Rear bearing snap ring question

For 2wd base rear bearings, once everything is pressed together, should the retainer clear the snap ring groove completely? I have everything pressed, but it doesn't COMPLETELY clear the groove such that the snap ring is a pretty tight fit, and I didn't make a note of the EXACT relation before disassembly.

Yes, from the back of the bearing, it is washer with convex pointing away from the bearing, and the retainer is with the bevel away from the bearing.

It's a twenty ton press, and I can't push it any further.

Thanks for any insight.

 

Got a picture ?
You should be able to spin the snap ring in its groove . This way you know the snap ring is seated .

 

Sorry - no picture right now, but just from your description, it's definitely too tight (right now). I can't get back to it until the weekend though. Maybe I used the press tool in a less than optimal way so it was absorbing too much of the pressure - flexing juuuuuust enough.

 

Just to update in case anyone else could use the info. I pulled the axle out and put it back on the press, and was able to press it JUST further enough where the snap ring was able to fully seat/spin with minimal resistance though snug.

I used the tool that is readily available on Ebay. I bought the one by the ORIGINAL maker (not the Chinese knock-offs) - there was a small price diff, but wanted quality.

When installing the new bearing, I used it in such a manner that the cross-member of the press held the tool with axle at the bottom of the tool, thinking it would be ok.

I redid it with the press cross-member supporting directly under the top of the tool (the part that would be at the bottom when removing) closer to the bearing and used the old retainer to put more direct pressure on the new retainer (I Dremel drum-sanded the inside of the old retainer so it would be a loose fit around the axle), and it was able to press further just enough. I would estimate the difference between before/after to be less than .003 inch but it made the difference between too tight and just right.

The first time around, the pipe of the tool may have been flexing just enough under full pressure to NOT fully press the axle in.

 

So, wait a minute. Are you saying you essentially had the outer bearing race supported in the press and pushed on the axle? So the balls are having pressure applied to them? That's not the correct way to press any bearing and probably damaged the bearing where it won't last. The correct way is to support the inner race and push on the axle so you're not applying any force on the balls.

When you're removing the bearing, you don't care if you're applying force on the balls because the bearing is going in the scrap bin.

 

No, for pressing in, the pressure was always on the inner race. If you look at the tool on Ebay, it is essential a DYI version of the Toyota special tool - only smaller and way cheaper. Timmy the Toolman features the tool (made by the original maker of the DIY version) in one of his vids.

For removal, it has flanges with bolt holes to hold on to the bolts on the backing plate and hub assembly. For installation, the tube of the tool supports the inner race when you press the axle back into the bearing.

My mistake (from being lazy) was to support the tool with axle in it such that the tool wasn't being properly supported by the press cross-member, which likely allowed to tube to flex just enough that it just couldn't apply enough support on the inner race while the axle was being pressed in.

My lazy way that didn't work was (from top to bottom):

Axle
Backing Plate with hub assembly
Tool supporting inner race
Cross-member of press supporting the tool from the BOTTOM of the tool (which is the top of the tool when you are pressing the axle out).

The reason the tool is reversed when installing is so the bolt holes that was used for removal now allows the tube of the tool to get past the bolts that hold the bearing assembly to the backing plate so the tube can put pressure on the retainer (which in turn is puts pressure on the inner race).

Edit for further clarity: The reason why I ORIGINALLY supported the tool from what (when installing) is the bottom, was because even with the bolt holes on the flange, as the bearing is pressed in, you will run out of space and the bolts will start to pass the flange and hit whatever you may be using to support the tool. I supported the tool from the lower section because I was too lazy to finagle something to properly support it from the top.

This was taken care of by Dremel sanding the inside of the old retainer until it was a loose fit around the axle as an additional spacer, which in turn made it possible to support the tool by the upper section without the worry of the bolts going past the thickness of the flange and hitting the supporting plates.

 

Oh, OK, cool. Thanks for explaining it.