dembo

Gentlemen,
The rear wheel bearings are probably the only items which haven't been replaced/serviced during the restoration. After seeing the state of the front wheel bearings I fear the rear ones might be in a terrible state. Ofcourse they could have been replaced in the past but is it worth taking the risk leaving it as it is? I restored the car to give me years of trouble free miles.
As there are few or no specialized shops in Belgium I think it's no option to have them rebuild here.
So I'm looking to buy both LH & RH rear wheel bearing assemblies. Am I correct to assume the hub is held to the trailing arm with the 4 bolts on the inside? You then slide the inner bearing & dust shield + axle flange and torque the spindle nut to 100ft/lbs? If a company builds this assy to within spec doesn't taking it apart for install could change this spec?
And the important question : where to buy? prices are all over the place. I'm currently looking at
vtech but they only list remanufactured ones and a reused spindle. 189+165$
Zip 259 + ?$ for core, new parts 640$ (with rotor)
Willcox 313+200$, new parts 735$ (with rotor)
I heard good things about Tom's axles, but they don't list the complete assemblies just the parts
vb&p lists a remanufactured one with new spindle at 300+300$ core
Vansteel 200 + 195$ core 732$ all new with rotor but no handbrake hardware

Thanks in advance,
Nick

Mooser

Yup, that's pretty much it.
Remove the spindle nut then take the splined flange off.
Remove the parking brake hardware to get at the 4 nuts holding the spindle mount.
Separate the mount etc form the T/A

When the new unit shows up, everything gets torqued down to the 100 ft/lbs and should be The bearing setup is controlled by the shims and sleeve so as long as you don't loose something it will be the same.

I just did mine a little while ago exactly the same way except ended up buying new T/A since my old ones were both bent (purposely)

Ordered my spindles from VanSteel. No Regrets

69 Chevy

You might consider buying the specialized tools needed to rebuild the trailing arm bearings. If you do a good job on yours, every C3 (and late C2 also) owners in Europe will come to you for this procedure.

dembo

Thanks to confirm the removal procedure Mooser.
Lol that's an option 69 chevy but I would also need a press, a grinder, marketing, experience,etc. For now I just want to drive my car
I'm inclined to zip as I have the best discount there, I'll mail them what components they use and where they originate from. I guess that could explain the price difference?
Nick

spdrcr29

I bought 2 sets of trailing arms complete with rotors dialed in for zero run-out from Gary at Vtech. Yes, his set-ups are reconditioned, however, he does top notch work and I have never had any problems. His prices are very reasonable as well. He's great to work with and has been in the business for many, many years. He is always at the Bloomington Gold and other major shows. To my knowledge, he also teaches courses at the shows on how to rebuild trailing arms and spindles. Definitely someone you should consider...

Easy Mike

Do you need rear bearings or only assuming you might?

gcusmano74

IMHO,
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
How many miles does the car have? Do the rear wheels show any unusual wear that would indicate failed wheel bearings? Will the car "hold" the alignment settings? Does the car drive well?
You may need to do nothing to the bearings at all.

my 76 ray

It sounds like you already have your car together. If that's the case then the effort to change the bearings is no different if you do it now or wait until later.

MyRed69

Nick,
After seeing your car and meeting you, I'm sure thinking about the condition of those bearings will probably reduce your driving enjoyment. I'm going to the VanSteel shop tomorrow (just over the bridge) and I will talk to them and see what they can come up with. They are good guys over there and back all their work. They did my rolling chassis and I would use them again without hesitation. Too bad I don’t have any trips scheduled your direction this year; I'd only charge you a beer for shipping…
How long until your paperwork comes through and you can get your car on the road?
I'll 'talk' to you soon,
Scott

Mike Ward

GM eventually figured out that the rear bearing assemblies should be serviced at around 40K mile intervals, IIRC. If you don't know how many miles yours have got, there's no harm in doing it now and resetting the clock to zero.

Surely the Dutch NCRS guys know somebody that has the tools and experience, if there's nobody in Belgium that's closer.

dembo

I agree with if it ain't broken don't fix it but Mike hit the nail on the head. The car had 70k miles when I got it and put a additional 1000 or so on it. The car was then parked and I had a so called specialist rebuild the trailing arms. When I got them back, the left hub was on the rh side and vica versa, although he corrected it the car sat under a carport for 6 years. Before I had him replace the front bearings but when I took them out 2 months ago it where old ones with hardly any grease in it. So replacing the rear ones would give me piece of mind.
@ Scott : would you mind asking them what their best price would be (taking into account the high shipping cost) and if they could assemble the PB harware (stainless) if it wouldn't interfere during the hub assembly to the TA? Cheers!
You're right Mike, I could contact the dutch chapter but with 2x shipping and high labour cost I think it would come down to about the same price as ordering them in the US. It will definitly be faster.
Regards,
Nick

dembo

A big for Dan @ Van Steel. I bit the bullet of shipping and import taxes and ordered two rear wheel bearing hub assemblies.
You got to love a new piece of mechanics. They are very nicely build, packaged and didn't take more then 1.5 weeks to get here !
Two hours later got me to the point you see in the pictures, now the fiddling starts with the shoes.
And oh yeah, it was the right decission. The old ones barely rotated and grinded. The top anchor bolt was loose and the spindle splines are worn.
Better to have piece of mind
Nick



PS Scott, as you can see it's not just the bearings I ordered

Mooser

Not sure if you want it or not but here's the way I did the P-brakes (was on the bench so could be tricky on the car)
The strings made a huge difference.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-g...e-install.html

(These were from VanSteele also, couldn't be happier)
Mooser

dembo

yes Mooser, I found your string trick and was going to try it that way
My trailing arms are still on the car and woud prefer not to remove them so indeed it willl be a bit tricky as gravity is working against me.
Nick

Mooser

Hardest part might be fighting with the pin trying to fall down, I wonder if a strong magnet (one of those rare earth ones) could be used to hold the pin in place (it could be stuck to the back of the shield over the head of the pin maybe)
I think I read somewhere about using dental floss or fishing line to pull the pin into the hole in the shoe. Might be worth looking into
Just a thought
Mooser

bobs76stingray

I purchased both the LH and RH from Muskegon at 200.00 plus 200.00 core deposit.I can vouch that they are very good units.My RH has been on the car since 09 and still very good condition,and I just replaced the LH this past week,but is doing well.One little piece of advice if you are going to do the work yourself,use alot of penetrating oil on the shaft that your shocks mount to.They are a real bitch to remove after so many years of rust.I hope this helps