Racer11

I started out with new bearings and good quality grease.

What mileage intervals should I re grease and ck them.

drwet

If I remember correctly the official maintenance interval from the General is about 30,000 miles. Realistically with modern greases, I think you can easily go 50,000 miles. I know both my cars had way more than that when I did mine. I'll be interested in hearing from other Forum members on this. In the aircraft industry they track part failures so they know exactly how long they can leave a part in service. It would be very interesting to do a survey of C3 owners to get an idea how long we can let them go.

Blue79

One of my rear wheel bearings went at about 107,000miles. I guessed them to be original. I was told to pour in some gear oil with the new bearings and I used synthetic grease. So far so good. Hoping to get another 70,000 or so before checking them.

doorgunner

My '68 project had original bearings and grease at 55,000 on the odometer.

Even though the bearings had the correct end-play/felt and sounded good with the half-shafts removed, I dissaembled the rear wheel bearings anyway........

Good thing I did......the original grease was turning into "wax", but the bearings/rollers/races were like new. I disassembled/cleaned/repacked the bearings according to the manual.

I would think that modern grease would last up to 100,000 miles/50,000 if the car is driven aggressively.

GUSTO14

I bought my '63 in 1969 with 25k miles on it. (Essentially the same rear wheel bearing setup.) It hadn't been driven regularly for the previous year. Within a week the left rear stub axle welded itself and the bearings and I slid the tire a 100' getting stopped. It cost $300 back then to have the dealer repair the spindle assembly. New spindle, new hub and new bearings. Since the dealer missed it on the inspection I paid them to do, and specifically to look into an unfamiliar noise in the rear, they were kind enough not to charge me for the tow to the dealers service center.

In 1988 I bought a '73 with about 35k on it. The first major job I did on it was to disassemble and repack the rear wheel bearings. Since I knew nothing of its' service history I wasn't taking any chances. I wanted to do it myself and fortunately had access to a machine shop and their expertise. Everything looked okay and the bearings were in good condition. It was probably not necessary, but I replaced them anyway and have never had any issues with them since or regretted the decision to service them. It now has about 10k additional miles on it but obviously doesn't get driven a great deal.

My advice would be if the car has between 30 and 70k on it and there is no honest evidence that they have ever been serviced, you need to think about doing it before taking any long trips or at any hint of bearing noise. If you wait until they go, the cost can be 2 - 3 times what you would have spent to service them.

Because the bearings are pressed on the spindle almost no one services them... until they seize or the noise becomes unbearable! Without documentation, don't believe otherwise.

Good luck... GUSTO

doorgunner

If a Vette owner is not mechanically-inclined it would be a good thing to take the car to a qualified C3 CORVETTE mechanic to have the bearings serviced/end-play set/repacked/new grease seals. (Note: Rookie advice)