NHvette

I have a couple sets of rear suspension. The stuff I'm using is from the 75,
including rebuilt trailing arm assemblies with two seasons (low miles) on them.

I got them all cleaned up, painted, and installed on the chassis before noticing
that the bearings felt and sounded "dry".



So, I took them back out, removed all the brake hardware (again), and
borrowed a friend's 12 ton hydraulic press. Thanks Ken (73ken73).



I pressed my two "good" bearing assemblies apart. It went pretty smoothly.
I also pressed apart one of the original '70 assemblies. The 70 was pristine,
except for the rusty outsides. I planned to make a setup tool from the '70
spindle. The rebuilt assemblies were um ... well, see for yourself:




So, sometime ... somewhere ... water got inside these.
I DID use a power washer (2000 psi) to help clean them up.
Could this be my mistake, or perhaps the seals were not sealing ?
I'm not looking to point a finger. I just don't want this to happen again -
to me or anyone else.

I am ordering bearing kits now, and I'm not sure what I might need to buy
for shims. I measured the shims out of the assemblies at .127 and .133.

What varies in the assemblies that would require different shims ?
Does it vary much ? Can I get away with buying a couple of shims ...
one size smaller and one size larger for each side ?
I will be custom grinding for final fit of .001".

On a final note, thanks to Ken also for selling me a set of KYBs that he had
lying around for a lowly $30 !!!



:seeya :seeya :seeya :smash: :smash: :smash: :seeya :seeya :seeya

WESCH

Hi

I'm in no way a specialist to correctly answer your question, but I see this greenish grease. I do not like it as I also found it to attract and disolve water. So does the Mobil 28 ( redish grease ). I think this are synthetic greases.
I would defenately change to something else.

Good luck. Gunther

NHvette

Thanks for the tip. I will investigate greases before using any.

TTT - anyone else that's done their rear bearings ??

stpman

Can't help you Dave ...................all I see are red X's

Steve

Avette4me

When I did mine, they probably had never been apart before, or at least appeared that way....they looked nothing like that...did they sit outside for long after you rebuilt them?

NHvette

They sat outside on the old donor vette for over a year - under cover of a tarp, though.

Clarification : These were rebuilt by a reputable vendor.

If the pictrues aren't there - do the right mouse button >> show picture.
They are served up by my home PC. I have 2Mb/sec, but the PC is nearly a classic.


:seeya


[Modified by NHvette, 5:37 PM 4/13/2004]


[Modified by NHvette, 6:56 PM 4/13/2004]

theandies

That my friend is when water and grease mix......not a pretty sight. I've seen that before on boat trailers that the water seals for the wheels fail. I am guessing that while they sat outside they wicked the water. How did they look after they are cleaned? Are the races/bearing scored or pitted? If they look good and are tight you can use them over, but I am no Corvette rear bearing expert.

70BBvert

Looks pretty ugly Dave. That an oxymoron?? :D Anyway looks like water got in there to me too. Did you try to clean them up yet? I soak the bearings in laquer thinner to get the old grease out then take a good look. If there's no rust damage & everything moves freely then they should be re-useable. Rebuilding is not that hard. Get the inners off, clean out the grease & set the clearance to .001-.003". You have a dial indicator? You can measure the free play, then go buy the correct shims. Most shops will sell the shims individually. Check to make sure the clearance is good. Then take it all apart & grease the bearings and put it back together.

Check your local Vette shops for tool rentals. My local shop rents all the tools for $50. I have a good set of instructions somewhere. If you need a copy let me know I'll dig them up. I'll be out of town on business for the next couple of days though.

Jim

jacobsed

I have a 6 ton press...is that big enough for this job?

NHvette

Thanks for the advice Jim/John - already there. I have bearing sets for all 4 wheels on the way along with a few shims.
The races and rollers were pitted enough to bind up.
I'm pretty sure it was the power washing - but that was only a few weeks ago.
Maybe that coupled with loose seals.

A 6 ton press should do the trick, unless they are really stuck.

:seeya


[Modified by NHvette, 8:05 AM 4/14/2004]

DMONSVETTE

:smash: :seeya


[Modified by DMONSVETTE, 3:36 AM 4/14/2004]

Turbo-Jet

Topic is good timing for me... IÂ’m about to become a Corvette rear bearing expertÂ…

But I do design precision rotating assemblies for a living, so I know the basics of wheel bearing design. I would also suspect the pressure washer. Standard grease seals will not withstand more than a few psi of internal pressure and probably zero external pressure. And the high velocity of a jet of water would certainly be able to find it's way inside the housing. It's a matter of how intense the washing was.

But it is possible that the seals are faulty. Did you inspect the edge of the lip of the seals? Were they damaged or worn flat? How is the condition of the shaft faces where the seal rotates? It should have a very good surface finish (16 microinches or better). Can you take some measurements of these diameters and compare to another ‘good’ spindle? Maybe they are undersize?



[Modified by Turbo-Jet, 12:54 AM 4/14/2004]

Twin_Turbo

I can't see the pics either, after 10 minutes I saw the pic of the press. Can you host them somewhere else (or if you send them to me I can put them up for you), that way you will most likely get an answer sooner.
I see the pics now. Definitely water, what you see there is a combo of water getting in and not driving. Nothing that a new set of bearings and races can't fix, how do the spindles look under the bearings??


[Modified by Twin_Turbo, 5:19 AM 4/14/2004]