VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1965-1970 69 corvette wheel bearning

had new tires put on car this afternoon.tire shop put tire iron under rearwheel l and it would move up an down is that a wheel bearning or what should I look for. only done it on left rear wheel. thanks

Here's my "quick" analysis on your "short" description....

The first thing that jumped out at me was that this occurs on the Left side but not on the Right. That is usually a good indication that you have a problem - Regardless of WHAT THE PROBLEM is. So, it' definitely worth pursuing.

As for a bad wheel bearing, my experience is that this is usually indicated by being able to "rock" the tire back-and-forth. Stand on the side of the car - and push the top of the tire in-and-out as though you're trying to pull it off the car. Be vigorous about this. If it moves, then there's a good chance that the bearing is bad. Naturally you do this with the car jacked up off the floor.

Then go try it on the other side (jacked off the floor). They should BOTH act the same. And there should be very little movement (if any) in a good bearing.

--Bill

My advice would be to take the car to a shop that specializes in Corvettes and knows what they are doing. The rear suspension and especially the wheel bearings are VERY different from any other car (other than a 1965 and up Corvair) .................

And special tools are needed to press stub axle out of bearing. The job is a bear even with the special tools.

Just a warning. A Corvette is a very expensive car to maintain. You need deep pockets for most repairs. Mechcanics in Chevrolet dealerships hate to work on them and independent shops should be avoided unless they specialize in Corvettes.
Also the frame should be inspected for rust as it is common.

jack vet up and on jack stand. remove the half shafts and put a dial indicator on the threaded end of the spindle. then push and pull on the wheel(leave tire/wheel on so as to gain leverage).Mount the base of the dial indicator on the trailing arm to avoid measuring slop in the trailing arm bushings . there should be .002 to .007 end play in the spindle/bearing. there is an inexpensive tool to remove the spindle from its bearings and housing. the tool simply threads onto the spindle then u get bubba and 5# maul to smack the tool. almost always works. believe Corvette Central seeks the tool. shims of various sizes are available when u replace the worn bearing/races with new ones. your owners manual will recommend disassembling the rear spindles every 25K miles to clean and grease them. hardly anybody does so as its a pain and time consuming. i've had c-2 rear spindle bearings go south at about 50K miles and never beyond 100K miles. good luck, mike

Whenever I did the rear bearings on either Corvette or Corvairs I had the the new bearings slip fit on the spindle's which made assembly and adjusting the shims easier.
Have you checked with a Corvette club in your area for a shop recommendation?