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I'm on the homestretch with my '66 Toronado front end. I drilled out all the original upper and lower ball joints and will be replacing them with new ones. I also removed the old, original, front wheel bearings and am getting ready to bolt everything back together. Just looking for a bit of help with a plan of attack in getting those hubs back in the knuckle. I'm come too far now to screw it all up!
See my picture below as this is where I currently stand. I'll be bolting in new upper and lower ball joints, then the knuckle goes on followed by the brake backing plate. Then the bearing/hub goes in. I tested it on the bench and it's a very tight fit so they don't just drop in, so to speak. So any thoughts on getting that bearing/hub to go in with minimal fuss? I have the bearing/hubs sitting in my deep freeze currently as I figured it couldn't hurt. I'm not sure how much I can heat up the knuckle without damaging the new bearing seal at the rear of the knuckle.
Anyone have any tricks or tips on how to get that hub assembly into the knuckle? Thanks!
Last edited by ourkid2000; Feb 14, 2024 at 03:01 PM.
The CSM just says lube the outside of the bearing and tap it in. The bolts retain it, it should be a light press. I'd push the bearing into the spindle first, then slide the whole thing over the drive axle to mate the ball joints.
By the way, it would be smart to clean up the ID of the spindle with some scotchbrite before installing the bearing.
Oh yeah, have done all that already. I did consult the CSM regarding the install but it just seems like such a tight fit that maybe someone with some experience with this knows how it tends to go. I mean, it makes sense as I know what it took to pull them out with the slide hammer but it seems trickier than what the CSM suggests.
The only issue with doing what you suggested where you'd put the bearing in first is that the drum backing plate has to go between the knuckle and the bearing so you kinda have to put the knuckle in first, then mate the ball joints, then put the drum backing plate on, and then in goes the bearing/hub.
Oh, you didn't disconnect the brake lines. OK, then that's the order. It's obviously less risk to the drive axle to press the bearing in first, but then you have to deal with the brakes.
Oh, you didn't disconnect the brake lines. OK, then that's the order. It's obviously less risk to the drive axle to press the bearing in first, but then you have to deal with the brakes.
Yeah, I didn't want to add another step to the job. It's how the manual shows you how to do it anyway. I hope it doesn't come back to bite me somehow.
Finished this off this morning. Having the bearings/hubs in the freezer seemed to help a bit. Made sure everything was clean and lubed up all the surfaces. Then I just made sure the axle splines were lined up well to get it started and then used a soft blow hammer to tap it home. It didn't take a lot of force to seat the bearing.
