stingraymax

I noticed I have somewhat of a problem in the back that need addressing, I think I have a bad bearing in my trailing arm but am not sure if that is the only problem.

When the car is in the air and a pull the wheel 12 - 6 there is a wobble, when I pull 3-9 it is solid.
When I was looking on the forum it seemed that mostly 12-6 wheel movement is bad U joints, so when I look at the rear of the wheel when it is pulled 12-6 it seems that the whole spindle in the trailing arm is moving up and down.
So I think no bad U joint but bad bearing, is this correct ??
Now is it possible that the spindle itself will be bad too ?

I need to order the kit to have the trailing arm rebuild and since I am in Europe and need everything shipped I would like to order everything in once

I have a video of the wobble but don't know if I can post that here..

Thanks for any help

stingraymax

Lets see if I can add the video, not real clear but you see the whole thing moving a little

http://vid72.photobucket.com/albums/.../Spindle_1.mp4

69L46vert

It does sound like a bad bearing.
If so then you need at a minimum new inner and outer bearings and seals. I'll start a list and maybe others can add to it or give advice.

1.) Inner bearing and race
2.) Outer bearing and race
3.) Inner seal
4.) outer seal
5.) U joints
6.) Spindle shims (to set end play)
7.)Spindle nut (or reuse old one)
8.) cotter pin
9.) Parking brake shoes and hardware kit.
10.)Shims to set rotor runout.
11.) brake pads.
12.) High quality bearing grease

You may also need:
1.) backing plate if it's rusted or in bad shape
2.) caliper mount since they can easily get bent when taking everything apart. This is paramount. Don't ignore this. If you don't check this before you assemble you'll be sorry. You won't know anything is wrong until you go to install your brake pads. It's then too late and you have to start over.
3.) new rotor
4.) new parking brake cable and the little white plastic guide for it
5.) new brake lines (both rubber and steel ones)
6.) special tools to set end play, drive in races, and push on outer bearing
I'm sure I missed something so hopefully others can add them. Good Luck, Rick

adding to the list
Trailing arm bushings. Strut rod bushings

69L46vert

Pics when almost done. You might notice I used flat head bolts in place of the rivets. I tapped the hubs 3/8-24, countersunk the rotors. This is a good way to secure the rotors when you are checking/shimming.

billcarson

if you have play at 12 and 6 and no play at 3 and 9 then i'm thinking rear strut bushings or differential spindle play.

stingraymax

I checked and I don't see the rear strut moving nor do I see the spindle at the diff move, it is the whole spindle assembly that moves in the trailing arm.

69L46vert

I just watched the video. Looks like bearing is loose or worn.
Forgot to add French locks to the list.

stingraymax

Thanks for the help, now the question will be get someone to do it for me or do it myself...

And like that the list keeps on growing

Mike Ward

No, not correct.

If there was a bad bearing, play would be present at 3-9 also, actually any spot.

Play at 6-12 only is most commonly the side yoke moving in and out of the diff housing. Check again.

The video does show some bearing play.

LT-1 kid

like mike and others have said, movement at 12 and 6 is side yoke play.

stingraymax

I will check again and try to make a video of the side yokes.

stingraymax

Ok, got some more video's of the problem.

First I checked the yokes at the differential...No movement
http://vid72.photobucket.com/albums/...ymax/rear3.mp4

Here is the problem, as the wheel is moved from 12-6 the whole spindle inside trailing arm moves, not the strud rods, no the yokes, but the whole thing

I hope you can see it as it is minimal, but it is there

http://vid72.photobucket.com/albums/...ymax/rear1.mp4

http://vid72.photobucket.com/albums/...ymax/rear2.mp4

billcarson

not able to see the videos as a message comes up file corrupt,????

billcarson

without being able to view the video it is only a guess but i had what you describe and the majority of the play was the entire trailing arm moving from a worn trailing arm bushing.

Mike Ward

Same here.

69L46vert

I see the video ok. Lift up on it some and then try to push 9 to 3 o'clock. Harder to show side movement unless you the the weight is off. I bet it will move just like 12 to 6. imo the bearings are loose.

Solid LT1

Your first video was good enough, your wheel bearings are SHOT!

Usually the 12/6 position shows side yoke play but, in your video, the movement of the spindle and outer flange are easily evident. When you take apart the spindle assembly, I would recommend you buy the new bearing spacers or get someone that has the ability to check the spindle bearing spacers to insure the two sides are parallel if they are not you can get false readings on bearing clearances ( a simple strike into a sidewalk curb can bend these spacers, I have seen them measure 0.020" out of parallel on Corvettes that looked like they were accident free cars. ) The spacer will have to be ground as it is a hard steel material, it is best to have access to a grinding machine to allow you to prefect the spindle clearances to the minimum.....try to attain 0.001" of clearance I wouldn't build a trailing arm assembly with more than 0.003" of bearing clearance and for my personal cars, I do my best to attain the minimum clearance for handling purposes. You should have a spindle set up tool and buy some stainless steel trailing arm alignment shims, front trailing arm bushings, leaf spring bushings/isolators, ( might want to buy a pair of 5/8' by 8" long spring bolts to allow adjustment of your ride height ) I would also look into replacement strut rod bushings and shock absorber mounts as these are often bad too.

To really properly perform the job the differential need to be inspected also unless you know it has already been rebuilt by a shop. The Corvette is " an exotic car " for a North American automobile, the independent rear suspension has many interrelated parts that when they are in good service condition ( minimum free play ) make the car an excellent handling Sports Car. The rear suspension design using the drive shafts as a suspension link means that the condition of the differential, side yokes, driveshaft universal joints can have a great effect on the handling characteristics of the C2/C3 Corvette chassis. Proper inspection, assessment of the old parts is need while performing this task too as the bearing carriers, spindles, spindle flanges, brake caliper mounts all need to be check to insure they are good parts within factory specifications.

Other parts to consider are parking brake assemblies ( beware of the Chinese made stainless steel reproduction parts often they arent quite properly made. ) Van Steel Corvette supply should be able to provide you with quality products, you might consider just buying some of their pre-built assemblies unless you have a very competent Corvette mechanic. There are many people who have read about the process of rebuilding a rear wheel bearing/spindle assembly but, few that have actually done the task, and even fewer who have properly thought out the process and done a quality job. It is one thing to read a service manual, quite another to be taught by a professional Corvette mechanic who shares his 40 years of experience and expertise with you on how to properly perform the job correctly.

69L46vert

Solid does have a good point when he states that the spacer must have parallel ends. Sounds like he's done it before. They were not carefully made at the factory. I ground my spacers parallel on a surface grinder then custom ground my shims to set the end play. Rick

Mike Ward

Yet GM built a few hundred thousand C2 and C3s that suffered no issues.

stingraymax

Thanks for all the info, I will see if I can find somebody who can rebuild them for me as shipping out cores will be too expensive