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Spitfire Triumph spit flange/hub removal

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Mike Jarrell

Freshman Member
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Hello to all, i seem to have started an impossible battle of removing the hub/flange this is only side one. The hub was already screwed up from studs being pulled through it countless times... I decided to make a churchhill puller because i cannot afford or get one. My attempts with a slide hammer and alot of frustration managed to move it a hair and wreck the slide hammer im in desperate need of help from someone who won the impossible battle! The other side the right side should be easier because i can bolt the puller to it.
 
Elin Yakov is a Canadian mechanic on YouTube that has various Triumphs including a Spitfire. He has documented the restoration of his Spitfire and he built a working hub puller after several attempts. In this video the hub puller build starts around the 9:10 mark. I hope this helps.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEMWdkmOgis
 
Here's another idea for a hub puller:

http://www.britishcarforum.com/bcf/...A-simple-solution-for-separating-axle-and-hub

Dunno if this will work for a Spitfire. I've heard that it sometimes works for some people. I made one, but it didn't remove my hubs, even with ~300 lb ft of torque:

http://tr4a.nonlintec.com/drivetrain/#rearhubremover

I'm skeptical of all these pullers that use a screw. I've made calculations of the axial force resulting from torque on the screw, and it's hard to get it above 6-7 tons. You can get an inexpensive 12-ton press, or even 20-ton. That, plus a little heat, is probably more likely to separate them.

Also--I have some concerns about the puller that Elin made, in the youtube video. If you pull the hub using the wheel studs, you run a real risk of warping the hub.

This job is notoriously difficult. I suspect that some hubs are so tightly bonded to the axle that removing them is simply impossible. But in any case, good luck.
 
Your problem has gotten a lot of attention here over the years. There is a puller fabrication described in a in a post by HAWAIICJ dated 11/26/16. I found it by querying "hub puller" in the search box. You can also probably get the axle out of the diff and put it in a press.

Bob
 
There's also a long thread on the Triumph Experience forum, where a guy made a copy of the Churchill tool, hogging it out of a single slug of steel. (I don't have the link; you'll have to search for it.) It worked for some people, not for others. It really depends on how tightly the hub is bonded to the axle, or, putting it another way, how lucky you are.
 
Im going to try and slide hammer it to see if i can get it to move, i dont think i will be able to make a puller... or i may end up attempting to cut it off very carefully to make sure i dont hit the shaft.
 
Update: I have decided to just pull the axle, and take it to my friends place to get it pressed out. Im not battling luicifer the hub anymore
 
Well finally after alot of yelling i got it off... the axle was not an easy task either but certainly better than the hubs. I have plans to go tomorrow and use a press and get them off. My advice to anyone attempting this is to take the axle off and have them pressed off unless you have the proper tool.
 
after bending one puller then using a 20 ton hydraulic press drastic action was called for
SDC11812.JPG
SDC11811.JPG
 
I've used a home made puller, and was successful. I sent the axles to a shop once, not so successful. They used heat and a hydraulic press. Both hubs were bent; the wheel lugs were pointed several degrees from straight.
 
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