C5 front wheel bearing.

[wishuwerehere82]

Hi all,

I'm in the middle of putting new slotted and drilled brakes on my '98 coupe. I am getting a clunking feel when I rotate the right front wheel bearing forward and reverse directions about a half turn. It just clunks once when i reverse directions. The left side doesn't do that. I have 10,000 miles on the car and have a bit of a limp in the brakes below 10 MPH when stopping. I think this could explain it.

Is there any adjustment to the bearing, or do I get to buy a new assembly? I called the dealer and found that they're $725.00 and I see already that I don't have a big enough torx wrench to remove the assembly to check it out.
Thanks in advance.

 

[c4c5specialist]

HI there,
There is no adjustment, just replacement.
Allthebest, and its a T50, I think.
c4c5

 

[wishuwerehere82]

Thanks Paul,

I talked to a Corvette mechanic on the phone, but he didn't seem to think it was anything to worry about. Do you?

Meanwhile, 71/2 Hrs. later, 4 of them putting the rear parking brake back together, I am still one rear wheel away from getting the brakes replaced. I would like to meet the guy that designed those parking brakes! Still no clue as to why they are not working, but it's a real trip putting the retaing clip back on, after the pad wouldn't release from the drum. I had to tear the whole thing apart.

 

[wishuwerehere82]

The brakes are finished, but the parking brake job is on hold(it's 12 degrees out). It seems that the cable has been loosened or disconnected at the handle for some reason.

Is this clunk in the wheel bearings anything I need to worry about?

 

['04 Torch Red]

The brakes are finished, but the parking brake job is on hold(it's 12 degrees out). It seems that the cable has been loosened or disconnected at the handle for some reason.

Is this clunk in the wheel bearings anything I need to worry about?

I think ANY noise in the wheel bearing would be cause to be alarmed...wheel bearings don't make much if any noise...You can certainly get a new wheelbearing wholesale from a lot of places...don't pay $700+....do seme searching around...for one call Fichtner Chevrolet and ask for parts Bob...they give really big discounts to anyone...look up their 800 number......


wait..here ya go....FICHTNER CHEVROLET
202 4TH ST SE, LAUREL, MT 59044-3397
GM BuyPower Manager: Ken Fichtner (888) 209-8346

but still ask for Bob in parts

 

[wishuwerehere82]

Thanks, I got your E-Mail.

 

[wishuwerehere82]

I found one for $434.00 including shipping.

Better yet! $259.00 +15.00 shipping. BCA Bearings.

 

['04 Torch Red]

I found one for $434.00 including shipping.

Better yet! $259.00 +15.00 shipping. BCA Bearings.

======================================================

Cool..thats what I'm talkin bout

 

[leaftye]

Why not get the bearings at Autozone for less than $150 each??

 

[wishuwerehere82]

Why not get the bearings at Autozone for less than $150 each??

Autozone? :L :L :L

 

[wishuwerehere82]

Installed today! Timken bearing $225.00 +$5.00 for the T55 torx.

 

[XLR8]

...have a bit of a limp in the brakes below 10 MPH when stopping. I think this could explain it.

I've noticed the same thing when braking gradually at slow speed in heavy traffic or at stoplights... I wasn't clear from your post as to what this indicates. Can you elaborate for me, please?

I'm planning to attend Cruisefest in BG in June and I'm wondering about preventative maintenance I should undertake between now and then to prevent any problems on my roadtrip. My car currently has just under 36k miles on it.

Thanks in advance.
JAG

 

[wishuwerehere82]

Well, here's how it started. I bought the car in Sept. It had been sitting for 2 months outside, and the rotors were really rusted. I drove the car a few weeks and noticed no problems.
Slowly but surely, the brakes developed a feeling that seemd like 1/4 of the rotation was not braking as much as the other 3/4's of full rotation. The effect was not noticeable at hard braking or over 10-20 MPH.
But at less than 10 MPH, and slowly coming to a stop, I felt like I was getting whiplash. It grabbed and let go with every turn of the tire. The brake pedal didn't have any pulsation either. I couldn't feel any pull in the steering wheel to tell what side it was coming from, so I decided to upgrade to drilled and slotted rotors and ceramic pads.

While I was doing the front brakes, I found a clunking spot on the right front wheel bearings. It would clunk if I rotated the bearing 1/2 turn forward and reverse, but smooth out of it turned one way. There was definitely a grinding feel in that spot if I applied inward pressure to the spindle.

So I replaced it this afternoon amd took the old bearing to my parts guy. He said it was definitely bad and showed me the bad spot as he rotated it, and we both agreed that it was bad.

Now... do I know if it fixed the problem? Not yet, because the streets are covered in wet salt right now, so I can't take it on the road to try it out, but I am going to take the half shafts off the rear bearing hubs and see if they are doing the same thing before I take it out for a ride.
My 98 only has 10,000 miles on it.
I hope this helps explain it.

Pete.

 

[XLR8]

Hi Pete. Thanks for taking the time to explain it to a non-gearhead!

I've noticed the limping when I apply my brakes at slow speeds too, and was wondering what was going on. I haven't heard any noises though. So far it's just been very subtle and hardly noticeable at all.

I've got a few days off coming up and it's time for a visit to my friendly Corvette mechanic Kevin.

Thanks again for your help.
JAG

 

[wishuwerehere82]

Good news!

The braking problems are fixed. No more limping when I brake softly. I took my Vette out for a "Brake-in"this afternoon and it works great and stops really well.

Thanks for all the help.

Pete.

 

[XLR8]

Ditto on the good news

I took my baby to Kevin Thursday and he turned the rotors (is that the correct term?) and put on new brake pads (ceramic on front). That put an end to MY limping problem... brakes are working great and feels good when I brake at slow speed. Thanks for the advice all. And thanks for the explanation Pete.

JAG

 

[wishuwerehere82]

Great!
As you know, stopping is important.
Are you feeling better this week?

 

[XLR8]

Great!
As you know, stopping is important.
Are you feeling better this week?

Hey Pete...
Sorry I didn't see this til now. Yes, I'm feeling much better. Thanks for asking.
So when are you going to post a pic of those new slotted rotors? Would love to see 'em.

And stopping ability is VERY important - 'cause I like to go really fast!

JAG

 

[wishuwerehere82]

Here's the only pictures I took before I washed the Vette today. Now they're rust colored.:ugh

 

[wishuwerehere82]

Since they are now rust colored I think I am going to paint my rotors and calipers like Wegone did.