Axle press ideas

The other day I had a mid 2000s jeep come in for a front pressed in wheel bearing. No problem done this many times.

Got it all torn down. Removed the axle nut, hit it with a hammer no wiggle... Hmmm problem? Well I go get my big 3 jaw puller to press that axle shaft through and loosen it up.

I tried all I could with a wrench on the pullers forcing screw. I couldn't get it to budge. I even wacked away on the screw to shock the axle. No go..

I then kept the tension on the puller and added a bit of heat to center of the hub where the axle comes through. Now mind you I was a bit timid with the heat because I didn't want to hurt the abs sensor or something else.

What do you guys suggest. Get a bit more aggressive with the heat? Possibly ruining the sensor. Perhaps getting a big pipe wrench and really lay on that forcing screw? Perhaps you guys have a tool that you've found to work well in this case.

I've had this problem in the past but never to this point. I've always been pretty successful with a tight puller and a couple sharp blows on the screw and presto.

Otherwise my last thought is to remove that whole knuckle / axle shaft assembly and get it in the press some how. That will most likely ruin the shaft.

You can not get to the being at all. It's encased in the knuckle. In order to do a pressed in bearing you need to remove the hub, then a snap ring, then press the double row ball bearing out.

But in order to do all this I need to get the axle out of the hub. It's splined into the hub so it's got some fantastic surface area for the rust to get a hold of.

fixer1958 wrote: Keep the tension on it and spray the crap out it with penetrant. Smack it with a sledge ever so often and torque it down some more and repeat. It should eventually give it up but what you have afterwards may be questionable.

I know what you guys mean. A lot of stuff we use now days is designed to be thrown away.

I've never had one this stuck before. I've had it where I put the puller on, tighten it up, and hit the screw with a Sledge. Repeat this maybe 6 or 8 times and there you have it.

Well not this case. I'm really stumped as what to do. I'm really starting to think that I'll have to remove the knuckle and axle shaft. Then put the whole thing in a press to separate things.

HEAT and BEAT is about the only option.... If you pull the axle and take to the press, it MAY get better with a bigger PUSH... or may still have to BEAT it apart.