Ace - Hub Puller

[James Eastwood]

Hi there chaps. I'm rebuilding all the running gear on BE475, and have struggled to get the rear hubs separated, I've tried drifting the axle out without success. I would sincerely appreciate borrowing a hub puller from some one who lives not too far away from me. I'm based in Brentwood (UK) which is essentially the M25-A12 Junction 28.
   
   Many thanks James Eastwood

[Robin A Woolmer]

If you were near SO21 you would be welcome to borrow my 42 or 52mm hub pullers, Orson made these to my drawings but then went on to make them for sale!
   
   Robin

[James Eastwood]

Robin, very kind of you. I'm coming down to Bosham on the 29th Dec, so that may well be an option. James

[Exowner]

They can be very difficult to separate. I resorted to a 20 ton press which read 19.5 before it let go. Be very careful to avoid excessive pressure on the end of the shaft as it will close up the split-pin hole and bugger the thread (instant £300 bill). A collar that places the pressure on the shoulder will be needed unless it falls off easily. A 10 tom hand puller wouldn't touch it. I've got all the kit needed to support the assembly if it takes a big press to get it off. I'm near Christchurch

[Jim A]

Surprised to see my post of earlier in the week disappear.
Was it something I said?

[administrator]

Some posts may have been lost during the migration of the Forum to the new software.  If they start to disappear from now, please let me know as they shouldn't!

[SX Cobra]

James, I have no idea what the puller should look like but I have a Blue Point 4567G puller and access to a 30 ton press if that's any help.  The upside is I live in Billericay.  If any help let me know.

Mark

[James Eastwood]

General update on this task; I bought the proper puller from Malcolm Gammons up at Brown and Gammons and the upside of that visit was we had a good chat about my Ace and his Devin SS that he's raced at the Revival. I then successfully used the puller to separate one side with the 5 foot breaker bar / heat / 3kg hammer routine. On the other side I've had 9 attempts so far in the hope that with the heating and cooling it will eventually loose grip. But if it's moving, it's nano-meters rather than microns!

Question to AE512 - when you mount the assembly in the press how are you supporting the hub, are you pressing through the cast hub carrier?

Mark - you must be my closest ACOC member, hi thanks for making contact.

James Eastwood
BE475

[Exowner]

This is the kit that was used, and here are some pointers-

James, attached is a shot of the set-up used to remove the hub from the taper.
The components are as follows:-
2 x heavy weight pieces of rectangular section with cut-outs to accommodate the brake drum flange etc.
1 x old spinner with the centre turned out (I have n/s and o/s spinners to suit).
1 x heavy s/steel flange plate that  goes under the spinner and rests on the 2 sections and takes the load of the press.
1 x turned steel bearer which puts the load on the shoulder of the taper shaft rather than on the end of the thread.
1 x steel plug which sits on top of the steel bearer.

The first mistake I made, and it cost me a new drive shaft, was not making and using the turned steel bearer until I'd already collapsed the split-pin hole and crushed the end of the thread. This was done using my 10 tonne hydraulic puller. There is no way the end of the drive shaft can take enough pressure to part it without reliving the threaded part of the shaft of all load.
Once I realised that my nice new puller wasn't up to the job, the set-up which eventually worked was embarked upon.
A bottle of red wine and a recommendation from a friend enabled me to use a 20t press in a local small friendly garage.
I had no idea how close I'd got to parting the joint with my 10t puller. It could have only needed a touch more pressure, or loads more. It took 19.5tonnes on the dial before it let go!

You are more than welcome to borrow all the bits and pieces needed to do the job, or you could bring your assembly here and I'm sure we could use the same local chap's press, assuming it'll let go before the press reaches its max pressure. Sending it via the post is an option if you care to arrange the collection and return.
I'm in New Milton BH256RR Where are you based?
Glenn