IF I remember my College Physics of Conduction & Convection Class correctly (Mind you that I took that class in 1989), When I may need to remove the bearings, the same method should work as well. Since aluminum heats faster than steel, and will hence expand faster, I should be able to pop out the steel bearings when the aluminum part expands.

I boiled instead of a torch so that I would not scorch the very nice anodizing on the new hubs....torch would have been faster....but not as nice end product.

J-Dub:
What do you do that would allow you to use a torch at work? That sounds like a fun part of a job. I spend all day in an office and some torch time might be a way to break up the day.