-Many months ago when I pulled the axles (hub, bearings, backing plate etc.
as a unit) it took a special homemade puller and and about 20 full force
wacks with a 10 pound sledge hammer before the outer bearing shell would
release from its rear housing (yes, the backing plate was unbolted, I did
apply heat and no there was no rust present). This in turn has ruined the
bearings. 1. My concern is that when reinstalling is the mere force of the
backing plates being tightened supposed to move the outer bearing shell back
into the housing? It took a W-H-O-L-E lot more force to get it out (like as
in the force almost pulled the car off the jackstands). 2. It seems prudent
to use too many shims to initially set the axle endplay. That way the extra
shims (where can they be purchased?) could just be removed (after taking a
reading), the backing plate retightened and the setting should be proper. My
concern here is that if the reading is no endplay or too little I will have
to apply opposite force to the bearing (to create the play) which in my case
damaged the bearings prior. Does anyone recommend honing the axle bearing
bore out (slightly, I know it can't be loose) to make the fitting less
compressed. Note: I would not trust using the old shim values as the
differential was changed and the floating piece that that transfers the
thrust may be of a slightly different dimention. Not to mention that there
was no detectable endplay before I pulled it apart anyway.
-Are there any brake drums from other cars that fit the Tiger? I heard
something about the "available at Pick A Part" Mercury Capri (the old ones).
The hubs also took gargantuan force to remove. As many of you probably know
the axle with the backing plate attached is not conducive to removing the
hub (or the bearing for that matter) with a press as it gets in the way. In
my 101 attempts to get the hub off I tried supporting the hub with the drum.
Big mistake. Advantage - stuck hub! Now I need a drum (and being that this
may be the most "budget" Tiger rebuild - ever - buying a new one is not "on
budget"). If anyone has a deal on a used drum I'm listening or if you have
an old out of legal spec hub for free (I'm in Thousand Oaks Ca.), well,
temporarily I just need to push the car around, but it would be nice to have
brakes regardless of how slow a push is. By the way, to get the hub off I
finally bolted it to the spare tire (with the air out), closely supported
the rim with two sawhorses, applied penetrating oil, heated the hub,
cushioned the loosened castlenut with a steel plate and wacked the thing at
least ten times with full overhead swings from a 10 pound sledge hammer
before it would come loose. Again as with the bearings there was virtually
no rust. It seems absurd to me that repairs can be made removing these parts
with an ordinary slide hammer and that the parts won't get damaged in the
process. At least not after what I experienced. Thanks if any can help in
any way, Tom Witt B9470101
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