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My uncle brought this by... how does it even work?

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Old Jun 10, 2018 | 03:32 PM
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Default My uncle brought this by... how does it even work?


He bought it 40 years ago at the Chevy dealer. Says I should use it once a year. I lol’d





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Old Jun 10, 2018 | 05:08 PM
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You removed the yoke off the outer stub and placed that on it. Then apply lube through the zerk. Better than nothing but doesn't get the outer bearing that well from what I've seen.


JIM
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Old Jun 10, 2018 | 05:13 PM
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waste of time, it won't get the correct amount of grease into the bearings. If your rear bearings need to be greased they need to be replaced.
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Old Jun 10, 2018 | 05:49 PM
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Anyone recall the special rear assemblies i would see them in car ads in the 80s,
They had a couple zerks for lubing the rear bearings guess if they worked we would still see them,
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Old Jun 10, 2018 | 07:33 PM
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Years ago we did a test with this same tool, the tool will lubricate the inner bearing but when pulled the rear spindle apart, hardly any grease got to the outer bearing. So will it work? Not in my opinion.... We pumped and pumped and pumped... no luck to the outer bearing.

Willcox
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Old Jun 11, 2018 | 01:06 PM
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My opinion (for what it's worth)...

If your rear suspension appears to be OK but has lots of years and lots of miles on it, using this to lube only a portion of the bearing is still better than no lube at all. You would have to decide whether it would be worth the effort to disassemble some to get it in place.

It's still a neat tool to have in your C3 'museum' of unused parts.
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Old Jun 11, 2018 | 02:53 PM
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Originally Posted by Willcox Corvette
Years ago we did a test with this same tool, the tool will lubricate the inner bearing but when pulled the rear spindle apart, hardly any grease got to the outer bearing. So will it work? Not in my opinion.... We pumped and pumped and pumped... no luck to the outer bearing.

Willcox
I tried the same thing. I think to get it to grease the outer bearing you would need to pump a full tube of grease into the housing until it was completely full so it would force it out into the outside bearing. Of course by that time you would probably blow out the outer grease seal and fill the parking break full of grease.

Mike
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Old Jun 11, 2018 | 02:54 PM
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Yes my C3 "museum" will be a swell place for it next to the mint/original derby caps, tres chic silver seats and perhaps the fuel filler lid. I'm guessing my new bearings shall never need service again during my time remaining roaming the earth.
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Old Jun 11, 2018 | 05:36 PM
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Nothing beats hand packing bearings. When I worked on Cessnas we had a wheelbearing packing tool my boss made out of two funnels and a hollow threaded rod with a grease-zert on the top (there was more to it but those were the basic parts). Although it worked good it made a mess that I hated cleaning up and I could almost pack the bearing by hand just as fast.
If this tool was to grease Corvette rear bearings where is all the old nasty grease going without taking the bearing out and cleaning them? That would be my question.
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Old Jun 12, 2018 | 09:47 AM
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Mid America Motorworks sells them for $13.99
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Old Jun 12, 2018 | 12:07 PM
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I bought my vette in 1988 with 43K miles. I bought that tool a few years later and used as directed. I've used it twice since then and most recently a few years ago. My car doesn't get any hard use. Its just a street cruiser. I now have over 100K miles on the, afaik, original bearings. No funny noises or issues. The bearing(s) could fail tomorrow but with over 100K miles, I can't complain. Did the tool work? I dunno.
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Old Jun 12, 2018 | 09:54 PM
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Originally Posted by resdoggie
I bought my vette in 1988 with 43K miles. I bought that tool a few years later and used as directed. I've used it twice since then and most recently a few years ago. My car doesn't get any hard use. Its just a street cruiser. I now have over 100K miles on the, afaik, original bearings. No funny noises or issues. The bearing(s) could fail tomorrow but with over 100K miles, I can't complain. Did the tool work? I dunno.
1984-1996 bearings are sealed bearings... which should not have any run out. They are either good or bad and honestly I don't see how you'd use this tool on a C4 rear or front bearing....

Originally Posted by pawpaws toy
Mid America Motorworks sells them for $13.99
We'll I don't doubt that someone sells this.. without slandering them, it just doesn't make sense, yet they keep selling them.

I pulled these from the website because IMHO.. selling this is like ripping someone off. To me it's like selling a can of instant tune up... What a joke.... or better yet... NOS air for your tires....

When we tested this years ago, we actually cut the spindle support apart to see how far the grease went... (call me curious) and there was no sign of grease to the outer bearing. The inner will get grease.... but my gosh people... yank the spindle, put the grease in your palm and pack the bearings the right way.

The only issue with doing this is the required set up tools, but there is nothing better to me than putting the grease in your hand and packing the bearings the correct way.

IMHO
Willcox

Last edited by Willcox Corvette; Jun 12, 2018 at 09:54 PM.
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Old Jun 13, 2018 | 08:33 AM
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My car is a 1976. Bought used in 1988.
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Old Jun 13, 2018 | 10:16 AM
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Your Uncle was only following the guidelines outlined in the Chevrolet service manual, with one correction every 30,000 miles. (Data:1977 Green Cover Manual)

Maybe none of you applied 1.5 tablespoons of grease through the tool loosened the spindle nut, rotate the tool 180* tighten the spindle nut then applied the remaining 1.5 tablespoons of grease through the tool?

Section 3D pages 4&5
Nowhere in this section it claims the tool lubricates the outer bearing.
I know, I'm the tool right?

Last edited by bmotojoe; Jun 13, 2018 at 10:19 AM.
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Old Jun 13, 2018 | 06:50 PM
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Default That’s my uncle indeed... by the book !

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