 40min.

 

[AR1959]

This looks likes the right way of doing it! For the less privileged, for the ones without the correct tools, I used the simple 'Fred Flintstone' method that can be found easily on YouTube. I used a hammer and chisel to tap loose the locking ring. Then, I used a grinder to make two cuts in the outer race of the bearing (without removing any studs). I put the chisel on one of the cuts and gave it a good whack with a hammer. It instantly broke in two halves. The inner race got the same treatment after removal of the bearing balls. The only risky part was to avoid creating a cut in the axle when removing the inner race, as Don has mentioned, as well. The new bearing was easily installed, after heating it in the oven at 125 degree Celsius, and tapping it down with a hammer (using a steel ring as a buffer). It worked out perfectly.

Gr., Pieter

 

[exhausted]

Pieter, my only concern with heating a bearing is changing the hardness of the steel, I may be wrong but isn't that annealing steel?
Tim