learje

i have the half shaft off...can push pull and wiggle and only get.003 max. feels good and smooth, but dry

any thing else i should do? measure somewhere else?

had no problems with them driving this summer, but thought id check them while i clean and fix other stuff over the winter

thx as always

lear

gcusmano74

Wheel bearing endplay of 0.003" is acceptable.
Be happy.

learje

thx!

DUB

PAT ATTENTION TO WHAT YOU FOUND!!!!!!!

If it is sounding DRY as you wrote...REGARDLESS if the end play is correct...you can begin to have issues due to the mileage on the bearings. LACK OF PROPER LUBRICATION is a DISASTER waiting to happen. And it does not matter if you are putting a few hundred miles a year on it....because no one I know has a crystal ball.

JUST BECAUSE it measures out correct DOES NOT MAKE IT CORRECT.

Think about it like this...drain about 3 quarts of oil out of your engine and see how it does.

DUB

learje

doesnt sound dry - no sound at all, just feels dry...when u spin the fronts they have a bit of resistance only due to the grease...i dont feel any of that on the rear. i know theres no good way to grease the rears..found that in my searching. gonna wait and see what the other side measures and feels like. more in a couple days

tracdogg2

Very few trailing arm bearing failures give advanced warning such as a growling noise. I have a stack of spindle/bearing support/caliper bracket assemblies in the scrap pile. They all went from no noise/ no problems/driving fine to total meltdown in less than a minute. Literally in less time than it took to pull off the highway onto the shoulder.

DUB

Check out post # 36. This is a bearing I kept and how I found it when it was removed.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...spacers-2.html

DUB

learje

believe me i have no intentions of rebuilding TAs myself, my plan was to check endplay then decide if i should pull them and have them done. i understand now the endplay is a setup measurement, my question would be, if endplay is within specs should u rebuild them anyway if the age/mileage is unknown. are there any other clues to worn out bearings in need of change?

DUB

ANSWER:

IF you read post # 6...and looked the bearing in post #7. AND you do not know the history of these bearings....other than breaking them down and doing an inspection...I know of NO OTHER way to see the condition of the bearings.

I describe ti to my customers this way. You are playing 'roulette'. Meaning that you do not know when the bearing(s) will fail. 'They' may fail in a month...and then again..may not for years....SO...you have to ask yourself this question..."Do you feel lucky???"....and ...in most cases the trailing arm is out due to bushings being replaced.....and..."Are you willing to take the chance and then have to spend more money due to me having to go back in and deal with it when it is sitting here on the bench now???? It is up to you....beacsue I do not have a crystal ball and know when they are going to seize up or fail in some way."

NOT trying to make you paranoid. Just giving an opinion and comments on what I have experienced. And like I ask my customers..."How many miles do you drive it a year???" If you only put 500 miles a year on it and it being inner city speeds...you 'could' make it last for a long time.....but once again..I DO NOT have a crystal ball.

And not knowing what year your Corvette is...if it is the pre-1980 design...the french locks that are removed to get the half shaft off the inner nearing flange is half the job in getting the half shaft out and then checking and or replacing the U-joints with SOLID SPICERS for the car.

DUB

doorgunner

Rookie suggestion: Repack or have them repacked..........refill the bearings with grease every 10 years or 50,000 miles (no crystal ball and "dried-up" grease is why I took the time to learn how to rebuild a trailing arm)

kanvasman

Of all the assemblies on these cars, I believe that the TAs are the most critical. They are probably the hardest to do yourself and the most expensive to have someone else do. But I just had mine out. They sounded OK ( to my ears, but what does a good one sound like anyway?), end play was OK. But I am in the process of rebuilding most of the car. 35+ years, they can't go on forever. And I could pretty much guarantee that one would fail at the worst prossible time. SO now, or in the next 35+ years, when I get stranded on the side of the road, at least I won't be saying " I should have…" Agree w/Dub, like playing roulette.

zwede

Can't repack without taking them apart.

learje

thx Dub and everyone...was speaking w the owner of Tonys Corvettes nearby and he gave me the same info...then i remembered drilling out the rotor rivets when i did the brakes...chances are the TAs have been been on there for decades...im gonna bite the bullet and have Tonys do them

thx all

lear

doorgunner

True.....but it isn't as scary after the first time using a good bearing separator....now....if I would have only modded/ installed grease fittings in the bearing housings

It's good to hear that you are getting them serviced though!

mrvette

Back in '95 when I bought my '72 Tony/Andy there rebuilt the entire rear suspension, although all still seems fine, I suppose I really should get in there and redo that grease, they did use the good RED grease, but after 20 years....hummmm

Mike Ward

Yes.


There are signs that they're bad but nothing to confirm they're good.

Mike Ward

Grease fittings are a bad idea. The old dried grease must be removed, the clearance rechecked and adjusted while dry, then the appropriate amount of new grease added.

Just pumping more grease in on top of the old is not good.

DUB

100%

A person would NOT install grease fittings for the front bearings....and just because the front bearing are easier...DOES NOT make putting grease fitting in the bearing support and GOOD IDEA because they are HARDER to service. Some 'ideas' need to be left on the drawing board. AND...if someone has these fittings and keeps adding grease from time to time...one day the pressure will blow out the grease seals. Because there is a finite amount of air space in the bearing housing.

DUB

DUB

Lear,
Hopefully the shop indexes the spindles and check to make sure that they are good.

I have a bench center where I check to make sure the surface where the rotor contacts on the spindle is within .001" run-out if not PERFECT. I have come across so many 'curbed' spindles what were so far out...even though the shaft was fine...WHEN the rotor was attaches and I check the rotor run-out...the brakes would fail WITHOUT a doubt. SO..if they do the bearings....it is IMPORTANT that the rotors go with the assemblies....even if you buy NEW rotors. And as you might already know...the rear rotors can go on ONLY ONE WAY...so the parking brake can be adjusted correctly. When I do trailing arms for DIY'ers...that is how I do it.

DUB

learje

thx again everyone, ill make sure they check the spindles. they have been at this a long time, and ive dealt w them before so feel comfortable having them done at Tonys