i have replaced almost anything on the rear of the vette... wheel bearings , bearing house.. bushings on the trailingarm etc etc etc.
after having it all installed everything looked ok.
but now i have been driving  up and down the street  i noticed when pulling and pushing on the rear wheels(both sides) there is some "play" ( feel and hear that " knock sound) .. as is if there is some play on the  bearings .
on my first check it looks like it doesn't come from my bearings.
i notice a little play on my side yokes  and beside that there is some movement in my trailing arms.
( jacked one side up ,the pressure on the other wheel "locked" the sideyokes and trailing arm from moving  and when then pushing and pulling on the wheel that is still on the floor there is no "play" so that makes me thing it's not the bearings )

before the restoration everything was rusted together i guess since i can't remember this kind of "play" on both rear wheels.



i notice 2 kinds of movements  (A) as if it twist a little  and (B) at the end of the trailing arm a little swing .
are these "syntoms normal  , if not.. what to do about it?
uhh..and  i didn't forget to install the strut rods

thank you
art-corvette

some play is normal...  but I couldnt tell you how much off hand.. 

you have to have some play for the IRS to work....

the differential yokes move in and out a little..  with just a snap ring to keep them in at all.

ok.. thanks , but is it normal when pulling/pushing on the rear wheel ( wheels are on the floor) i can feel that "play" ?

art-corvette

Sounds to me like the castleated nuts on the spindles might not be properly torqued.  That spec with a new nut is 100 ft. lbs., and if the cotter pin hole doesn't line-up with the nut, it has to be tightened till the cotter pin will install-Flandy

uh....if you put the axles in, there should be very little twist(A), and a small amout of(B) in/out. It does need a little in/out at the axle/diff. yoke, but not a lot.
If you are checking this play with no axles, I would say the trailing arm will flop around pretty good like that.

If you are worried about the spindle bearings there should be under .005" end play. Best to check with the 1/2 shaft disconnected. Mount the dial indicator to the caliper mount and measure the axial movement in the spindle.

Do the rear wheel lean in when parked? Some play in the A is ok, but too much in the B with the half shafts in is a sign that the stub axles may be worn down. My '79 started to have a snap and bang in the diff, and the wheels leaned in at the top. I wound up rebuilding the whole rear, and found the stub axles to be worn down to the snap rings that Ben speaks of. They run against the spyder gears shaft, and it has been a sore point on these rears. I put in new hardened end stub axles and a hardened shaft for the spyder gears, it's anyone's guess which will wear first/worst, but the wheels are straight now and the rear is quiet.

Dave

when i installed new bearings i set up the new bearing with about 0.0025 inch play .. atleast that is what i think i did 
side yokes are still ok.. but just a little play.



but my problem is that to me it feels strange that when pushing the wheel  ( red arrow) i can feel there is little play (also can hear that metal knock)
on "normal" cars it would indicate there is some play on the bearings.

but since this is a corvette i was wondering if this might be normal.. and that it is just that little play on the side yokes in combination with the twist/swing of the tralingarm

when i installed the trailing arms / bearings everything looked okay..no play when pushing the wheel  but just after that first short ride i noticed this "problem"

don't like to do double work by taking of the side axles again to measure.. if not necessary

art-corvette

 

art-corvette38946.5716666667

Can you get someone to push on the wheel, while you are under the car? Then, look at the side yokes in the diff, to see if that is where the "play" is. If you put your hands on the yoke(s), you should be able to feel it, if that is where the "metal knock" is. If there is no play there at the yoke(s), then it would have to be at the stub-shaft bearing.
The only way to be sure about that is to take the half-shaft(s) loose, and measure the play in the bearing assy.

took the wheels off , half-shaft , brake disc , calliper .. and put a dial measure on the spindle
the result :  on one side 0.0059 play and other side 0.0043

service manual say  play should be within 0.001 and 0.008 so actually i am within that limit.. but to my idea the that 0.0059 is still on the high end ..

geesh i hate this... when setting up..i measured it several times and play was  0.0027 and 0.0035

art-corvette