Off with the races!

[Jeremy R King <kingjer@eng.auburn.edu>]

When I pressed the wheel hub (spindle) out of the upright, the bearing 
race in question of course stayed on the hub.  I added 2+2 and ended up 
with 5 - I thought that race was part of the hub (Duh!!!).  Obviously 
it's part of the bearing and therefore we'll definitely be getting new 
ones!  

On a positive note.  I spent the morning working on our hubs.  I was able 
to get the race off of both our hubs in around 20 minutes.  I used a 
chisel tapping straight in between the race and the hub (where the slots 
are) to get the thing started - alternating sides of course.  When I got 
some daylight and to avoid chiseling my hub, I began tapping the chisel 
down the side - still between the race and the hub, but at an angle such 
that the chisel would hit the "axle" part of the hub if the race broke 
loose.  I was able to work the race off enough doing this for my $12 NAPA 
puller to do the rest.  

FYI, we're using Keizer custom made wheels for our car and they have a 
larger center hole diameter than that on the VW hubs.  I put one of the 
hubs on a lathe today and turned about a third of the face of the hub 
off, at the same time making a new lip for the center hole of our 
wheels.  We were able to make a perfect fit and cut 3/4 lb out of the 3 
lb weight of the hub.  It was fun - they don't teach us ME's how to 
machine anymore.  

Hope you have equal success.

Jeremy R. King
1986 VW Quantum GL5
Audi at Heart