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Fixing to tackle the job of replacing the rear bearings on my 82. Does anyone know of a complete rear bearing kit that actually uses quality bearings and races? Brand like Timken or something equivalent. That also includes installation tools. Im not finding anything that i like, mostly off brand bearings. REALLY dont feel like doing the job twice. Thanks
If you don’t plan on doing them ever again I would recommend farming this one out. The cost of the tools and the amount of precision work involved doesn’t justify the investment unless you’re doing it for multiple vehicles.
I had mine done by Vansteel earlier this year. Very satisfied with the results.
If you don’t plan on doing them ever again I would recommend farming this one out. The cost of the tools and the amount of precision work involved doesn’t justify the investment unless you’re doing it for multiple vehicles.
I had mine done by Vansteel earlier this year. Very satisfied with the results.
Nice, but looks a little too pricey for me. I dont mind doing the work, actually I like working on my cars. Guess what i meant was didnt want to do the work twice cause of faulty parts.
What piersonpie is referring to is, you would have hundreds of dollars into specialize tools that unless you plan on doing several bearings you might as well spend the money towards a professional rebuilder. aka Farm-It-Out.
I realize shipping cost of heavy items is crazy right now, but still cheaper than the precision tools needed.
What piersonpie is referring to is, you would have hundreds of dollars into specialize tools that unless you plan on doing several bearings you might as well spend the money towards a professional rebuilder. aka Farm-It-Out.
I realize shipping cost of heavy items is crazy right now, but still cheaper than the precision tools needed.
But it's your call.
Seen a few people on youtube buy some kits that include all necessary tools. I already have a dial indicator. Ive found kits with tools just not impressed with the bearings that are included.
Im sure someone on this forum has worked on their own cars. Anyone out there can recommend anything? I think i might have to just buy one of the cheaper kits just for the tools and buy a different set of the quality bearings and races.
Setting bearing end play is just NOT rocket science! I purchased a couple very inexpensive tools for the rear end of my C3 many years ago.
I like to redo my rear bearings about every 5 years, tools do get used. Not many specific tools you really need. Things like dial indicators and a shop press are normal tools that everyone has.
never bought a kit with everything in it. Sorry, didn't even know there was such a thing! Local bearing supply house stocks the bearings and seals. Gen. Timken. Never an issue. And I'm in Australia!
Just nothing special about these bearings. Should be available in any bearing shop.
You need at least a setup tool, and spacer and shims. Maybe more. The bearing clearance spec gets set off the spindle, on the tool, since it is a one-shot installation, you ruin the bearing getting it pressed off. It is easiest to pull the arm and put it on a press. .001" runout is the spec to shoot for.
These guys will have the tools you need: https://www.thespindlepeople.com/
Since the arm is off, you may as well do the t arm bushings as well. You need another special tool to press them together, and crush the edge..
I do these all the time, and fix many that were "rebuilt"
I use the following
1- lathe
2- surface grinder
3- blast cabinet
4- precision measuring tools
5- fixtures I made for the job
6- basic hand tools and torque wrenches
7- press
8-decades of experience doing them to the highest level of quality
I don't say this as any type of solicitation but rather to ask what level of work you are expecting to get?
You can buy shim kits from any vendor. They are not going to be close enough to get the dial in I use. However, the book spec is a mile wide so they will get you into that range- if that is the level you what. Keep in mind at 003" endplay, with correctly seated bearings, you can feel the axle move. At the first 002" endplay that everyone speaks of, there will be lateral play in the axle and the rotor will rock at 3 & 9.
1982 had an outer shim as well, that other years did not.
If you find a good video on YT share it, all of the ones I have seen ranged from poor to bad. The methods I see people using the indicator to check endplay is not the best, yet it is what many use because they saw it on YT.
I am not saying you can't do them, you can if you have the tools and desire. They are common tapered bearings, not special, but they are press fit.
I still have USA Timken's I use, that may be changing soon enough. I have dialed in Chinese brand name bearings, such as SKF, that were supplied to me, and they worked. The no-name or unknown brands I wouldn't trust. You get one shot. If you have endplay or rock when you're done and they're in spec you can use them if you like, or you start over. I've had to start over before- but that is me and the level I build to. The ones I rejected would have been passed and used by others.
You need new bearings and seals with every try. Don't slip fit rear bearings either. Some of the seals sold are square edge seals, as I call them. I won't use them.
There are dozens of rebuilders, all in competition with each other to get your business. Some are good, a lot are not. Many use what I call bait and switch tactics and low-ball prices to get your work. Some don't do the work; they buy them done and mark them up. Up charges are not uncommon. So even you sub out this work you should understand what you shipped out in case you get a call later. I see bearing supports being sold in kits today, there is usually no need to replace an original bearing support unless it is damaged. I probably custom-built 100's of these and only needed new supports a few times- when the originals were damaged by previous workers.
You want your rotors secured and under 003" runout.
At least you are not getting into 31's, that would be interesting as few know the correct dial in and the differences between the real deal and the knockoffs sold today.
Good luck. Doing them 2 or 3 times is going to cost more than doing them right the first time.
I do these all the time, and fix many that were "rebuilt"
I use the following
1- lathe
2- surface grinder
3- blast cabinet
4- precision measuring tools
5- fixtures I made for the job
6- basic hand tools and torque wrenches
7- press
8-decades of experience doing them to the highest level of quality
I don't say this as any type of solicitation but rather to ask what level of work you are expecting to get?
You can buy shim kits from any vendor. They are not going to be close enough to get the dial in I use. However, the book spec is a mile wide so they will get you into that range- if that is the level you what. Keep in mind at 003" endplay, with correctly seated bearings, you can feel the axle move. At the first 002" endplay that everyone speaks of, there will be lateral play in the axle and the rotor will rock at 3 & 9.
1982 had an outer shim as well, that other years did not.
If you find a good video on YT share it, all of the ones I have seen ranged from poor to bad. The methods I see people using the indicator to check endplay is not the best, yet it is what many use because they saw it on YT.
I am not saying you can't do them, you can if you have the tools and desire. They are common tapered bearings, not special, but they are press fit.
I still have USA Timken's I use, that may be changing soon enough. I have dialed in Chinese brand name bearings, such as SKF, that were supplied to me, and they worked. The no-name or unknown brands I wouldn't trust. You get one shot. If you have endplay or rock when you're done and they're in spec you can use them if you like, or you start over. I've had to start over before- but that is me and the level I build to. The ones I rejected would have been passed and used by others.
You need new bearings and seals with every try. Don't slip fit rear bearings either. Some of the seals sold are square edge seals, as I call them. I won't use them.
There are dozens of rebuilders, all in competition with each other to get your business. Some are good, a lot are not. Many use what I call bait and switch tactics and low-ball prices to get your work. Some don't do the work; they buy them done and mark them up. Up charges are not uncommon. So even you sub out this work you should understand what you shipped out in case you get a call later. I see bearing supports being sold in kits today, there is usually no need to replace an original bearing support unless it is damaged. I probably custom-built 100's of these and only needed new supports a few times- when the originals were damaged by previous workers.
You want your rotors secured and under 003" runout.
At least you are not getting into 31's, that would be interesting as few know the correct dial in and the differences between the real deal and the knockoffs sold today.
Good luck. Doing them 2 or 3 times is going to cost more than doing them right the first time.
please take heed to what Gary says !! This man is the best at what he does . And most importantly he is a perfect gentleman.. I do agree with other members. By the time you buy all of the tools you won’t be saving much money and risk the chance of doing it wrong. It’s not a job for the DYI . If you are close to Gary bring him the car and it will be done correctly. Just knowing that is worth its weight in gold. Good luck
On my 77 we had to cut the lower shock mount bolts as the factory bushing made it imposible to remove. I let a trusted machine shop press the bearings in. Replaced the mount bolts with a pair from Zip, $114 plus shipping. Everything went back together pretty smooth. Post project problem was getting one of the nuts on the camber adjustment to stay snug. Ended up replacing the passenger side bolt and nut and all has been solid for 5000 miles. Avoid the plated bolt on the camber adjust as it wouldn't to stay snug either so I re-ordered the non plated
Just replace my rear bearings. Also did the front. For the rear I bought one of the kits with the tools on eBay which I thought was cheap. I planned to buy additional bearings and not use the bearings in the kit but ended just using them anyway. Considering it's taken me over 10 years to put 10000 miles on this car I just don't see it being an issue soon. I watched about3or 4 different videos on YouTube and found the best way for me to do it correctly and found the job fairly easy. I did buy the bearing race install tool from hf which I used for the front as well. No issues. Getting the trailing arm out of the vehicle to replace it was the hardest part for me as the passengers side arm was damaged. I already had the dial indicator and mount for end play but those are cheap at HF and good quality if a person doesn't have them already.
Easy to say, "Don't do it! You might fail!" OK, Then what is this hobby about??
NO, you do not need super special tools to set bearing end play. No, you do NOT have to remove the trailing arm from the car to set up rear bearings.
No it is totally not cool to try to scare people into not working on their own car.
I replaced the rear wheel bearings in my 1976 Corvette recently without removing the trailing arms.
The most difficult part of the job was knocking out the old bearings. I purchased an inexpensive tool kit (less than $100) for removing the old bearings and installing new Timken bearings purchased from The Spindle People.
Having done a few recently I have found that all the Factory Shims and the Spacers are not flat they are tapered. Putting them in a Surface Grinder quickly exposes the poor machining they had when new. Aftermarket Sims are hit and miss. So, when you do a set up you might find that you need to add or subtract a couple of thousands only to find that it was not what you expected to get. When You use your original set up its different than the last time you tested it. Sure, sign the parts your using are tapered and not flat.
Having done a few recently I have found that all the Factory Shims and the Spacers are not flat they are tapered. Putting them in a Surface Grinder quickly exposes the poor machining they had when new. Aftermarket Sims are hit and miss. So, when you do a set up you might find that you need to add or subtract a couple of thousands only to find that it was not what you expected to get. When You use your original set up its different than the last time you tested it. Sure, sign the parts your using are tapered and not flat.
None of the shims in the kit would work so fortunately the originals did on mine
None of the shims in the kit would work so fortunately the originals did on mine
Not surprised the kit shims were too far out but very surprised the original shims worked but then that will depend on the level of endplay with or without lateral play. I never had original shims work to the level I want. Not saying it's not possible but I would be surprised if there is no lateral play in them.
I'm impressed that you want to do this yourself, not many folks want to do that today IMO. You have the PRO's like GTR1999 who can do this for you blindfolded, and he does great work to very high standards.
The other side is you and me and many others that have an interest in seeing how these things work, and fixing them up to the best of our ability without all the high end equipment. I did this on my '77 a few years ago, and they have been working great ever since. The only tools I used were a Digital Vernier caliper, spindle set-up tool, hydraulic press, and a magnetic stand with a dial caliper and then basic hand tools. I would aim for the tighter side of the allowed tolerance, as it's going to loosen up as thing get run-in. You can minimise this by deburring everything, and assemble fit only with something like WD-40, or a very light lube.
Not surprised the kit shims were too far out but very surprised the original shims worked but then that will depend on the level of endplay with or without lateral play. I never had original shims work to the level I want. Not saying it's not possible but I would be surprised if there is no lateral play in them.
Interesting. I did a good bit of research before the project and don't recall any info on lateral play but of course it would be a consideration. Hopefully I'll never need to do this project again.......
then again hopefully I'll live long enought and drive far enough to have to do it again at which point I'll be all ears on proper play and where to find the correct shim.
I'm impressed that you want to do this yourself, not many folks want to do that today IMO. You have the PRO's like GTR1999 who can do this for you blindfolded, and he does great work to very high standards.
The other side is you and me and many others that have an interest in seeing how these things work, and fixing them up to the best of our ability without all the high end equipment. I did this on my '77 a few years ago, and they have been working great ever since. The only tools I used were a Digital Vernier caliper, spindle set-up tool, hydraulic press, and a magnetic stand with a dial caliper and then basic hand tools. I would aim for the tighter side of the allowed tolerance, as it's going to loosen up as thing get run-in. You can minimise this by deburring everything, and assemble fit only with something like WD-40, or a very light lube.
If I could go back and re-do this project I would appreciate this post and GTR1999's longer post when it comes to play tolerances (including lateral). My friend helped me and he's a very knowlegeable and skilled old school retired pro mechanic who has owned and raced a ton of cool cars/bikes and currently owns one of the rarest 442's on Earth and he rigged up an amzingly accurate way to check play. I used Timken bearings and the original shims on both sides. The play was .001 on one side and just under .003 on the other. If I re-did it I'd be conscience of the lateral play and I'd want the .001 on both sides. He assured me the .001 would "run in" as you mentioned but 1999's post makes me wish I had .001 on both sides. If nothing else just for continuity of wear. I've got the better part of 6000 miles on 'em and no complaints so far
Rear Bearing Kit
