Rear wheel bearings

Check with your local Chevy dealer,they can probably do them for you ,or call the local reputable machine shops in your area,make sure they know how to set them up right,ask them if they have done Vette spindles.Don't let some pimple faced kid that does'nt know what he is doing touch them,he can easily ruin a spindle,or bearing housing,or both,big bucks either way.I had mine done by a local shop,25.00 each,dropped them off picked them up the next day,of course I had too supply the bearings and seals,which I purchased locally,Timken bearings and CR seals,40.00

Luke, I've done quite a few trailng arm rebuilds. E-mail me back with any questions, and I'll be happy to try and help you out. Phil Anderson

Hey Phil,

Thanks for the offer. What most intimidates me about trying this myself is the unknown.

For instance, all of the horror stories about seized bearings and ruined spindles from improper alignment,set-up,etc. I really don't know how good of conditions my TAs are either. I've read that alot of the corrosion problems can start from the inside and are diffiecult to detect. I'd hate to invest all the time and effort just to have the TAs fail in some way because of some hidden corrosion.

Anyway, what tools are absolutely necessary? I'd assume a spindle knocker, the bearing pre-load tool and the spindle set-up tool. What do you use to instal the new races? Most articles I've read talk about races getting ruined w/o using an actaul install tool. And if I'm going to go to all that trouble, it makes sense to get the whole TA assembly out of the car and do the front bushings. Also read that these are best pressed in by a machine shop. True?

Anyway, the questions keep on coming to mind and the more I think about it, the more I lean toward the advice of CTHULHU above. I'm fairly handy but I hate doing things and paying for things twice.....

Still not convinced to tackle this one myself.

Thanks

LukesVette said: Hey Phil, Anyway, the questions keep on coming to mind and the more I think about it, the more I lean toward the advice of CTHULHU above. I'm fairly handy but I hate doing things and paying for things twice.....

yeah a trailing arm rebuild is not just setting new bearings and spindle but stripping, dipping, and coating the arm.. most rebuilding services.. will install a new bushing, clean, coat and paint the arm, check all the welds, replace the emergency brakes, etc..

the trailing arm i fixed wasnt really rebuilt, it had new bearings.. and it took two tries to get it right.. (it was my first time).. but when i got done it didnt "look" very good.. when I sent my other off for a rebuild.. it came back looking new..

Luke, you'll need the tools that you mentioned as well as a bearing race drver as well as a dial indicator to set proper bearing spacing in the housing. That spec is .002-.008 inch of free play, thay also sell a bushing staking tool that gaves a correect factory finish when you peen over the one side of the new front bushing. Ihave all of these tools but live in WI., might be hard to get together on that. Let me know-Phil

Ken, I hope that doesn't happen to you, but it is a very real possibility. My name is Phil, and unluckily, I lost 3 of the rollers out of my left outer bearing about 4 yrs. ago and it chewed the heck out of that spindle. How the wheels fall off of a Vette is if you happen to seize the inner bearing to the spindle and don't realize it as you are driving the car and the spindle shears near the u-joint-voila you've driven it until at least one of the wheels has fallen off! Not a bad idea to have a pro tear down and at least inspect, I.M.H.O.- regards-Flandy

It just ain't cool to be cruisin down the highway and get passed by one of your own rear wheels

And if that does happen, pass the W A V E

For what it is worth, when it was time to work on mine I just got new (offset) trailing arms from Van Steel in Florida and had my bearings rebuilt and installed in them. I also had them true up the rear rotors to match.

After 240K miles, the original trailing arms were in need of some help. I could have done it all myself, but ...

Good luck with whatever route you take.

Stripping mine down now. I found the squeak I had on the drivers side. One of the park brake shoe retaining clips had let go and the spring and washer that the t piece fits into was gone. I daresay chewed up inside the drum some time ago. This let the shoe rub on the inside of the spindle hub, squeak squeak.

Drivers side bearings feel ok but passenger are shot.

I'm trying to use a knocker while the trailing arms are still fitted but no luck. I don't want to use a spindle press from the horror story I read about bent caliper mounts.

Looks like I have to take the trailing arm out to knock the spindle out. Is there an easy way of getting that damn trailing arm bolt out???