UPDATE
Been away for a while with the family, but got back on Sunday
So this morning I popped down to the mechanic that I left the axle with to see how he had got on
He'd not tried to do the job till Friday but discovered that the two bits of channel I'd procured to allow him to suspend the hub in his 50Ton press had just bent when the press's pressure gauge got to 25!!! He'd normally expect a bearing of this size to start moving around 100 on his gauge!!! So I took the lot round to my m8 who's a metal fabricator and got him to weld some flat to either side of each of the channels
Here it is back in the press
No further drama, the shaft started to gracefully slide out of the hub through the bearing when the press's pressure gauge got to 45ish
Turns out that the bearing was indeed full of EP90 gear oil and not a sniff of bearing grease to be found
Be warned those that follow in my and others footsteps, I so nearly just replaced the inner seal and 'O' ring as the bearing felt slick and smooth with no signs of play what so ever!!! If I had only done this then I'd imagine I would have had a destroyed bearing very soon after!!!
The ABS rota locking ring and the ABS rota were removed using bearing spreader plates with threaded studs down to the hub.
The bearing locking collar had to be removed with a combination of disc cutting, heating, chiseling and swearing from what I understand as there was no room to get a bearing spreader plate beneath it to get it started.
You can also see in the above photo the spacer/thrust washer. The only item that I didn't buy new, but wished I had as it's taken a bit of a beating and is slightly miss shaped. Nothing a small file and a light touch with a hammer want cure, but it would have been nice to have a new one in hindsight
I left him to it at this point, came home and fitted my new inner seal in prep for the half shaft and hub coming home
Old seal still in situ
I used a couple of small slip joint pliers to pull it out and it came out real easy
I then noticed some quite considerable damage to the seal and axle mating surface on the axle that must have been made by someone doing this job in the past using screwdrivers to lever out the seal
I then noticed that this damage had also damaged the metal outer sealing face of the oil seal so much so that I'm certain that this must have been the cause of my long term oil leak.
I spent some time with a needle file and some Emery cloth smoothing and removing the damage and then fitted the new seal with a little instant Blue Gasket to help soak up the repair work a little, using a tool borrowed from my mechanic
Hope to be getting the axle and hub back soon
