Hi all--

I need to change out the front wheel bearings on the '78 (there's a truly terrible story about why I have to do this, but that's for another post).

I have the Shop Manual, and with the exception of some bits I don't have, like a brass drift, it appears to be a job that can be accomplished by a non-pro, with the usual assortment of hand tools/jack stands (at least, I hope so!).

I could really benefit from advice/guidance from anyone here who's done this--so please post if you've got some good how-to's.

Also, where do you recommend getting the parts? I've located what appears to be most of the right stuff at napaonline.com, and also found a full kit available from VB&P. I want to use only the best, which I believe is Timken--anybody got a favorite source for that brand?

Thanks, as always--

Timken bearings are the only ones to use.  Make sure the outers are seated fully and you keep everything really clean.  Just make sure you pack them well prior to putting the bearing races in and lubricate the seal prior to getting it all back together.  When you take your calipers off it would be a good idea to get a set of the piston holding clamps.  I think Ecklers call them pad change clamps.  This will make it so much easier to get your calipers back on.  Have fun.

Thanks for the tips, Chips58; much appreciated--now a quick update on this post: I couldn't find Timken brand bearings at Napa (in-store, not online) or CarQuest...and the local Chevy dealer no longer stocks factory replacements either...but when I got home I did find them at Bair's, so I ordered them from this Forum-supporting vendor. And glad to do it that way, too--they support us, I'm happy to support them! (should have started there in the first place...)

I did get a great-lookin' brass drift from Napa, though--so at least that tool is in place for this task...!

Any more guidelines from the gang on how to do this job right? SFVette2006-12-27 17:42:05

Don't hit yer fangers when ya beats them races out...
Make sure you get the correct seals...I have a hard time gettin ones that actually fit, unless I take one out, and match it up. I don't know how many times I've been ready to re-assemble a bearing job, just to find the seals are not right!
Look at the seal very carefully. The rubber parts can be pretty deformed on some of them.
This is really a pretty straight-forward job. You can handle it!

T - LukesVette2006-12-28 07:22:38

...and like the good Doctors (and Forum pals) they are, Joel and Paul have given me even more excellent directions on this particular task. Many thanks, guys--I'm feeling more confident about packing in our new Timken bearings just as soon as they get here (and Bair's just confirmed the order, so hopefully we'll be good to go on or around the first of the new year...)

I said there was an awful reason behind this changeover, and there is. Caution, though--read no further if you might get nightmares about potentially losing your Shark in a horrible, life-threatening accident.

When I got it, the car came with Centerline drag wheels, which is just not our style. But recently I found a set of used American Racing Equipment Vector SE wheels, with Goodyear tires, at a very reasonable price. And the bonus was, they actually came from a '67 Vette! So about a month ago, the Centerlines came off and the aluminum ARE's went on.

They looked great, and I was very careful about torqueing them down. I deliberately did it in several steps, in the correct pattern on each wheel, in a complete circuit around the car. So I know, with 100% certainty, that each of those wheels was bolted on securely, to spec, when I was done.

Yeah, you're getting a sense of where this is all going, huh?

Well, actually not.

We have a terrible crime problem here. Which is ironic, since it's one of the most attractive places to live and there's no shortage of local police. We've had a car stereo stolen (10 days after I installed it), and our storage unit has been busted into twice. Along with all the rest of them on this row. Our neighbor's brand new Honda S2000 got jacked up on milk crates one night and had all the wheels stolen, in plain view in the parking lot. Another neighbor's little daughter's bicycle got ripped off. And on and on.

I've found the driver's door left ajar twice on this very rough-looking shark--so I know they've checked it out, even though there's absolutely nothing of any value left in it.

(Fantasies of baseball bats applied enthusiastically to criminal skulls start playing right about now...)

Anyway, a few days ago, the car was finally ready to take its maiden voyage--up the nearby highway for a test run/trip to have the differential fluid changed. What a great feeling it was to get this old girl going at last, after ten months of ownership and tinkering/tuning up, if only for a relatively brief sprint. We were both excited and really pleased as she took to the freeway and, with all engine systems operating perfectly, carried us along in true (if still extremely 'cosmetically challenged') C3 fashion. We were driving our very own Shark!

And then, after just a mile or so, we both suddenly felt it. A vibration. And within seconds it became a terrible, violent, lurching sensation on the left front side. The stench of something burning filled the cabin. Fortunately, we were all the way over in the right lane and there was just enough of a shoulder for us to pull off.

I scrambled out of the driver's seat, and with hectic freeway traffic hurtling by at its usual breakneck speed just inches from me, I immediately saw the cause:

The left front wheel had lost three lug nuts--it was held on only by the remaining two, and they were loose as well. Just a few seconds more, and we would have lost the wheel entirely. And very likely either been spun into onrushing vehicles on our left, or hit the guard rail on our right.

Either way, the car would have been instantly totaled--and I hate to think what would have happened to one or both of us in such heavy traffic, all rocketing by at 70+mph.

As the initial shock subsided, and my wife Su scampered to safety over the guard rail while I surveyed the damage with a gut-twisting sense of disbelief and apprehension--cars and trucks were rocking me on my feet as they flew by--I spotted something: the three missing lug nuts were scattered in the roadway behind us! I did some serious scampering of my own, jumping out several times into the lane to retrieve them as best I could, whenever there was a few seconds' worth of safe space.

Someone had obviously been trying to steel the wheels, but must have been scared away before they got the first one completely unbolted. And then I remembered that, just a day or so before, I had found the driver's door ajar again.

But it hadn't occurred to me to check the lug nuts on the car--I had assumed that these used wheels were too 'old school' for these *#@* punks to want them.

I was almost dead wrong.

Naturally, nobody stopped to offer assistance. However, a few minutes later a California Highway Patrol officer did--but by that time, I'd already called AAA, and they arrived just after the CHP pulled up. The tow truck guy jacked our baby up and was able to spin the lug nuts back on--another near-miracle, the threads hadn't been damaged. (Turns out, he owns a '79 himself).

And so, shaken and thankful to be alive and still have our new-to-us C3 intact after this near-disaster, we resumed our first brief trip. And made it home safely shortly thereafter, with new diff fluid.

But while she was up on the rack, I inspected everything--and found that the left front wheel was now clearly suffering from bad bearings. Which I knew had been good before, because I'd checked them all by pulling on the wheels as soon as we got the car. And I'd confirmed that check several times since then, when I had the car up on jackstands again. Of course, now when I change the bearings, I'm going to go over everything connected to the wheel, from brake pads to rotors, etc.

So, gang-banging jerks: you almost got two people killed or injured; and you almost caused a wreck that might easily have killed or injured other innocent people. Plus almost causing the catastrophic loss of this classic car. All for a set of old used wheels that are only worth a few bucks to begin with.

But I guess anybody who would steal a little girl's bicycle couldn't care less.

Sounds like an adventure! When I drove my white 79 home the first time, over 1000 miles, I was white knuckled the first 100 or so miles just waiting for something to happen. Nothing ever did.

As for the caliper clips, what I've always done is as I slowly remove the calipers from the rotors, at the same time I insert an appropriately sized socket in between the pads. When putting things back together the socket just pops out. If you need to spread the calipers to accomodate new rotors put a larger socket in after cracking the bleeder. Of course if you'fe redoing the brakes too, never mind...

How'd the AIR pump bolt search go?

Mike

Mike, thanks for the socket suggestion. I do have the caliper clips, but this trick is bound to come in handy as well...

and to answer your question about the A.I.R. pulley bolts...first, thanks for remembering! And second, no I never did find a solution, despite an exhaustive search through a really well-stocked hardware store that caters to professionals. And regarding your idea about trying one of the bolts that connect the air dam as a possible alternative--unfortunately that didn't solve my dilemma either; it's an aftermarket item, with different-size bolts used to attach it.

However, for the sake of any future searchers on the forum looking to find these elusive items, I did discover that Zip Corvettes has them, for $1.50 a pop. For some reason their web site says you need a set of four, but my pump has only three bolt holes for the pulley--so I don't know what the explanation for that discrepancy might be. I haven't ordered them yet, but I will be very soon--and hopefully they'll fit!

Glad to hear you(or Mama!) weren't hurt on your little trip!!

One thing you should always keep in mind with aluminuminum wheels, is to check the lug nuts at least once every two or three drives. They can work themselves loose sometimes.
Also, make SURE the nuts you are using are correct for the rims! Not all rims have the same contour where the lug nuts seat. This has caused many rims to pass the cars they were on just a few minutes earlier!

If your rims are the older style, with the long, shoulder type nuts, make sure the nuts are not longer than the rim is thick. You don't want the lug nuts bottoming out on the rotor before the rim is actually tight.

These are lessons I have learned thru the years...some, the HARD way...(don't ax... )

Glad to hear you both are alright, I too would like to meet the thugs with a bat doing something like that to my car.. Ted, your going about it the right way, one step at a time, maybe next time take the test drive without the wife, maybe she could follow in a chase car? Do ya park the C3 inside?