John Deere 5420 rear wheel seal repair

[201spencer]

My 5420 4wd cab tractor has a rear wheel seal that has gone out and the outer bearing is bad. I see from my service manual that I must remove the entire final drive to replace these parts. Hopefully this won't become an overwhelming on farm repair but I am a bit worried as the manual states that the bearing cups are to be heated to 300 degrees F. and pressed on. Any tips from the experts here on removing the axle from the final drive, replacing seals and bearings then reinstalling?

 

[Tx Jim]

It's was a common practice when I was a JD dealer service manager to heat brgs in oil for easier installation. R&R of rear axle housing isn't very difficult as long as one supports differential housing securely & SAFELY.

 

[201spencer]

Thanks Jim, I plan to give this a try. We have installed many wheel bearing and seals on our Mack truck and several trailers here in the past but without heating the bearings, maybe a new trick in our arsenal!

 

[201spencer]

Well, my parts came in and all bearings, races, seals went in just fine but I have run across some uncertainty when placing the axle back into the final drive housing. It looks as if the very tiny retainer ring is all that holds the axle in the final drive. looking at my service manual the retainer ring should grab onto the axle near the base of the splines but there is no groove for the retainer ring/ snap ring to lock into. There is however a groove an inch further down the shaft that does not look like the retainer ring should lock into, plus this groove seems it will be covered up by the inner bearing. I have double checked my bearing seatings to make sure the axle is riding all the way up into the final drive. Any information on this would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Tx Jim]

It appears to me from viewing parts catalog that retaining ring(parts key 5) holds planetary in place & bolt(parts key 19) holds axle in place