Rear wheel bearing won't come off...ARGH!!!

[Sterling Archer]

I tried to replace both rear wheel bearings today and all the hardware came out ok, ABS sensor cable unplugged fine etc... But the bearing would not slide off. The half shaft splines were not stuck in the bearing and were not the issue. It was as if the bearing was corroded to the bracket holding it.

The shoulder of the wheel bearing is only about 1/4", if that, that sits in the bracket mount. Tried whacking it with a BFH, hard rubber mallet nothing....Glot out a 3 armed pulley puller, that only pushed the half shaft back towards the pumkin 1.5" or so. Went to a slide hammer and tried to beat it off like it owed me money (I'm married so I'm familiar.)...no luck.

The mating surfaces are recessed and tucked in so soaking the area with PB blaster would make a mess and likely contaminate my e-brake shoes and there is no room to get a heat wrench in there.

What in the hell is wrong? There is no other hardware to remove, everything is free to just come apart.

 

[Mr Bean]

Surprised the puller didn't work. Can you not pack washers in it to help you pull it off?

 

[Sterling Archer]

Surprised the puller didn't work. Can you not pack washers in it to help you pull it off?

The puller didn't so much pull the bearing as it did push the half shaft towards the pumpkin. The bearing didn't move a bit and I didn't want to push on the half shaft any more. What surprised me is that the slide hammer didn't budge it...A freaking 1/4" of bearing ridge is holding it on as if it was welded....

 

[thenaaks]

Pb blaster, bigger hammer, heat. That's all you can do

 

[Mr Bean]

It needs more torque. I've done this on rotors with nuts and bolts before. Wind bolts in against the rear and use the puller on the front.

I did this on my old F150 and when the rotor let go it was like a gun shot going off.

Could you use this method with a stuck hub?