Hey Guys,

Another problem with my tracker again.... ITs a 91 Sidekick. After some recent mudding I think my front wheel beaing is shot.
I have it ripped apart and dont quite understand yet. The shaft goes through the assemble, is there bearings in there? WHere the lug luts bolt on to, it omves freely, and the hub is clean and rotates fine, but the shaft seems to go through a hole on the assembly, it is smooth on the inside, should this rotate as well? This seems to be where my noise is coming from. Any cross sections or pictures of where the front bearings are in these things?
Thanks

Bryce

It sounds like your describing the cv outer axle, or " shaft" coming thru the hub. The wheel bearings are in the hub itself, behind the grease seals. Once you remove the seals, there shot, so get some new ones, remove the bearings, clean them and inspect the races for damage. If all is good, you can repack them and reinstall. If there's any question about their freeplay, or any scoring of the races, replace them all. You'll need a shop press and if you don't have the correct size bearing tools, you'll have to get creative with some large sockets or whatever. Don't forget to torque the nut or lockring to 150 ft lbs, it's critical.

I was talking about the bushings that the shaft rotates on... THought they were berarings but seized.

Wonder where the noise is coming from them? It sounds like my hub is not fully engaging/disengaging  but I took it out and ripped it apart and its operating nise and smooth...
Bearing seals are hard to find it seems?

Bryce

Ok I got the hub/bearing assembly off today, real PIA.
Now, It seems the bearing is pressed into the assembly.. so can I just soak it in brake cleaner and shove some bearing grease back into it? It is not seized, seems to just be dirty or something. The bearings (2, 1 open and 1 is pressed in) rotate fine, little play in the pressed one, but doesnt seem to be a big issue.
Can I use a large socket and hammer it out or?
Any pics of this assembly being taken apart or anything?

Bryce

I just did my bearings in my tracker. I tried to just change the bearings and leave the old races in but didnt work didnt last a month. so i bought new bearings and races. I will tell you this those races are a pain in the ass to get out with out a press. What I did was took my welder and started to weld on the race then once it was hot enough it pretty much fell out. then put the new one in right away while its still hot so it will just slide in also and leave it to cool. a torch would work also just dont have one. hope this helps.

Go to Ack's FAQ (link in my signature, below) and do a search for tracker.

There you will find a nearly-complete tracker Factory Service Manual in a link called '96 Tracker FSM Project.

Clicking on that link will take you to an index of FSM sections.  Click on section 3C for info on the hub assembly.

I hope that this helps!

Ok I got the hub/bearing assembly off today, real PIA.
Now, It seems the bearing is pressed into the assembly.. so can I just soak it in brake cleaner and shove some bearing grease back into it? It is not seized, seems to just be dirty or something. The bearings (2, 1 open and 1 is pressed in) rotate fine, little play in the pressed one, but doesnt seem to be a big issue.
Can I use a large socket and hammer it out or?
Any pics of this assembly being taken apart or anything?

Bryce

Search the internet on how to repack bearings....you can not leave the bearing in the wheel hub and just "shove" some grease in it and think it will last.
On a 91 sidekick, neither bearing should be pressed in the wheel hub.  The inner wheel/hub seal holds the inner bearing in, but once the seal is removed the bearing will fall out.
If you remove, clean, repack, reassemble, and tighten the bearings according to spec there should be no play in them (grab onto the top and bottom of the tire and shake it back and forth....."play" indicates either loose wheel bearings or loose ball joints...you can get someone to watch while you shake the tire to see where the looseness is).

I just did my bearings in my tracker. I tried to just change the bearings and leave the old races in but didnt work didnt last a month. so i bought new bearings and races. I will tell you this those races are a pain in the ass to get out with out a press. What I did was took my welder and started to weld on the race then once it was hot enough it pretty much fell out. then put the new one in right away while its still hot so it will just slide in also and leave it to cool. a torch would work also just dont have one. hope this helps.

Always replace the races with the bearings and keep the races matched with the respective bearings, if you ever reuse old bearings and races.
I have never used a press to remove races.  I just use a punch (or drift) and tap the race on opposite sides and drive it out.  Then I use either a punch or a socket to install the new races.  The only problem with using a punch is you have to be careful not to hit/damage the race where the bearing rollers ride.

Quote from: cmays03 on June 08, 2009, 05:47:32 PM

I just did my bearings in my tracker. I tried to just change the bearings and leave the old races in but didnt work didnt last a month. so i bought new bearings and races. I will tell you this those races are a pain in the ass to get out with out a press. What I did was took my welder and started to weld on the race then once it was hot enough it pretty much fell out. then put the new one in right away while its still hot so it will just slide in also and leave it to cool. a torch would work also just dont have one. hope this helps.

Always replace the races with the bearings and keep the races matched with the respective bearings, if you ever reuse old bearings and races.
I have never used a press to remove races.  I just use a punch (or drift) and tap the race on opposite sides and drive it out.  Then I use either a punch or a socket to install the new races.  The only problem with using a punch is you have to be careful not to hit/damage the race where the bearing rollers ride.

yes but with the tracker hubs there is a lip in there that the race stops against. cant get a punch in there to get it out. thats why i did it the way i did. plus i didnt have anything that would fit in there to drive it out.

Quote from: Skyhiranger on June 09, 2009, 08:04:16 AM

Quote from: cmays03 on June 08, 2009, 05:47:32 PM

I just did my bearings in my tracker. I tried to just change the bearings and leave the old races in but didnt work didnt last a month. so i bought new bearings and races. I will tell you this those races are a pain in the ass to get out with out a press. What I did was took my welder and started to weld on the race then once it was hot enough it pretty much fell out. then put the new one in right away while its still hot so it will just slide in also and leave it to cool. a torch would work also just dont have one. hope this helps.

Always replace the races with the bearings and keep the races matched with the respective bearings, if you ever reuse old bearings and races.
I have never used a press to remove races.  I just use a punch (or drift) and tap the race on opposite sides and drive it out.  Then I use either a punch or a socket to install the new races.  The only problem with using a punch is you have to be careful not to hit/damage the race where the bearing rollers ride.

yes but with the tracker hubs there is a lip in there that the race stops against. cant get a punch in there to get it out. thats why i did it the way i did. plus i didnt have anything that would fit in there to drive it out.

There isn't much of the race showing beyond the lip, but there is just enough to get a punch on.....I've removed many trackick bearing races that way.
Both of our methods work.

I dont expect them to last more than a few weeks. I cant afford to rip these apart and replace them with new parts (300 a side) I dont have the specialty tools to pack them, or even take them apart to be rebuilt properly. I cant pay someone to rebuild them then either..
These rigs just dont seem to be built to take the elements very well, everything on them is so OPEN. The open bearing designs, alternator, starter, etc. is not well protected.
I'm just going to get the whole front steering knucle assembly off a parts rig and swap them over...

Bryce

I dont expect them to last more than a few weeks. I cant afford to rip these apart and replace them with new parts (300 a side) I dont have the specialty tools to pack them, or even take them apart to be rebuilt properly. I cant pay someone to rebuild them then either..
These rigs just dont seem to be built to take the elements very well, everything on them is so OPEN. The open bearing designs, alternator, starter, etc. is not well protected.
I'm just going to get the whole front steering knucle assembly off a parts rig and swap them over...

Bryce

To take the bearings out of the wheel hub, all you need is a screwdriver to remove the inner seal....the outside one will fall out once you pull the wheel hub off the spindle.  To put a new seal in a block of wood and a hammer works great (that's how I do it).
To repack the bearings doesn't take any specialty tools (unless you call 2 hands specialty tools).
The bearings are not open....there is a seal on the inside of the wheel hub to keep the elements out.  With proper maintenance (like occasionally taking the bearings out, cleaning them and repacking them...and replacing the seal) they will last the life of the vehicle.  Once every few years is probably often enough, unless you play in the water a lot.
The starter is sealed, once you mate it up to the tranny bellhousing. 
Yeah, the alternator is "open".  As are most of the alternators out there.
Swapping the whole knuckle assembly will work.....but you may be in the same situation, if the bearings aren't any better in the swapped one.
Whichever way you decide to do it....good luck.