VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1937-1945 Rear differential bearing race

Hi all. Can someone tell me if the rear differential outer bearing races are replaceable and if so how do you remove them. This is on my 40 Chevy master85. Thanks. Cliff

Are you asking about the axle bearings? Out by the wheel?

Yes sir. It looks to me like the race is welded to the diff housing

You need a three jaw internal slide hammer puller to get them out.

I have that tool and have the bearings removed. My concern is the removal of the races which look to be welded to the diff housing. Do most guys use the old races or cut the weld and weld new races in. I have one side of the diff where the race is real bad. Thanks. Cliff

I am not sure of the arrangement of your model but suspect it to be the same as my 38. In which case the inner race is a smooth sleeve press fitted to the axle shaft. The rollers, cage are a tight fit into the housing. With the slide hammer the rollers and cage quite often distort and fall out in many pieces you then use the slide hammer to pull the outer race from the housing it is not welded in.
in the rare instance (if very tight) you can run a bead of weld around the area the rollers run to aid race removal.
Tony

Thanks for the info Tony. On my 40 I cannot catch the race with my tool because it sits lower than the differential tube it butts up to. It appears there is a factory weld around the entire race to the differential housing. Hope I'm being clear. Sometimes I'm not. Thanks Cliff. I'll see if I can post a pic later

I would call it the outer race. I can't get my pic to post

If the rollers run against it I would also call it outer race and therefore it should come out with the slide hammer. If the rollers dont touch it it is probably the bearing housing and you dont want to remove it.
Tony

If you send your photo to one of us, we will post it for you. My curiosity is mounting and I am sure I am not alone.

Here is the picture posted on ChevyTalk.
http://www.chevytalk.org/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/326316/

The pic indicates your housing is slightly different to mine. By what I see you have all of the bearing and seal out and the welded part is part of the housing and should stay there. The new bearing should be a very neat fit into the housing and the seal will be slightly tighter.
Tony

Thanks for helping guys. This piece that's welded in is where the roller fits into. The one side is tore up beyond repair. I'm working on getting it out. It's a real b____! I was thinking of maybe installing a piece of hard metal pipe, the right size diameter. Since the outer race is on the roller. Should I just forget trying to repair this rear and use a newer one. If so which rear is suitable without too many modifications. I really wanted to keep it stock with a full restore but that may not happen now. This is really aggravating. Thanks for all the help. Cliff

I have an axle housing that I can sell you. I could ship it by bus. I am out of town until next Wednesday. I think my housing fits 41 to 48. Gene and others should be able to tell you if the 40 Master Deluxe used the same axle.

Thanks, Mike

P.S. At a family reunion so will not be available for much correspondence. The end of my housing is the same as pictured above.

The 1939 and 1940 are the same.
The 1941-1948 is different.

Hi guys. Has anyone ever tried to replace these sleeves? I'm going to try and see what happens. The one side is ruined so I can't hurt anything. Thanks for the help. I'll let you know how I make out. Cliff

Now that my '38's axle is off and I will be taking it apart very soon....if anyone wants any pictures of anything specific, let me know.