c6 rear wheel bearing
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 298
Likes: 16
c6 rear wheel bearing
I am posting this so others can hopefully learn from my experience here, which was mostly successful.
My 2008 z06 has under 30K miles, all street. A couple months ago, I began to hear a loud whine or humming sound, seemingly coming from the rear, especially the left rear, over 40mph. it got louder as I went faster. No vibration.
Based on internet searches, it seemed like it was a bad rear wheel bearing. I changed the rear diff fluid, just to be safe, and no difference. (Incidentally, there has been no change in the clunking at low speeds from the rear diff when turning sharply and parking after diff change, but i think that is just how it is going to be - my CTS-V does the same thing)
So I bought the heavy duty skf rear wheel bearing, since in my dream I plan to track the car one day.
I followed some online tutorials and removed the rear wheel bearing. There is a real nice video online about doing the job. The only thing I would suggest is NOT to use the BFH (big hammer) - you dont need that to break the ball joints loose. When i tried to use the hammer, I just put some nice marks in the beautiful aluminum arms. Also, I would not hit so hard on the half shaft, although gentle taps will push it through the bearing on removal.
The giant axle nut loosened with a large breaker bar. I did not reuse it but bought a new one. (The socket for the axle nut just happens to be the same as I use for the pitman arm nut on the C2 vette! - lucky) The upper ball joint came apart easily. So did the tie rod (that probably is the wrong name but I am referring to the small arm that adjust toe in/out of the rear suspension). the lower ball joint did not want to let go. Finally, I jacked up the car a little bit off the jackstand by putting the jack right on the wheel studs of the old bearing. I knew that might damage the threads, but I was replacing anyway. It popped free with the maneuver (Of course, i still had the nut on the ball joint stud, it was just loosened, so nothing could fall apart)
The c6 is nicer than the old vettes because when the lower arm is completely disconnected, the leaf spring will only drop so far, so I can leave the lower arm hanging without a jack under it and there is no tension in it. With a c2 vette in the front or rear, the springs still have a lot of force in them when you dissassemble the corner.
Getting the Torx bolts out of the old bearing upright was difficult - I used an impact gun but the socket of one of the bolts was buggered up, so I had to buy new bolts. The chevy dealer seemed to think this was a common problem.
The SKF bearing used to have a problem with clearance of those bolts, but apparently they have reduced the thickness of the stud heads, so the standard bolts fit in with no intereference. No ZR1 bolts needed.
It all went back together pretty easily. Once you are used to the job, figure two hours to dissassemble, and less to reassemble. Need to have the right size wrenches and sockets - they are big. Much easier than working on an old vette. most of the new suspension is aluminum or alloy, so no rust to fight with. even the bolts seem resistant to rust, although my car has rarely been driven in weather.
the new bearing solved the whining noise, which was quite loud. Very rewaring project, and very do-able for the skilled home mechanic. No welding or cutting or cursing.
My 2008 z06 has under 30K miles, all street. A couple months ago, I began to hear a loud whine or humming sound, seemingly coming from the rear, especially the left rear, over 40mph. it got louder as I went faster. No vibration.
Based on internet searches, it seemed like it was a bad rear wheel bearing. I changed the rear diff fluid, just to be safe, and no difference. (Incidentally, there has been no change in the clunking at low speeds from the rear diff when turning sharply and parking after diff change, but i think that is just how it is going to be - my CTS-V does the same thing)
So I bought the heavy duty skf rear wheel bearing, since in my dream I plan to track the car one day.
I followed some online tutorials and removed the rear wheel bearing. There is a real nice video online about doing the job. The only thing I would suggest is NOT to use the BFH (big hammer) - you dont need that to break the ball joints loose. When i tried to use the hammer, I just put some nice marks in the beautiful aluminum arms. Also, I would not hit so hard on the half shaft, although gentle taps will push it through the bearing on removal.
The giant axle nut loosened with a large breaker bar. I did not reuse it but bought a new one. (The socket for the axle nut just happens to be the same as I use for the pitman arm nut on the C2 vette! - lucky) The upper ball joint came apart easily. So did the tie rod (that probably is the wrong name but I am referring to the small arm that adjust toe in/out of the rear suspension). the lower ball joint did not want to let go. Finally, I jacked up the car a little bit off the jackstand by putting the jack right on the wheel studs of the old bearing. I knew that might damage the threads, but I was replacing anyway. It popped free with the maneuver (Of course, i still had the nut on the ball joint stud, it was just loosened, so nothing could fall apart)
The c6 is nicer than the old vettes because when the lower arm is completely disconnected, the leaf spring will only drop so far, so I can leave the lower arm hanging without a jack under it and there is no tension in it. With a c2 vette in the front or rear, the springs still have a lot of force in them when you dissassemble the corner.
Getting the Torx bolts out of the old bearing upright was difficult - I used an impact gun but the socket of one of the bolts was buggered up, so I had to buy new bolts. The chevy dealer seemed to think this was a common problem.
The SKF bearing used to have a problem with clearance of those bolts, but apparently they have reduced the thickness of the stud heads, so the standard bolts fit in with no intereference. No ZR1 bolts needed.
It all went back together pretty easily. Once you are used to the job, figure two hours to dissassemble, and less to reassemble. Need to have the right size wrenches and sockets - they are big. Much easier than working on an old vette. most of the new suspension is aluminum or alloy, so no rust to fight with. even the bolts seem resistant to rust, although my car has rarely been driven in weather.
the new bearing solved the whining noise, which was quite loud. Very rewaring project, and very do-able for the skilled home mechanic. No welding or cutting or cursing.
Last edited by jkg2101; Dec 16, 2015 at 08:00 AM.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 298
Likes: 16
When diagnosing the problem I found that sharp turns on a highway ramp at speed - when I turned left the noise seemed to decrease a little but no change when I turned right. So I thought this meant the left rear bearing was bad
Also when jacked up there was no play in the bearing when I pulled on the tire. Even when removed from the car, the bearing looks and feels ok. But it seems it was bad since the very loud noise is now gone.
It seems to have failed at less than 30k miles of normal driving.
Also when jacked up there was no play in the bearing when I pulled on the tire. Even when removed from the car, the bearing looks and feels ok. But it seems it was bad since the very loud noise is now gone.
It seems to have failed at less than 30k miles of normal driving.
I am posting this so others can hopefully learn from my experience here, which was mostly successful.
My 2008 z06 has under 30K miles, all street. A couple months ago, I began to hear a loud whine or humming sound, seemingly coming from the rear, especially the left rear, over 40mph. it got louder as I went faster. No vibration.
Based on internet searches, it seemed like it was a bad rear wheel bearing. I changed the rear diff fluid, just to be safe, and no difference. (Incidentally, there has been no change in the clunking at low speeds from the rear diff when turning sharply and parking after diff change, but i think that is just how it is going to be - my CTS-V does the same thing)
So I bought the heavy duty skf rear wheel bearing, since in my dream I plan to track the car one day.
I followed some online tutorials and removed the rear wheel bearing. The giant axle nut loosened with a large breaker bar. I did not reuse it but bought a new one. (The socket for the axle nut just happens to be the same as I use for the pitman arm nut on the C2 vette! - lucky) The upper ball joint came apart easily. So did the tie rod (that probably is the wrong name but I am referring to the small arm that adjust toe in/out of the rear suspension). the lower ball joint did not want to let go. Finally, I jacked up the car a little bit off the jackstand by putting the jack right on the wheel studs of the old bearing. I knew that might damage the threads, but I was replacing anyway. It popped free with the maneuver (Of course, i still had the nut on the ball joint stud, it was just loosened, so nothing could fall apart)
The c6 is nicer than the old vettes because when the lower arm is completely disconnected, the leaf spring will only drop so far, so I can leave the lower arm hanging without a jack under it and there is no tension in it. With a c2 vette in the front or rear, the springs still have a lot of force in them when you dissassemble the corner.
Getting the Torx bolts out of the old bearing upright was difficult - I used an impact gun but the socket of one of the bolts was buggered up, so I had to buy new bolts. The chevy dealer seemed to think this was a common problem.
The SKF bearing used to have a problem with clearance of those bolts, but apparently they have reduced the thickness of the stud heads, so the standard bolts fit in with no intereference. No ZR1 bolts needed.
It all went back together pretty easily. Once you are used to the job, figure two hours to dissassemble, and less to reassemble. Need to have the right size wrenches and sockets - they are big. Much easier than working on an old vette. most of the new suspension is aluminum or alloy, so no rust to fight with. even the bolts seem resistant to rust, although my car has rarely been driven in weather.
the new bearing solved the whining noise, which was quite loud. Very rewaring project, and very do-able for the skilled home mechanic. No welding or cutting or cursing.
My 2008 z06 has under 30K miles, all street. A couple months ago, I began to hear a loud whine or humming sound, seemingly coming from the rear, especially the left rear, over 40mph. it got louder as I went faster. No vibration.
Based on internet searches, it seemed like it was a bad rear wheel bearing. I changed the rear diff fluid, just to be safe, and no difference. (Incidentally, there has been no change in the clunking at low speeds from the rear diff when turning sharply and parking after diff change, but i think that is just how it is going to be - my CTS-V does the same thing)
So I bought the heavy duty skf rear wheel bearing, since in my dream I plan to track the car one day.
I followed some online tutorials and removed the rear wheel bearing. The giant axle nut loosened with a large breaker bar. I did not reuse it but bought a new one. (The socket for the axle nut just happens to be the same as I use for the pitman arm nut on the C2 vette! - lucky) The upper ball joint came apart easily. So did the tie rod (that probably is the wrong name but I am referring to the small arm that adjust toe in/out of the rear suspension). the lower ball joint did not want to let go. Finally, I jacked up the car a little bit off the jackstand by putting the jack right on the wheel studs of the old bearing. I knew that might damage the threads, but I was replacing anyway. It popped free with the maneuver (Of course, i still had the nut on the ball joint stud, it was just loosened, so nothing could fall apart)
The c6 is nicer than the old vettes because when the lower arm is completely disconnected, the leaf spring will only drop so far, so I can leave the lower arm hanging without a jack under it and there is no tension in it. With a c2 vette in the front or rear, the springs still have a lot of force in them when you dissassemble the corner.
Getting the Torx bolts out of the old bearing upright was difficult - I used an impact gun but the socket of one of the bolts was buggered up, so I had to buy new bolts. The chevy dealer seemed to think this was a common problem.
The SKF bearing used to have a problem with clearance of those bolts, but apparently they have reduced the thickness of the stud heads, so the standard bolts fit in with no intereference. No ZR1 bolts needed.
It all went back together pretty easily. Once you are used to the job, figure two hours to dissassemble, and less to reassemble. Need to have the right size wrenches and sockets - they are big. Much easier than working on an old vette. most of the new suspension is aluminum or alloy, so no rust to fight with. even the bolts seem resistant to rust, although my car has rarely been driven in weather.
the new bearing solved the whining noise, which was quite loud. Very rewaring project, and very do-able for the skilled home mechanic. No welding or cutting or cursing.
