Front wheel bearing failures?
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: May 1999
Posts: 34,551
Likes: 505
From: Auburn Hills MI
Front wheel bearing failures?
Figures we were driving home last night and I commented on how smooth the car was driving, even in Track mode which I normally leave it in.
Left the house this morning and first thing I noticed was on a very smooth road turning right there was a slight shudder in the wheel. Went away when we got onto different style of pavement.
Slowly over the next 20 miles things got worse and I can hear a rubbing/grinding noise coming from the front right.
Assume its the bearing. Just under 24K miles.
I could not find any parts online, are they the same SKF's used in the C5/C6?
Now the question is to take it to the dealer or just fix it myself. It will be under warranty but not sure I want to put the car in the hands of the dealer with the supercharger and all that on it. If its the same $150 SKF's as the older Corvette I'll just do it myself, pretty simple job and probably spend more time taking it to the dealer and picking it up.
Left the house this morning and first thing I noticed was on a very smooth road turning right there was a slight shudder in the wheel. Went away when we got onto different style of pavement.
Slowly over the next 20 miles things got worse and I can hear a rubbing/grinding noise coming from the front right.
Assume its the bearing. Just under 24K miles.
I could not find any parts online, are they the same SKF's used in the C5/C6?
Now the question is to take it to the dealer or just fix it myself. It will be under warranty but not sure I want to put the car in the hands of the dealer with the supercharger and all that on it. If its the same $150 SKF's as the older Corvette I'll just do it myself, pretty simple job and probably spend more time taking it to the dealer and picking it up.
Race Director
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 10,709
Likes: 7,101
From: Fulshear, TX
I just checked www.RockAuto.com and they have two front bearings available for the 2014 Corvette.
TIMKEN HA590568 $77.99
ACDELCO FW412 $106.79
You can find a 5% discount code with a quick Google search too.
TIMKEN HA590568 $77.99
ACDELCO FW412 $106.79
You can find a 5% discount code with a quick Google search too.
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: May 1999
Posts: 34,551
Likes: 505
From: Auburn Hills MI
Brakes will not cause that when not being applied.
If it was just the noise I could see a dragging brake or something but there is something that feels loose in the front end.
It is not steering and there is no play at all. I've packed up my jacks and all that for the move to the new house so I can't put it up to check.
It is possible to be a tie rod end but that would not cause the judder in the wheel. Of course it could also be a ball joint issue but I doubt that from the way it feels and the dragging sound when just rolling along at 10mph.
Also it went from being something I noticed on smooth roads to something I noticed all the time in 20 miles which usually is a seal failure in the bearing and it just grinds itself away in a short period of time.
$106 for a true Delco part is not a bad price, its also $40 cheaper than the last bearing for the Corvette which might explain its early failure.
Last edited by NoOne; Apr 17, 2016 at 03:31 PM.
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: May 1999
Posts: 34,551
Likes: 505
From: Auburn Hills MI
No I have not. The SKF's would give up after 10 or so hard track days, less if using R compounds.
I do drive the car pretty hard but in 2 years of ownership and 23K miles probably enough to be equivalent to 1 hard 20 minute session.
I had not hit any potholes recently but I have hit a few over the past year, just wondering if the damage was masked and finally gave way. The roads here do suck and I drive in Track mode 90 percent of the time.
If the shocks are absorbing less the impact has to go somewhere, partly to the shock tower, partly to the wheel/hub/bearing I'd guess.
I was going to check and make sure the steering rack is tight too, had to come off for the SC install, maybe worked itself loose with the rapid temp changes the past week.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 41,044
Likes: 9,808
From: Charlotte, NC (formerly Endicott, NY)
Take it to the dealer and let them do it. They won't hurt your car. Track mode can take a toll on the car if you use it on the street. The suspension is too stiff for all the bumps found on streets like you have in Michigan.
Bill
Bill
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: May 1999
Posts: 34,551
Likes: 505
From: Auburn Hills MI
I would but convenience also plays into it. The nearest dealer I trust is 30 minutes from the house. The shop that did the work is 10 minutes from my office.
It's a cheap part and I have to get the pulley's checked anyways on the SC.
Last time I took the car to a Chevy dealer around here for an oil change they parked it indoors. Underneath a oil burning heater, which for the life of I cannot imagine why it was running in June.
Pulled the car around covered in black soot. I told them I brought the car in pristine, they then offer to wash it, spray it off and drive it back around still soaking wet.
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