wheel bearings

[woobie1966]

Hello all,
curious about replacing the wheel bearings. As i understand it, the rear bearings cannot be serviced. Either way i beleve all 4 on my vette are original and i think it would be good insurance to replace them (30+ years is a long time for a bearing)
any thoughts on this?
thanks
mike

 

[GTR1999]

Front are easy enough because they're a slip fit.
Rears require tools and good mechanical knowledge. They're pressed on the spindles so you'll need a good press, 20ton or more. You'll need an indicator,micrometer,bearing setup tool,spindle tool or a 3/4-20 nut, you'll need to make a fixture to hold the housing in to check the end-play when setting up the bearings. Read a GM service manual for the procedure then decide. If you're only going to do one car then send them out to Bair's. If you're going to rebuild a car then a press might be worth the $250 investment.Good Luck
CM

 

[Scooter76]

A method that I use at work every day ( I'm an electric motor mechanic) on bearings is to heat them before you install them on the shaft. We have a special bearing heater for this purpose. At home you can toss them in the oven for a few minutes, you want them at about 160-180 degrees, no more though. As they heat up they expand slightly & will slide on the shaft by hand. As they cool they go back to their original demension & are locked onto the shaft. Now I have never done this on a vette spindle bearing, I know that it works like a champ on pinion & carrier bearings on rear ends. Just a tip, hope it helps.

 

[MaineShark]

I believe that Eckler's sells the wheel bearing tool. It's like $125 or $150, I think. You might also need a press, I think.

Personally, I'd make the investment. I took mine to a dealer since I didn't have the tool. For the price they charged, I could have bought the tool, hired a competent mechanic to replace the bearing, and still come out ahead. And I would have had the tool in my collection, when it was all said and done.

Joe

 

[woobie1966]

hi all, thansk for the good input so quick
I am not too worried about the front bearings, its the rear im worried about. I plan to have a mechanic do the job (no time or space where i live to do the job myself) so my only question is if anyone has had experience, or heard f he bearings going bad? i saw this happen to a friends car several years ago, it was a mess! and rather costly. It got me thinknig about this, i would hate to be driving down the road with my car fresh from the shop and have the bearings give out shredding the spindle
thanks
mike

 

[GTR1999]

woobie
Be sure that your guy knows what he's doing. The Rear Bearings ARE NOT like every other car other then they're Timkens. You must have the end play set to .001-.003" any more and you're start to have too much. Also the housing must be fixed so it will not move and give you a false reading. I have repaired rear spindles/ bearings that were first repaired at the local garage and the guy wrecked not only the new bearings but also the spindle,shock mounts,a nd everythign else he hammered to death and then charged the guy over $1,000. If you have any doubts sent them out to a professional vette rebuilder.

 

[TWINRAY]

It's a good idea if you drive your car especially away from home, to have confidence in those rear wheel bearings. They are "probably" safe for 100K miles and I "probably" wouldn't worry too much until they hit the 75K mark. I had a failure, fortunially close to home, in my '67 in 1975. The odometer wasn't working so I don't know the actual mileage - it stopped at 67K but I'm fairly sure the actual mileage wasn't far from 75K. In 1989, I did both vehicles with new bearings and Amsoil Grease. In my case, I got no warning that I was going to have a bearing failure. It was good and immediately, it was bad. You might want to consider buying the trailing arms with bearings installed for a take off, put on job.

 

[Ron Miller]

I'd consider removing the rear trailing arm assembly or the spindle assembly, whichever you prefer, and send them to a competent aftermarket Vette specialist who is familiar with the Corvette independent rear suspension, such as Bair's or Precision Engineering, only two of several competent rebuilders out there. These guys usually are cheaper than your local mechanic (almost certainly cheaper than your local Chevy dealer), will do it better, and most will exchange your trailing arm or assembly for a rebuilt one so if you don't want to wait on the rebuild for the one you send in. Even to rebuild your assembly doesn't require much of a wait, and is certainly worth the time. Most of these guys rebuild more of these in a month than your Chevy dealer does in a year.

It's critical that these things are properly set up, or you'll find yourself having the job re-done in not too many miles. Done properly, they'll last a good long time.

For more info, see http://bairs.com/ or http://www.fixvetteparts.com/

My Recommendation

rlm :cool

 

[ChuckG]

Save yourself the trouble. This is NOT an easy job. Send the entire T Arm assemblies to either Bair's in Linesville, Ohio (near Erie,PA) OR, since you're in Florida, send them to Van Steel.

These are the 2 best, and most well known rebuilders. I wouldn't mess with rear wheel bearings even if I owned all the special tools needed.

DON'T have your "local mechanic" do them, PLEASE. You'll be in for a ton of trouble. Chuck

 

[woobie1966]

i had'nt considered replacing the whole assembly, i am going to check price difference between replacing bearings alone or replacing entire assembly. if i replace the entire assbly, i would have an extra set...who knows it could come in handy....or am i just a pack rat?
mike

 

[Bob Chadwick]

I just got my Mid America catalogue last night and I think they were $499 for a complete T arm with everything.

 

[ChuckG]

You don't have to replace the entire assembly. If you send your T Arms, they will rebuild yours. Can't speak for Van Steel, but Bair's will actually send you special boxes to ship them in.

They will only replace what's needed. If your arms/spindle supports, etc. are OK, they'll just do the bearings. They'll also put new swing arm bushings in, and will replace the parking brakes assy's with SS kits.

Your arms come back painted and ready to bolt on with a guarantee. Check out Van Steel down in Florida....not sure where they're located. Chuck

 

[woobie1966]

ok ill ask on monday about the removal/ refurbish of the existing hardware. the only thing is ive had the vette in the shop for a while (3 months) and i really dont want to wait much more. i really miss driving the vette!!
well ill update all when i talk to the shop
mike

 

[Pace78]

Hi,

It's true, you need special tools either you buy them or make them youself.

But if they don't make any noise or they don't have too much end play, you don't have to do anything.

I brought mine to a local "specialist" and had to do it all over again. They didn't installed the sealings proper so all the grease came out.

Bye,

Rene