TFeld78

Been getting a bunch of weird noises out of the rear end of my 82.
Noises are a scraping sound, like a wire cable hanging off the bottom of the car, and when the car moves forward, the cable scraps the bottom of the car as the cable revolves around on the axle. It only "scrapes" three or four times then quits.

The next set of sounds are loud squeaks after making a turn, particularly
a right hand turn. Again, it only squeaks three or four times and then quits.

Is this a wheel bearing going out??

If so, what can I expect to pay to correct? I read in a recent thread that this is a job for professionals with the proper tools. :(

Thanks.

GaryS

I would want to check out my u-joints ASAP. You can jack the car up and spin the wheel around by hand to see where the noises are coming from. It could be rear wheel bearings and you don't want to rule that out but I would first check your u-joints.
Gary

chartier 72

I believe that by jacking up the car and making sure it is stable, you then can lift up on the wheel and check for play. You would probably also hear a lesser version of the sound if in fact the rear wheel bearings were bad. if so have a shop change the bearings and races out of both sides. and since your that far into it have the u joints done at this time, you've already paid for the labor to go this far anyway.

bryan78nCO

I agree. If it is not your wheel bearings or your U joints, you may need to add the rear-end additive. I had a 79 that would moan and groan around corners. I pulled the rear-end out and replaced all of the U joints and it still did it. :mad
I went to the local corvette dealer and he added the rear-end additive and it didn't do it anymore. :p:
All of that work, and it was just a 5 minute fix.
Hope this helps. :seeya

OzVette75

Ditto on the Diff Additive!
If you can get hold of a real ezy to use siphon, changing the oil and additive is the best first thing to try, takes about an hour and could well fix your noise.
Mine did this for a while and I was thinking $$ for new diff etc, imagine my delight when this fix made all noise disappear!

JB

Yup, sounds like the noises my differential made before I had the fluid changed and added posi additive. Do yourself a favor and take it to an oil change place--they did mine for about $15 and saved me a nasty & difficult job. You will need to drop the spare tire and the spare tire carrier first so they can get to the plug.

JB

'78SA

thejaf

I agree, always check the easy first. I've had several wheel bearing go sour on me, and the sound is not too mistakable. A nasty, embarrasing squeek-grind that is speed variable and doesn't go away. Usually when the bearing starts going bad you won't hear it until the car gets warmed up a couple miles, then it gets increasingly worse.

To answer your question, if it ends up that the bearings need replaced, call around your local small shops. I happened to find one that did my bearing for less than $100 a wheel. He replaced it 2 years ago, and it's still going strong. THere's no need to send your trailing arms off, etc. Best to find a retired GM service manager from the 1960's and 1970's who runs his own shop. :D

TFeld78

Update - Took the car to a local shop highly recommended by the Corvette Club I belong to. They diagnosed as bad u-joints. Although I replaced my own on my 78, I figured WTF, let someone else enjoy the PITA job that was... (I don't have a press, and pounding out the u-joints was not fun).

Thanks for all the help!!!!!!!!!! :cheers: