is your wheel bearing making noise? fix it now!!!

[freedo]

my wheel bearing lasted 60miles of when i first started hearing noises until it failed. if my car wasnt slammed i would have completely lost the wheel.

[bbodie52]

As it says on the Clark's Corvair Parts catalog webpage: "The rear axle bearings are probably the most dangerous part of the whole car. It is not uncommon for the the axle shaft pull right out..."

http://www.corvair.com/user-cgi/catalog ... N&page=165

[freedo]

Yeah lol. Unfortunetly it made zero noises until i was almost 2hrs from home

[TexasUK]

Do you think having it slammed might have made it be more stressed?

And what kind of a noise does it make? I've gad a range of noises coming from the rear end for some time (the car) and nothing has fallen off yet (again, the car).

And what size wheels and tyres do you run please?

I like the look of yours very much, and if I can sneakily lower mine in stages so the missus doesn't notice, I'd like to get it to your stance. And how harsh is the ride? How many coils have you cut, and did you re-align everything?

[freedo]

Do you think having it slammed might have made it be more stressed?

And what kind of a noise does it make? I've gad a range of noises coming from the rear end for some time (the car) and nothing has fallen off yet (again, the car).

And what size wheels and tyres do you run please?

I like the look of yours very much, and if I can sneakily lower mine in stages so the missus doesn't notice, I'd like to get it to your stance. And how harsh is the ride? How many coils have you cut, and did you re-align everything?

Being low definetly didnt help. It sounds like you have metal crunching in the brakes. You will only hear it when driving, never when off the ground. 13x5.5 175/70 And i also ran 14x6 175/65

[freedo]

Ill get pics of the coils later tonight

[phebus]

My car has only been on the road a week, so I'm still ironing out the bugs. It is making a groaning sound when I come to a stop. Definitely coming from the rear. I thought the brakes were grabbing but that's not the case. Does that sound like wheel bearing?

[bbodie52]

Weocome to the Corvair Forum!

Location: South Central PA

My car has only been on the road a week, so I'm still ironing out the bugs. It is making a groaning sound when I come to a stop. Definitely coming from the rear. I thought the brakes were grabbing but that's not the case. Does that sound like wheel bearing?

South Central PA... does that mean Lancaster? York? Gettysburg? I'm asking only because I lived in Lebanon, PA from 1993 until 2008. I'm also about ten years older than your Corvair, and my rear has also been known to groan when I come to a stop! (Sorry for my attempt at humor).

The groaning sound you describe makes it difficult to narrow the focus and perform any significant fault isolation. More information is needed. The noise could even be worn rubber bushings and suspension components. Does the noise change as you drive in turns as the body weight shifts to the left or right? You might be able to isolate the noise from the rear end by jacking up the rear and removing the wheels and brake drums (to eliminate brake noise from possibly masking the source of the sound). Try rotating the axle and listening for a grinding noise coming from the bearing area. At that point only four nuts hold the axle in place, and you could remove them (using a socket wrench and extension through the access hole in the hub) You can then pull the axle from the mount and differential, and then check for noise and roughness in the bearing assembly. (see page 3-16 of the attached Shop Manual section). Starting on page 6C-5 of section 6C, you will find more detail about removing and examining the rear axles. You can also check the condition of the universal joints at this time, which are often neglected and sometimes found to be in poor condition.

All of this assumes you can do your own mechanical work and have tools and experience in doing such work. If you need a mechanic to assist you, you might consider checking with the Corvair Ranch in Gettysburg, PA. They are a major supplier of Corvair new and used parts, and offer full mechanical service. They will have the needed tools, presses, etc. to do this type of work.


http://www.corvairranch.com/

I've tried to answer your question without really knowing much about your situation. Your Corvair year model, your mechanical abilities, and your actual location are all unknown at this point. Such is the nature of the Internet. My suggestion is for you to introduce yourself and your Corvair by posting a brief biography and a description of your Corvair – along with some pictures – in the Introductions section of the Corvair Forum. Doing so will help to improve communications and will help us to provide more meaningful and helpful comments.

I think you will find the Corvair Forum members to be friendly and helpful. I hope some of this advice is useful to you. Again, welcome!

[phebus]

Wow, sorry, I didn't even realize that this was my first post. I've been lurking for a long time both here and corvaircenter. I have posted over there, but apparently not here yet. I live about 10 minutes from the Corvair Ranch. That's actually where I bought my car. I had the engine out twice. Once to bolt the noisy flywheel (boy can those things make some noise!) then after getting it back together, I went for a short test drive and it started out ok, but soon came grinding to a halt. It turns out some gear broke in the differential so I had to take the power pack back out and had the Corvair Ranch repair the diff.

What it's doing now is making that groaning sound. I only really notice it after I drive it and when I come to a stop. I don't think I have heard it while driving. But then again, this is a loud car. First through third gears are really noisy, and I have a lot of wind noise around my doors. Not to mention a few rattles and squeaks. It kinda feels like a brake is grabbing. I think something is slightly holding me back, although it will still coast on a small incline. I tried loosening the adjustment of the rear brakes to see if it would stop, but it still does it. Now that I think about it, I wonder if one of my rear brake hoses is collapsing a little, keeping some pressure on the drum? I replaced the front hoses, but not the rear ones yet.

I was just wondering if there was a sure fire way to tell a wheel bearing noise, or a u-joint noise. I'm especially concerned about the wheel bearings because of the cost and the danger factor.

I might go to the Ranch and see if Jeff will listen to it and give me his opinion before I start replacing things that don't need to be replaced!


I'll have to work on a signature, but here are the cars specs:
1962 Monza, 4 dr.
102 HP, 4spd, 3.27:1 posi

[bbodie52]

I have had wheel bearing assemblies fail on me twice in 1965 Corvairs. In both cases I could hear squeaking sounds coming from the rear, and with my wife driving I would walk along side the car and tell which side was failing. But I have never had a rear axle bearing fail in an EM car, so I cannot describe the symptoms.

Your idea of having the Corvair Ranch mechanic take a look might be a good bet. Their expertise may produce a quick and accurate diagnosis. If it is a wheel bearing starting to fail you will likely need their services anyway to replace the bad unit. And if one has failed, you can probably assume similar wear and age on the other side might warrant replacing the bearings on both sides.

Of course if the axles are pulled, inspecting the universal joints can be done at that time. When these fail you can sometimes hear a "clunk" sound as you apply and remove engine power, if the needle bearings are disintegrating to the point where the universal joint cross can rock back and forth within the needle bearing cups. I've seen them bone dry with no grease present, with rusty powder inside the bearing cups, and ridges worn into the bearing surfaces on the cross. But they generally don't squeak like a faulty bearing in continuous rotation will.

[freedo]

it happened again yesterday, on the other wheel (which i planned on replacing today), made zero noise until i was 70 miles away. this time i managed to limp it back at 35mph. heres what the other side looked like

[phebus]

Holy cow! That's scary

[JasonC]

Being lowered with such a large amount of camber wouldn't be putting stress on these making them fail at a greater rate then a car at a higher ride height?

[freedo]

Being lowered with such a large amount of camber wouldn't be putting stress on these making them fail at a greater rate then a car at a higher ride height?

yes, these bearings lasted 58,500 miles with 6,000 miles of driving with extreme camber and 40 years of not moving at all.

[Am-Iron]

Freedo that is one sweet ride! I would change the bearings a little more often too! Maybe you can bag it in the future then have the best of both worlds? I applaud you for driving your car and representing the Corvair community in all the events that you do. If you let your car sit and don't drive it 2,000 miles a month, would not have to change them as often either! These are the things that need to be done on a car that has sat for so long. I am going through it with my car as well.

[freedo]

Freedo that is one sweet ride! I would change the bearings a little more often too! Maybe you can bag it in the future then have the best of both worlds? I applaud you for driving your car and representing the Corvair community in all the events that you do. If you let your car sit and don't drive it 2,000 miles a month, would not have to change them as often either! These are the things that need to be done on a car that has sat for so long. I am going through it with my car as well.

im going to guess with the amount of camber im running it should last 15-20 thousand miles. im saving up for bags which i will hopefully be doing this winter