passmenow

When I turn left the rear end really growls.
Is it a bad wheel bearing or could it be something noisy with the 4.10rp I had installed recently?
Thanks new to Vettes and prefer to fix it know before Buttonwillow in 2 weeks.
2002 C5 Z06.
From 30 seconds to about 1 minute in the left turns very noisy?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohQArR9u3d8

UstaB-GS549

My guess would be a right front bearing humming under load, but sometimes it is really hard to determine which corner it is on. In any case you can jack it up one wheel at a time a spin them. You might either feel or hear the rumble in the bearing or be able to move the wheel top to bottom a bit. I once had a rear bearing go bad and could not detect any free play or noise while spinning. Finally I just replaced it and noise went away.

Sometimes a lot of bearing clearance will show up as caliper pad knock back.

Short-Throw

Have you jacked the car up and shaken the wheel from the 12 and 6 positions?

What other mods on the car?

passmenow

Thanks guys my first year with the Vette.
So does noise on the left turn make you suspect a right side wheel bearing?

I'll go jack up the car and see if I can locate the source of the noise.
As for other mods, anything in particular?
It does have stock brakes with carbotech pads..
465rwhp LS6, RPM trans, Pfadt suspension, extra coolers for engine oil/water, trans and rear end...

longdaddy

kind of low pitch for a bearing noise - tire rubbing somewhere maybe?

passmenow

Good points, jacked it up rocked and spun the tires.
They all felt and sounded perfect, the same.
No tire rubbing either.
Agree, Right front bearing does make sense but the noise felt like it was behind me or I was sitting on it...
If it were a rear end bearing would the noise change when swerving back and forth?
thanks for the experiance.

Short-Throw

You'd be surprised where noises actually come from versus where they 'sound' from.

I asked about mods because after suspension can cause noise as well.

k24556

It has the sound of a bearing going bad. They can make noise before the clearances get big enough to detect by just shaking the wheel. The best way to check is to pull the tire and the brake caliper and spin the bearing (on the front). The rear will be a little tougher to turn because you will be turning the half shaft as well. A new one is smooth and quiet.

I had both front and rear go bad, and the sound always appeared to be in the back. It can fool you. Find a long left turn and right turn and really load the bearing, but keep a steady turn. Transmission and diff whines are usually higher pitched and usually only make sounds upon acceleration. If the noise comes with cornering, then it seems it has to be something that is under greater load when turning.

Good luck, new bearings are about $250 these days. If you change one, be sure to check the contacts on the ABS connection. A little non-conductive grease will keep the connection sound.

passmenow

Thank you for the helpful reply.
The growl is bad off throttle too so hopefully eliminates the rear end.
Might be a right front bearing as suggested.
I checked bearing temps and they all were within 10'.
The rear end only 140'.
The rear end shop is going to inspect everything before I track it.

With R rated tires on the C5Z how many track days can you get from a set of wheel bearings?
Do front and rear wear the same?
Is there a heavy duty bearing fix?
thanks.

k24556

I would guess that sticky tires and trackin is a lot harder on bearings, since they are in the load path and there are a lot of lateral loads on them. How many impact hits on the road surface and how much rougher are they are at high speed.

I took apart a noisy one and found that there was a pattern of spalling in the races. Usually when you see this it is a sign of impact loading that dings the race surface The spalling comes from repeated loading of the rolling element against the race. It looks like corrosion pits, but with a regular spacing. It gets worse and worse and may not show signs of overheating, since the lubrication will still be there. Just think of a chuck-hole in the road starting out as a small defect, and sooner or later it gets big enough to ruin a tire. When a bearing overheats, the lubricant is either gone or compromised with water.

So how long will they last? that's a dependson.

I don't know of a heavy duty, but every one I have purchased, no matter where from has been a Timpken, and they have a good reputation as a company as far as I know. But, they all may be made in China and who knows then?