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120 lb woman vs. front wheel bearings

1950gmc girl

1950gmc girl

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Jul 16, 2007
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Location
Lincoln, Nebraska
Wheel bearings are fun stuff, let me tell ya. Okay, I am being fececious. I replaced the rear bearings about a year and a half ago with no problem, and now the fronts are in need of being replace. I have a stock front end on my 1950 GMC with the standard ball bearings (I have roller bearings on the rear) I have replaced bearings on a lot of cars trucks and bikes, but have never had such a tough time removing the outer races from the hubs (for the front outer bearings) I have tried pounding them out with a mallet and a punch, but the damn things just will not budge! I am not sure if I should just give up and take the hubs into a shop and have them deal with it, or if maybe someone out there has any good suggestions. I have had this truck since I was seventeen. This is my daily driver, and although I have owned if for the better part of a decade I have only taken it to a mechanic 4 times. I figure if I can replace the transmission all by myself, I should be able to do these damn bearings. Any of you fellow gear-heads have any thoughts or suggestions?
 
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Hey GMC girl,

Best bet is to bring them to your FLAPS and have them pressed out and new races pressed in. I have tried punching them out myself on numerous occasions over the years and now I don't even think about trying that. Just bring them in so you can get rolling again.

Andy
 
Recalcitrant Bearing Races

They're prolly ust cocked and jammed in place .

Try beating them 180° out with the drift , maybe knock the race back in then begin over .

Once in a while , a race is well & truly stuck and you'll need to drag it to your loacl welder and have him run an electric bead all the way 'ound the face (working surface) or the race , this will shrink it ever so slightly so it'll tap right out .

Stiff bearing races are a good thing , untill you need to replace them .

Are they all beat up or what ? .
 
When I worked for chevrolet we would immediately go from the parts counter with the race strait to the freezer with the new one. Then next step is go to the torch to heat up the old one. Like nate said go 180 with the drift and it should pop right out. The reason for the freezer with the new one is it will shrink it ever so slightly to fit in without much trouble.

BTW welcome to the site. It's good to have another young lady around here. The last one got her truck done and we haven't heard much from her lately. Has anyone heard from the BOOP lately?
 
Of course you'd heat the race going onto the spindle.... :rolleyes:

Girls & trucks ~ what a great combo ! .

:D
 
Nate, you're gonna love this gal!

vwnate1 said:
Of course you'd heat the race going onto the spindle.... :rolleyes:

Girls & trucks ~ what a great combo ! .

:D
Click to expand...

Check out her bio. She's into bikes too!! Welcome aboard gmc girl. Looking forward to shooting the bull with you!
 
Too cool! WELCOME GMC girl!

Yah~HOO! Another GMCer!!! It's already yellow and white, all it needs is a little red and you got yourself a nice Chiefs truck!

Not just ONE GMC, but TWO!!! And an artist!

I love this site~ it just keeps getting better and better.

Good luck with your project! More pictures, please...
 
Hey Brit,
Throw caution to the wind!

GMCgirl,
You will have to forgive Zig. He goes ape over GMCs. When you add that you are female, he can't contain himself. I must admit, old trucks and girls are a great combo.
Welcome!
Gater
 
thanks

Hey thanks guys for all the tips! I will admit, that I decided to take them to a shop though. I had to pick up some brake lines that I was having custom made for my motorcycle, so I just brought the parts in with me. They took out the old races and put new ones in for a whopping five dollars. The best part of it all was the fact that I did not have to do this in the 100 degree heat! Working in an unairconditioned space on a hot Nebraska day is absolute hell. Bearings are done, and now it is time to move onto replacing that pesky steering box. I'll keep you all posted on how that goes. This truck is my ever-changing, never-ending project.

BTW- if anyone is ever in the Lincoln Area and wants to put their ride up against ol' yeller, let me know. This truck is a beast!
 
Go Big Red!

Corn fed Nebraska girl, eh? I spent the better part of my childhood in Omaha and Bellevue! 1959 through 1969 (except for 3 years in Hawaii '63-'66). Tell us some more about Ol' Yeller. And post some pics!
 
Zig have found his goddess. :eek:Go figure a woman with not 1 but 2 GMC's. Oh Well :confused:Welcome to the group. This crew can probably at times use some womans view sure got to be better then our distorted look we come up as a group.
 
Here is what I have done...
-dropped in a 400 small block v8
-installed a hotter cam, new lifters, valveprings, pushrods, etc...
-new intake, and and a 4 barrel carb (edlbrock)
-put a turbo 400 tranny behind all that (had to mod my driveshaft, and move my crossmember to make this work)

It pretty much hauls ass!

FYI- This is all going to change very soon though. I plan on dropping in a newer engine, and a T56 6 speed tranny. This will all come after I drop it on to an s10 4 wheel drive frame (I will not have 4 wheel drive though) shorten the box by about three inchs. What can I say... If I am going to make it faster, I must have the power steering and the front disk brakes. It will ride like new, but still look old. (much more practical for being a daily driver.)

As for my other GMC... It is an orange 1952 1/2 ton. It is all original, and I plan on restoring it to it's original showroom condition. This was my grandfathers truck, and the reason I purchased mine. He drove this truck when I was a kid. He would let me sit on his lap and shift gears and steer. What can I say. I was five years old and I was hooked! I bought my yellow truck about 10 years ago, and he gave me his orange one about 3 years ago before he passed away. I have major attatchments to both of these old trucks, and I will never get rid of them. It seem like every other day, someone comes up to me and tells me how they used to have an old pickup, and they wish they had never gotten rid of it. Well, I aim to never be one of those people!
 
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