RE: [Chevelle-List] Outboard axle bearing going out?

[John Nasta]

Unfortunately I don’t know what the spec is. Do you (or somebody on the list) have a service manual? What happens if you jack up the rear and turn the back wheel by hand? Do you notice anything unusual at all? Is it a posi rear? If so, maybe you can have somebody else hold one wheel while you turn the other back and forth and check for play that way. Rear wheel bearings are pretty inexpensive and pretty easy to change. It's worth a shot just to prove if that is (or is not) the problem.   John     -----Original Message----- John, I just looked it over, and I don't see any sign of a leak.  What you said about the noise changing when you turn makes sense, but it sure seems pretty clearly like the sound is coming from the left rear.    The other thing that would seem to point to the rear axle would be that the sound increases substantially under hard acceleration (when the rear axle is loaded).  What do you think about the endplay that I mentioned, do you know if that is within the spec?   Thanks again for your help, Galen ----- Original Message ----- From: John Nasta To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, May 28, 2002 10:10 PM Subject: RE: [Chevelle-List] Outboard axle bearing going out?   Galen, usually if the bearing is bad the seal will go bad as well because of the extra pressure on the seal (it will get knocked out of round). Look for leaking axle grease.   Usually if the noise changes when you turn, it is a front bearing.   John Nasta     -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Galen and Melissa Love Sent: Tuesday, May 28, 2002 10:54 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [Chevelle-List] Outboard axle bearing going out?   Hey guys, I could use some help.  I've got a noise in my rear axle.  It sounds like it's coming from the vicinity of the left rear brake, and I notice it most when I'm accelerating from low speed, especially when turning in either direction.  Most of the time it's a pretty mild noise, like there is a piece of something loose in the brake mechanism; but on occasion (especially if I try to accelerate hard), it will be a hard clunking noise with each revolution of the rear axle.   I pulled the left rear wheel off tonight and checked the brake out.  It appears fine, I can't find anything that has come loose that might be causing the noise.  I was trying to think of what else it might be, and I began wondering about the outboard axle bearing.  I did a rough endplay check on the left axle shaft, and I'm getting about 1/16" (0.0625") endplay.  This seems pretty loose to me, but I don't have a repair manual to know whether or not this is reasonable.  Does anyone know what the endplay spec is for a 12-bolt rear end?    Thanks in advance, Galen