66 Corvette rear axle bearing replacement procedure question

Hi Guys,

Again I have the pleasure of nursing this specimen to health, this time I'm looking for direction to find a good source of Tech info regarding the proper procedure to remove and install the rear axle arm/hub assembly and the procedure/specs for the rear wheel bearing/hub assembly, and any pertinent info toward a successful repair.
schematics/pictures would be an asset re: the proper placement of the bearings, seals, spacers and shields

TIA.

Romain.

[jbeidl]

Romain, I see that you have not had a reply yet. I never worked on a 66, however, in the mid 70's I spent about a year restoring a 68 coupe. I "think" that the 66 used the same rear suspension.

I had to replace my trailing arms with new parts because the were severely rusted (New York State car). There were only two jobs during this entire restoration that I did not do myself, one of which was replacing the rear wheel bearings and the other was restitching the front seat upholstery.

I did not have an arbor press large enough to remove the spindles from the old trailing arms. I could not get them to budge with the press I had access to. I did not want to heat them, so I took everything to the local Chevrolet dealer. When I got them back, the spindles were blue. I guess that their press was not big enough either so they used a torch (I could have done that).

In 1968 there were two shop manuals that I know about. One was called a Service Manual and the other was called an Overhaul manual. The best I can recall the information you need was in the Service Manual (I could be wrong, this was over 30 years ago and I no longer have the manuals or the car).

I just checked E-bay and noticed that there is a 66 reproduction manual for sale there. In thoes days there was a single manual that covered CORVETTE, CHEVROLET, CHEVELLE /SS and CHEVY ll. It is possible that this manual will have the information you require. Since I have never seen the 66 manual, I cannot be sure.

I "think" that the 66, 67 and 68 all used the same rear suspension, maybe even the 65.

Good Luck with your repair.

I have linked to a picture of my 68 taken just before I sold it in 2001 (should have kept it - I was out of garage space).

John

[jbeidl]

Romain,

I don't know if you have the 66 manuals or not. I just did a check at Helm Inc. and much to my surprise they still sell both the service and overhaul manuals for the 66. The following link should provide a list of Corvette Service manuals.

http://www.helminc.com/helm/Result.a...SCTR80S0Q92MB5

John

Hi John,

Thank you for searching the availability of the manuals, we have completed the replacement of brgs, with a .004" end play.

the proper tools would be an asset, but we managed and were able to achieve our goal.

Thanks again.

Romain.

Hi Again,

Forgot to mention, John, that the 68 you sold is a nice looking automobile.

[jbeidl]

Glad to hear you were able to complete the job.

Were you able to press them out or did you have to apply heat?

John

Hi John,

I did initially apply some heat to the inner brg cone, and doused it with penetrating oil, without leaving any mark or discoloration on the shaft, then rearranged a 3 point support setup in the press, and it came without any hassle.

then we polished the axle surfaces with a 320 grit emery cloth to reduce the press fit to a manageable level to be able to fit the brgs and spacers for correct end play, and be able to remove the brgs for the final assembly with the seals in place, and a general purpose wheel bearing grease, without having to apply a lot of pressure. and torqued the spindle nut to specs, and keyed for safe retention.

Hello
I am happy to see you were able to finish the job. This job requires some tenacity on the home shop owner to complete. However I disagree with removing the interference fit from the spindle. GM's original design in 1963 did not have the difficult to remove interference fit in the rear bearings. (interference fit is described as the Bearing bore is smaller than the spindle size) . They are reported to have many bearing failures using the slip fit design on the rear axle bearings. Thus they figured an interface fit was required when the shafts are powered, unlike the front bearings that work well in the un-powered application. Although I have removed some clearance in the past it was only when the bearing required excessive force to remove it. The clearance was only reduced by a couple of ten thousands so the two bearing fits matched at the lower of the two sizes. A lathe and an micrometer were required tools for this job. These bearings can be a real PITA for the home shop. The proper tools make it easier and removing the trailing arm and completing the pressing in a 25Ton press also helps. To make the job easier I sanded out the clearance from a used set of bearings and set up the clearance using them as they slide on and off. Using this method of bearing setup only one pressing of the new bearings onto the spindle is required. Hope this helps.
Rick
1963 340HP Coupe

Hi Rick,

Thanks for your response, I do agree with your explanation about the need for the interference fit to be there, and for that reason, great care was taken to only polish the axle surfaces to reduce the press fit to some degree, to the extent that I was able to remove the bearings (after determining the end play), without danger of damage to the bearings during removal.

Your approach of honing out the I.D. of a used set of bearings is a great idea, and you can be sure that I will take that route on the next rear axle bearing replacement project.

Thanks again, Romain.

[irfgt]

Using used bearings to determine end play on new bearings is like using someone elses feet to determine your own shoe size. You must use the new bearings to gauge the correct shims for the correct end play. There are tools and proceedures for this repair that you should use and follow.