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I'm thinking of doing the rear hubs and bearings along with the u joints. I'm getting vibrations in the car and I saw a lot of slop in the u joints while swapping the overdrive. Should have done it at the same time but oh well.
A few questions:
Are all 6 u joints the same or are the rear axle ones different from the driveshaft?
Should I replace just bearings, or the whole hub?
Any gotchas to the job?
Any recommendations on brands? Rock Auto has wheel hubs from $25 to $350.
Any other things I should do while I'm already in there?
The bearing and the hub is an assembly. If you make friends with the Napa guy and have him read the warranties etc for you, their better ones are made by SKF. That is what I put on my car.
Unless you already have one, or can borrow one, expect a trip to Harbor Freight to pick up their 3/4" torque wrench. 1/2" ones typically won't go to a high enough value. While there, don't forget the set of adapters. There is a 3/4" to 1/2" reducer in the set that is invaluable.
plus the 20% coupon that is currently on their website makes it really affordable AND you are going to use it, unless you have one or access to one as I said
Here's an excellent article on doing u-joints through hubs: https://www.digitalcorvettes.com/for...d.php?t=144562
Use as much as applies to your project. I used it when I did mine and it really helped out. I made a tool to use in a hydraulic press to work on the u-joints and it worked out great.
here are some tips for you. I have replaced ujoints and bearings several times.
use Spicer ujoints with coated caps. I got mine from Denny's Driveshaft.
use USA made bearings. SKF or WBI..
replace the teflon coated steel washers behind the bearings. got mine from GM dealer.
use a top quality T55 bit to remove bolts that hold bearings. I got a SNAP-ON. If you use one from Harbor Freight and strip out the bolt, you will have to remove the knuckle and it is still a PITA to get bolt out.
replace the teflon coated steel washers behind the bearings. got mine from GM dealer.
Just so you know, no longer in the GM supply chain, see the above link I provided from Corvette Central. I purchased some of the last available from GM when I did mine. When I asked the dealership to get me a spare set, I was told "no longer available".
use a top quality T55 bit to remove bolts that hold bearings. I got a SNAP-ON. If you use one from Harbor Freight and strip out the bolt
I agree whole heartly because of where it is. I have a set from Craftsman, but they are 24 yrs old. I have no idea how the current ones are. You want one that is tough and hard, not hard and brittle or ill-fitting.
There is a seal on the 84 and 85s that should be changed when you replace the rear hubs( see post #2 above). Corvette Central had the washers a few months ago when I purchased a spare set. The U joints should be replaced with the proper ones as mentioned above. I used Timkens on my rears back in 2011 on my 84.
use a top quality T55 bit to remove bolts that hold bearings. I got a SNAP-ON. If you use one from Harbor Freight and strip out the bolt, you will have to remove the knuckle and it is still a PITA to get bolt out.
I used one of the impact torx from HR on my rear hub and had very good luck with it. Held up great and fit perfect and worked with an impact wrench. Only thing I noticed was the T55 wasn't long enough if you wanted to use it on a front axel. I picked up a longer one off ebay if I ever need to deal with the front hubs.
When I changed the rear hub on mine, I pulled the half shaft and it made it extremely easy to get to the torx bolts and get them out. I believe Corvette Central is the only source currently for the Teflon washers lately. They're reproductions and though not perfect compared to the originals they should work.
Just FYI
I'll have to pull the half shafts anyway to replace u joints right?
Yup - take a look at that thread I noted earlier. It's pretty good IMO and includes both text and pictures and it's what I followed when I did mine on changing the u-joints and later the rear hub.
if you are following the FSM, you may or may not know this. if you don't, a little FYI. when you drop the drive shaft, unbolt it at the differential end, and drop it down to the point of interference with the body structure/pinch weld. there's some sheet metal bent and spot welded to form part of the sub-structure. take a grinder and remove about a 1/8" x 1.5" as shown, it removes the interference allowing the shaft removal without removing the support beam. removal of the support beam is called out in the FSM. that in itself is a bunch of extra work. the metal removal is minimal, and no way affects the body integrity -
here's a couple shots of the area I'm talking about -
Yeah I think they might be different but I can only find the drive shaft ones. I've got the 4+3.
Is the drive shaft and half shafts two different jobs? By which I mean it's there any reason to do them all at once? I try to break big jobs down into smaller jobs is I can due to limited time.
Yeah I think they might be different but I can only find the drive shaft ones. I've got the 4+3.
Is the drive shaft and half shafts two different jobs? By which I mean it's there any reason to do them all at once? I try to break big jobs down into smaller jobs is I can due to limited time.
really two separate jobs. did you check rockauto for the half shafts? they seem to have several brands available.
01-26-2019, 10:31 AM
1985 u joint and wheel hub/bearing replacement
