'66 a100 rear wheel bearings -anyone replace these?..advice?

hi all,
from looking at the old service manual, replacing the rear wheel bearings looks like brain surgery.. grinding and cutting is involved and a gaggle of mystical sounding 'special tools' with names like 'sleeve sp-5041' and 'tool c-3971', etc.. i have replaced wheel bearings before on other trucks (non dodge) and it seemed not this involved was fairly simple actually.

i guess i am worried and/or confused if this can be done with a basic set of tools in my garage? mainly, any advice from others who know how to do this would be great.

note: i believe my wheel bearing might be worn a bit due to slight noise when turning - also when i looked up the bearings on Napa's site there are several bearings and bearing sets listed..? http://www.napaonline.com/Search/Results.aspx?Ntt=wheel%20bearings&Nao=10&N=599001+101966+50022+2022073&Ntk=Keyword

I recently had my rear chunk changed and they replaced my wheel bearings as well. They said they had to press them off and onto the axle and they used a "kit" with bearings and seals. The guys were moroons that did the work so I have no idea what parts they used. Oreilly auto Parts just showed a standard bearing.... sorry but that's all I have...

Long story short, you can probably pull the axels but you need a press to R/R the bearings as far as I know.

Mine is a '65 btw.

The stock outer axle bearings are tapered roller bearings, different than other makes.
They have a separate seal that goes into the housing, keeping the diff lube separate. The bearings must be packed with grease. They are pressed onto the axle and held there with a collar that is also pressed on. A good local machine shop should be able to handle this in one day.
Note that they also have a couple little things to watch out for; a block in the center section on sure-grips that must be in place or bad things happen, and when installing, the right side axle play must be adjusted and the adjusters are NOT available easily. Do not toss this stuff aside until you are aware of how it all goes together. Also make sure the machine shop puts it back together right!
There are replacement bearings that are sealed ball bearings like other makes, commonly refered to as "Green Bearings". They have pros and cons. There are also different schools of thought on the proper amount of lash or preload on the bearing, the spec changed over the years even though the parts didn't.

A very knowledgable shop for all of this is
http://www.doctordiff.com/?page_id=3

thanks very much for the info! ! i have a few more questions:

so, basically, you are saying i should remove the entire rear axle from the van in order to replace the wheel bearings..? is this correct?
and
is there a way i can repack the bearings with grease without taking the whole thing apart or actually replacing the bearings? (i might get a few more miles out of it by doing this i am supposing)

THERE IS A NEWER AXEL BEARING OUT FOR THE 8.75 OR 8 3/4 REARENDS THAT ELIMINATES THE END PLAY ADJUSTER IT IS KNOWN AS THE GREEN BEARING SUMMIT RACING CAN EXPLAIN EVERY THING TO YOU. IF YOU ARE GOING TO CHANGE BEARING THIS IS THE WAY TO GO. I WILL BE USING THESE THIS WINTER. AND YES THEY DO NEED TO BE PRESSED OFF AND ON. HERE IS A LINK..http://www.summitracing.com/parts/DCC-5249444/

the axle shafts with the bearing are removeable by first removing the brake drums and then the 5 nuts that hold the bearing retainer and adjuster in place. sometimes you might need a slide hammer to help the bearing loose of the axle tube. thats the easy part.

I had my rear end assembly from the 67 A100 overhauled by a trans shop. Normally I would have attempted this mysef but I did not have the time to do it. As it turned out there were several problems found upon removal of the axles. The most critical being the bearings had to be cut out with die grinder and finally chiseled out. Overall it cost me more than I wanted but the whole assembly is back in the truck with all new bearings seals, fluid and all adjustments done correctly. More importantly I was able to spend my time on other tasks like soda blasting the body, cleaning the undercarriage and painting it.

http://www.dippy.org/forum2/index.php/topic,84.0.html

which references

http://rockcharger.com/tech/vaanth_rear_axle.txt

hey, thanks for all the info!! it does not look like it will be a simple job..it figures!
perhaps, i can pull the axles out and just drop them off at a shop to pop the bearings in and out.. i am trying to save a bit of money..plus i drive the van almost daily!

WHEN I DO MY BERRINGS THIS WINTER THAT IS WHAT I WILL BE DOING. I JUST HAVE TO FIND A SHOP WITH A PRESS. I WOULD SUGEST LOOKING IN TO THE GREEN BEARING I TALKED ABOUT EARLIER IF YOU GO ON E-BAY THEY MIGHT BE CHEAPER THAN SUMMITT RACING.

We did my bros 59 truck axles last winter,same set-up, whatta PITA, we ended up having one of the heavy equipments shops do the finish press work.