Rear Wheel Bearings
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 1999
Posts: 2,473
Likes: 10
From: New Paltz, New York USA
Rear Wheel Bearings
I'm thinking about replacing my rear wheel bearings on my 81. Can anyone tell me if this is a major job and what has to come off to do this? Thanks in advance. I think mine are original and the car has 140,000 miles on it so I figured I should change them since they do not cost an arm and a leg to buy.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 8,339
Likes: 24
From: I can walk to MA
Re: Rear Wheel Bearings (Richard Cooper)
Arm and a leg to get the job done, though.
I'll start with the good news:
You will not have to remove the rear trailing arm pivot bolt.
Now the bad news:
Lots of painful part removing to get them out.
Here is a bare minimum:
1 - release rear spring tension ... leave it bolted up in the center.
2 - get half shafts out
3 - get lower shock mounts out
4 - remove calipers and rotors
5 - remove inner flange from spindle
6 - remove all ebrake shoes/hardware
7 - remove four nuts under outer spindle flange
At this point, you start to wrestle the wheel bearing assembly out of the
trailing arm. A thin screwdriver can be wedged between the bearing carrier
and the trailing arm to get it started. An air chisel would be faster ... but risk damage.
So, at this point you should inspect the trailing arms well. If you think they
need replacing ... talk to Dan at Van Steel and see what he can do.
If TAs look good, then send the bearing assemblies out for refurbishing.
Van Steel or Bairs ... I wouldn't trust a mechanic that isn't a 'vette head.
I did my own, but unless you have a hydraulic press, bearing separator,
bearing packer, and a dial indicator/magnetic base .... it's cheaper to have
them done.
:seeya
[Modified by NHvette, 2:57 PM 5/11/2004]
I'll start with the good news:
You will not have to remove the rear trailing arm pivot bolt.
Now the bad news:
Lots of painful part removing to get them out.
Here is a bare minimum:
1 - release rear spring tension ... leave it bolted up in the center.
2 - get half shafts out
3 - get lower shock mounts out
4 - remove calipers and rotors
5 - remove inner flange from spindle
6 - remove all ebrake shoes/hardware
7 - remove four nuts under outer spindle flange
At this point, you start to wrestle the wheel bearing assembly out of the
trailing arm. A thin screwdriver can be wedged between the bearing carrier
and the trailing arm to get it started. An air chisel would be faster ... but risk damage.
So, at this point you should inspect the trailing arms well. If you think they
need replacing ... talk to Dan at Van Steel and see what he can do.
If TAs look good, then send the bearing assemblies out for refurbishing.
Van Steel or Bairs ... I wouldn't trust a mechanic that isn't a 'vette head.
I did my own, but unless you have a hydraulic press, bearing separator,
bearing packer, and a dial indicator/magnetic base .... it's cheaper to have
them done.
:seeya
[Modified by NHvette, 2:57 PM 5/11/2004]
Tech Contributor
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 15,175
Likes: 3,989
From: Connecticut, USA
Re: Rear Wheel Bearings (Richard Cooper)
I was going to write up a procedure for this job last week but found one on http://www.corvettefaq.com already.
Gary
Gary
Cruising
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 10
Likes: 0
From: Emmett ID
Re: Rear Wheel Bearings (Richard Cooper)
This is a big job, so if you want to tackle it be prepared to take awhile. Did this on my 79 and it is a real pain. It helps to have all the right tools that you need. Trying to guess wheel bearing shims for play is alot of taking apart two or three times.
Good Luck,
Have Patients,
Lon
Good Luck,
Have Patients,
Lon
Intermediate
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 34
Likes: 0
From: Toronto
Re: Rear Wheel Bearings (Sapas)
Before you start tearing things out try this 1st. power wash the rear end make sure you get all the crud and rust out. Next let it dry out then spray all moving parts with a good oil spray let that soak in for a few hours and then repeat. Now you can do a proper diagnoses. If you cannot locate the area that is producing the noise then I suggest to take it to a good rear end shop and let them diagnose the problem and at that point you can make a decision. I will say this do not touch the rear end unless you know what you are doing in most cases the rear end is more complex to set-up then rebuilding an engine. Some times it's wise and cheaper to let a pro do it.
[Modified by iPlanet, 6:24 PM 5/19/2004]
[Modified by iPlanet, 6:24 PM 5/19/2004]
