Wheel bearing replacement

[leericardo]

Just had a new set of tires from the Tire Rack mounted & balanced here in Lincoln...on my '92 Coupe with 66,000 miles. The installer has it up on the hoist and tells me I need both rear wheel bearings and the front right bearing. Expensive he says because of the ABS sensors in the wheel bearing assembly. He quotes $450 front and $250 ea for the rears, plus $300 for installation and $100 for alignment. Yes, I grabbed the tire and when "rocked" could feel a bit of play in all three, no play in the front left. He says they are "shot" when this is present. Is a bit of play normal or ok? And would it be ok to use the cheaper bearing assemblies available from MADirect or Ecklers...$550 vs. $900 for the parts. Do they all come with the speed sensors in the bearing assembly. Would appreciate input, thanks. ...Rick

 

[vigman]

Bearings

Yes you can use the cheaper bearings.. but the life of the bearings.. is proportional to the cost.. I ALWAYS use the Delco bearings.

He's high on the front bearing..

Play ( in the smallest amount) is OK but if you can feel it straight away.. you need to do it NOW instead of later.

If you order the right year.. the sensors will be there.


Vig!

 

[dfroehm]

I just went through the same thing on my 1985 with 69,000 miles, and the exact same hubs (both rear and right front). The Chevy dealer I took it to used Timken replacement hubs. They said they are every bit as good as the OEM hubs, so I relied on their advise. Cost were as follows:

Both rear hubs: 697.36 + 156 labor
Right front hub: 397:93 + 52 labor

My question is why did the front left hub show any wear?

Fred

 

[trrgod]

Advertizement in Vette Magazine.

Contemporary Corvette Co
800 367 8388

Delco wheel bearings
front--------$159.99
rear---------$139.99

Make sure to get the correct ones for your year with ABS.

 

[Eagle85C4]

Delco wheel bearings
front--------$159.99
rear---------$139.99

That is about what I paid for mine....did the job myself in 4 hours.
The front is by far the easiest. The rears are a bit of a bear...

 

[FrankM]

I have used the expensive Delco before. They fail when driving autocross style in town.

I have used the PepBoys life time warranty bearings made in USA by Chicago Rawhide and find they are just as dependable. Best part is that warranty !!:s

 

[JohnnyC]

Is this something that would be covered under a "warranty". I have diamond service on Warranty Gold company, after market warranty, i heard they are very good at covering most things. And will call them out on it.

This could be a problem with my vette too, 96 w/ ~70K miles, as i have noticed "loose" steering and am going to have this check soon.

The price on this is :crazy

 

[leericardo]

Hey, thanks for all the good responses, I appreciate the info and the interest...actual experiences from fellow Corvette lovers is the best kind. My theory on the left front bearing being ok, is that the previous owner did some autocross (he didn't tell me about) and it involves alot more hard left turns putting more stress on the right front wheel. I will get a couple more labor quotes and buy the bearing assemblies direct if necessary, in order to save some money. I like the idea of the lifetime warranty though, that could be important, even though I don't plan to race the car again...I do run pretty fast on my trips to the West coast. Thanks again for the feedback! ...Rick

 

[mr.corvette]

Wheel Bearing??

Hello vettefans!!
I was thinking if there isnt a way to change the bearing without bying a new hous?? I could easily "organize" a rollr bearing from my work and press int the existing house,,,!!?? Maby,,anybody got some ideas??
Take care people..

 

[leericardo]

Corvettes in Sweden, eh? Very good! Yes, I remember when packing a slipping on a wheel bearing was no big deal, and you could probably do it with our Vettes if you had the expertise and the right equipment, but I don't. I love the C4 Vette, but a list of all the things that could potentially go wrong, trouble shooting them and then paying to have them fixed...is a bit anxiety producing! And just finding a mechanic (with a brain) who CARES is no small trick. Ever read "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance". Its the same with a Vette I think, being afraid of the technology can ruin the thrill of the ride. Fast boats were the same way, and they never even had a suspension. Oops, there goes my depression again, sorry. Thanks, Rick

 

[mr.corvette]

Wheel Bearing??

Hello!!
I have just been over to my neighbor and take a nose dive in his garage and to my big supprise he had just taking apart his front wheel to change brake pads so in a moment when he was not paying any attention I was tearing apart the wheel hub *LOL* to find out how to change the bearing. I dont give it up until i succeed with this. Yes ,, There are quite a lots of vettes here in southern sweden, the big problem is to bring over spareparts to C4 vettes and older cars, we use to look in us vette magazines and to your price we have to subt with 18 to get it home. I will be i touch..Take care friends.

 

[tyrel]

I'd like to chime in here about labor. You can save some money by doing it yourself, I'm practically an idiot and did both of my rear bearings a year ago. Not the easiest repair I've ever done, but definitely not the most difficult. But then I blew my savings by using Delco parts. Oh well, the new ones should last for many years to come.

 

[jsinga]

I've had bearings from Pep Boy's at $99ea for front or rear and they have over 75K miles and are still tight.
Fronts are interchangable with late model F-Body. They have bolts instead of studs or something.
Labor; front easy just pull the brake caliper brackets off and take out 4 nuts
Rear, get a buddy and spend a saturday afternoon. Pull out the halfshafts and change the u-joints while you are at it.
You need a #40 Torx socket to get them off. Take the strut rod off at the wheel and you won't mess up your rear camber alignment.
Don't buy u-joints with grease fittings, they'll dry out and won't last.

JS

 

[Ken]

I just had my rears off and the task is not too difficult at all. There are three bolts holding each assembly to the spindle, accessed from the backside. The top bolt can give you a hard time because of the shortage of room to reach it, but the bottom two are pretty easy. I didn't even feel the need to take the strut rod off.

_ken

 

[69MyWay]

Just did all four of mine on the 90. I got the from Advance Auto Parts. The fronts were like $155 and rears like $125 or something. I don't remember for sure.

My right front had grease coming out of it and gathering in the antilock brake sensor hole. Other than that, they were tight, at 150K miles! I just wanted to make sure they would stay that way for at least 100K more. Not too bad of a do-it-yourself job. However, I also replaced the entire wearable suspension=bushings, shocks, u joints, springs, brake hoses, ball joints...etc. etc. HIGH DOLLAR JOB.

The more you look the more you will find worn out in there.