Sorry about the pictures in my post above. When I uploaded the picture via my phone from the car it was upside down. Then when I got home and uploaded it to my photobucket account to post it better, the forum board gave me a message that it's been too long and I can't edit my post anymore.
Anyway, moving on.
The Harbor Freight bearing splitter worked okay. Remember to always use a 20% off coupon when you shop there. You can get them out of any car magazine.
I had to use my grinder and flap wheel to remove the paint on the tool. The paint was so thick that it made the difference between working or not.
Here is the new bearing pressed into place.
I busted the old bearing apart and used the inner race to press against when installing the new one. You just flip it backwards and it's the right size and protects your new bearing from the press. There is a razor thin shim between the bearing and the pinion head. Make sure you put it back in place before you press the new bearing home. It's critical that it be there since it sets the pinion depth in the housing.
Now, let's take a minute to talk about the economics of these projects.
Please, if anyone ever learns anything from my threads, let it be to shop around and do due diligence to save your hard earned money.
This is an example, the outer axle seals. My local OReilly Auto Parts gets 16.99 each for them.
I paid 45 cents each for mine for the exact same seal from Rockauto. It was 4.39 for a pair of them delivered to my door. That's a pair of made in USA quality seals exact same everything as the 17 dollar local store seals.
If I had bought them at the convenient local store it would have been about 36 dollars for two of them by the time I paid tax. Yes, I had to wait five days to get them in the mail from Rockauto, but I saved 31 dollars for my patience. Look at it this way, that 31 dollars saved on the seals payed for the Harbor Freight tool above, my gas to go get it, and my 44 oz Diet Coke that I got at the convenience store on the way. And I'm left with a new tool for my shop and...having to pee from drinking all that Coke. But the point is, money saved in one place can be spent in another and patience pays off handsomely.
On the other hand, I also shopped hard for my axle bearings. I wanted National or Timken brand only, which are made in USA. I shopped the local OReillys, Amazon.com, and Rockauto. In this case, OReillys was cheapest for the same part. You can't ever blanket statement like Rockauto is always cheapest or whatever. It's a case by case basis and requires diligence to ferret out the most economical route to spend your truck money.
And for those of you who aren't too experienced in the subject of bearings...
This is bad....
And this is good...
