Rear Bearing Cap Removal?

[ih82lose]

I am reviving a '92 Marathon and having difficulty determining how to remove the cap over the castle nut on the rear hub. I've read through the various threads and none mention how this cap is attached, and I've only seen one mention of its existence. Something is loose and grinding in there upon my initial test of the power train, so I need to dig in and investigate.

I tried tapping it off, but it seems to almost be attached behind the castle nut and sealed afterwards? Do I have to cut the front of it off? Any help is appreciated. Pic below.

[racin161]

Put a screw driver or chisel between it and the hub and hit it with a hammer. You may have to rotate it and do this in several areas before it frees up.

[harleychief]

What racin161 said , it looks like it's just rusted on. If you ruin the cap don't worry about it you can buy a replacement pretty cheap.

[Sir Nuke]

YouTube is a wonderful thing.....lol here are two different techniques.

You Tube

You Tube

You Tube

You Tube

[ih82lose]

Thanks for the responses. I am familiar with removing bearing caps like the ones in the video. The reason this one threw me is that the cap spins freely by hand. After digging through some old online manuals, it appears the cap does not press into the brake hub as they traditionally do, but rather a spindle cap retainer that is held in place by the castle nut. Since my castle nut is loose, the cap and retainer are rotating freely. I was trying to use a screwdriver between the brake hub and the retainer, which was not getting me anywhere. I will try to separate the cap from the retainer this evening and report back, but in the meantime, see links to the cap and retainer below.

Retainer:
https://shop.ezgo.com/products/Spind...-Vehicles.html
PN 65 in the photo

Cap:
http://www.cartszone.com/catalog/cart09/4643.htm
PN 74 in the photo



The retainer is not being held in place tightly behind the castle nut, indicating the nut is loose, which is likely a contributor to this wheel's rumbling. I'm not hopeful for a bearing that's in tact though...

[JeffWatson]

Originally Posted by ih82lose

Thanks for the responses. I am familiar with removing bearing caps like the ones in the video. The reason this one threw me is that the cap spins freely by hand. After digging through some old online manuals, it appears the cap does not press into the brake hub as they traditionally do, but rather a spindle cap retainer that is held in place by the castle nut. Since my castle nut is loose, the cap and retainer are rotating freely. I was trying to use a screwdriver between the brake hub and the retainer, which was not getting me anywhere. I will try to separate the cap from the retainer this evening and report back, but in the meantime, see links to the cap and retainer below.

Retainer:
https://shop.ezgo.com/products/Spind...-Vehicles.html
PN 65 in the photo

Cap:
http://www.cartszone.com/catalog/cart09/4643.htm
PN 74 in the photo



The retainer is not being held in place tightly behind the castle nut, indicating the nut is loose, which is likely a contributor to this wheel's rumbling. I'm not hopeful for a bearing that's in tact though...

I realize this is a looooooooooooong shot but did you get the caps off? How? I'm in the same boat. Thanks

[JeffWatson]

Disregard. Brute force was the answer for me.

[scottyb]

I just recently removed a cap from a 1992 Marathon. I was surprised how much force was required. They are in no danger of falling off!
As usual I grabbed the largest set of channel locks I could find. Gripping the cap I pulled up and down repeatedly until I finally exerted enough force to get some movement and then it came off.