As the title states I am having difficulty removing the carrier bearings from a 4th gen posi unit. My bearing separator/puller could not get under the entire bearing, and ripped off the cage and rollers. Now Im left with the inner races on each side of the carrier. I removed the one on the side with the ring gear bolts because I could get a 2 jaw puller on it (still had to put some cuts in the race with a cut-off wheel untill it stress cracked and litterly popped off the housing). Now the other side wont come off, there isnt room to get the 2 jaw puller I have in the two recessed openings.

How do people do this correctly?

 

Some other 2-jaw puller.

The one I use is one of those super cheeep crappy ones from AZ. Its little fingers are thin enough to fit under there and grab it.

 

i use a snap on puller set, i use the jaws to fit the bearing and a long screw and then a plate on the inside oppsate the bearing i'm pulling. works out real easy getting them off that way.

 

you could always grind the puller jaws down until they fit into the recesses....then it will be a custom tool.

If you tighten it up and preload the bearing, you can make them slip right off with a little bit of heat, oxy/acetylene or a little propane torch.

 

One way that works very well is to use a hydraulic press and a bearing separator. You clamp the bearing separator under the race and set that on the base of the press. Then you press the center of the carrier out of the race. Pretty much any garage should be able to do it in 10 to 15 minutes taking their time. A press also works very well to press the new bearings on.

 

Another method I've used with great success, although you have to be very careful, is to use a 4" grinder with a thin cutoff wheel. If you cut into the inner bearing race until it's paper thin, you can then use a hammer and a sharp chisel in the notch you created with the grinder to split the bearing race. It just falls off after you split it. It usually takes just a couple of good whacks with the chisel to split it if you make the cut deep enough. You just have to be very careful that you don't cut deep enough to put a groove in the cone that the inner race presses onto. I had the same problem with the pullers not being able to fit underneath. On a couple, I couldn't even get my bearing seperator to fit underneath, and this method took care of the problem. The pullers almost always end up pulling the bearing cage and rollers off the first time you attempt to remove it. I use a similar method to remove axle bearings too, except I use a die grinder with a barrel shaped stone to grind down the outer bearing race until it's really thin, then the hammer and chisel again. I used to rent those cheapie slide hammer style pullers from the parts stores, and they never work right because everyone else that's rented it before have already trashed the lips on the puller forks.