What type of seal puller or tool is the best to remove wheel seals from our rear drums? Slide hammer type or the pick type like this one: http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...rd=seal+puller ? I borrowed a sweet Snap-on slide hammer puller kit recently, but would like to have my own and was hoping there was an easy way or the cheap pick type puller will work with our drums.

 

The KD seal puller works good on smaller seals. I have tired different ones over the years, and havent found a good one yet. Usually what I do is use a drift and pound out the inner bearing and seal. Just what I do and see within the trade.

HTH

 

i found that a self tapping screw and hammer get it out quickly and easily....

 

my kd seal puller is pretty good on the small stuff. sometimes i use a crows foot crowbar.

 

three foot long prybar.

 

What he said and i work in the trade to.

 

Slide hammer and a screw work for me. I have a seal hatchet like the one you linked to, but the slide hammer and a screw works better so the seal hatchet sits at the bottom of the toolbox.

 

I don't mean to come off as a tight-wad; but, seeing as these big seals cost twelve bucks plus, and you can't examine the condition of the inside bearing/race without removing the seal, which usually ruins the seal, I have designed a seal pulling device that will pull the seal, hopefully without ruining the seal.

This device is still on the drawing board.

What I have so far is a piece of channel, long enough to span the brake-drum.

This channel has a center hole, through which passes a length of all-thread.

An oblong piece of steel, actually consisting of two halves, shaped to the contour of the seal, and slotted to be expandable, fits over the opposite end of the all-thread.

The expandable puller portion gets slipped between the bearing and seal, then adjusted to fit snuggly against the inside of the drum.

Then, by tightening a nut on the all-thread, against the channel-iron, which is resting on the brake-drum, it walks the seal out.

For use on hubs which may lack the clearance provided by the brake-drum, the channel will rest on wood-block spacers, against the brake-rotor.

Any constructive input, or criticism, of this invention is welcomed.


I just dislike ruining an otherwise good seal, simply to inspect a bearing.

 

I hear you for the cost of seals, but with my experience, if the hub comes off the seal comes out and gets replaced. In past when I have tried to reuse a seal, even for just to look at the brakes, it has nipped me in the butt.

This has been with my own stuff. Whenever I have tried to cut corners, it has not been to my advantage and actually cost me even more in the long run.

This is just my experience and opinion. HTH

Glenn

 

I know this is a horrid way to do it. But since I knew they were just going to be trashed anyways, I took a pair of Vicegrips and bent the out side edge (inside if its on the truck) lip up and out. Eventually after working my way around the seal, it eventually will just pop right out.

Any suggestions on how to do it more elegantly will be welcomed.

Mike

 

I did something similar with a screwdriver. As long as you don't mar the surface it seats against, it really doesn't matter.

It was the most convenient method at the time. I put a few holes in the seal flange.

(note: to keep from damaging the mating surface, I struck along, and not towards, the hub).

 

In my experience in the trade if the hub comes off it gets new seals, i've been burned the few times i tried to reuse a seal so it's cheap insurance to me. It sucks when you cheap out on $12 seals only to have to replace some much more expensive brake shoes in a matter of a few hundred miles due to oil contamination. As for removing the seals i either used a drift and drifted the bearing and all out, or i used a large pry bar to remove just the seal.