Rear wheel/trailing arm bearing question Options

[SKL1]

Pressed new bearings into the rear trailing arms of the '73 2.0 I'm restoring, and am using OEM 914/6 trailing arms, hubs, etc.

Both bearings pressed in pretty easily after having them in the freezer overnight. When pressing in the hubs, one went in smoothly, though the second one kind of hung up about half way in, and when pushing more, the inner race in the bearings (after the split in the middle) split and the bearing almost came apart. Or I should I say basically did come apart. With the hub pushed in, the whole thing was wobbling, essentially ruining a NEW bearing (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

Any suggestions as to what we might have done wrong, before I attempt to try this again with a NEW bearing (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif)

TIA.

[old dog]

It's all about support. Pressing the bearing in, the bearing is cold the arm is warm , the arm is supported and the bearing is pressed in with pressure on the outer rim of the bearing, not the center races. Once the bearing is in, it's time for the hub and stub axle to be cold and let the bearing warm up some. If the center is properly supported the hub can be pressed in and then with the hub supported, the stub axle can be pressed into the hub. Alternately the hub and stub axle can be drawn together at the same time with a neat special tool. Using a large bolt with washers or "allthread" with washers will also work. A little temperature differential and a small amount of oil to help things slip together can make a huge difference.