Replacing rear wheel bearings on 68 Deville???

[speach]

I have an extra rear axle that I am redoing and painting. I am considering putting in new rear bearings. Kinda don't want to but it only makes sense since I am going throughout he trouble of taking it a part. Does anyone have any recommendations on what brand to use and to not use. Also any helpful tips on replacing them would be great if any of you guys have done it before.

Thanks, William

[TJ Hopland]

With the question of quality these days I don't know that I would replace them just cuz.    New seals for sure but I would get it apart and have a look at em and the shafts before I made any decision. 

[speach]

Good advice. Any word on the quality of whats available? I would tend to get the more expensive ones but, I sure don't want to blow the money. They aint cheap. So you think I should be able to get the axles out without damaging the bearings?

[Bill Young]

In 1974 I blew the right rear wheel bearing on my 1968 DeVille Convertible on a road trip and I remember the guy at Canada Tire had to press in the new bearing race with a LARGE floor mounted press and that they were ball bearings in the race.

[TJ Hopland]

That should be the type where the bearing is pressed onto the axle.   To get it out there is either a retainer plate or the brake backing plate itself is the retainer.   Once you get that off the axle should slide out with the bearing on it.

[Jay Friedman]

I agree with TJ Hopland and would not replace them unless they are bad.  (Bad rear axle bearings usually are noisy.)  As Bill Young said, normally these bearings need to be pressed on at an automotive machine shop.  In my area (Atlanta), because most cars today are front wheel drive there are not many shops left that do this work.  The only one that I know of is at the largest NAPA store in the area, though there may be others. 

A potential problem is that if it is poorly done the machined surface on the axle where the seal rides can be scored, potentially ruining the axle. 

[TJ Hopland]

Its been so long since I have done a non C clip axle on a GM I can't remember where the seal is on these?    Is the axle seal inboard of  the bearing or between the bearing and the flange?  I remember taking them to shops to get something done but can't remember if it was just to get the seal done or if I was replacing the bearing.

[dadscad]

According to Rock Auto, the 68 is the same as the 63 rear wheel bearing. Those have the oil seal pressed into the inside of the bearing between the inner and outer race. The outer race has an O-ring on the outer circumference to seal the bearing to the Axel housing. There is a grease retainer seal on the outside of the bearing between the outer race and inner race to keep the bearing grease within the bearing itself. The bearing is pressed onto the Axel using a retainer pressed on next to the bearing to lock it in place. The bearing has to be pressed to a specific dimension from the outer wheel flange on the Axel to keep the wheel and brake drum in the proper position to the brake shoes and fender well. You'll find the measurement and how to measure in the shop manual.

As far as brands, I've had the best luck with SKF. I had worse luck with the National brand, three in a row leaked gear oil. YMMV

[speach]

Im thinking the bearings ate fine on this axle. I just don't know for sure. The car it came off of was a pretty low mile fleetwood that had fire damage to the engine bay. Do you guys think I should be able to pull the axles out without damaging the bearings, and of coarse put them back in. My purpose in doing all of this is I want to clean and paint every part of the undercarriage and I am starting with this spare axle I have. My cars off the road and I've got the axle partially torn down, I just need an axle puller wide enough to use the slide hammer to get it out.

[Alan Harris CLC#1513]

If they are quiet and not leaking, I would leave them strictly alone.

[dadscad]

If you don't have to slide hammer too hard to get the Axel out, you may be able to use the bearing if it is tight and smooth. If you have to hammer hard to get the Axel out, you may damage the bearing balls or race. You should replace the O-ring on the outside race if you reuse the bearing. With that said, a 1968 bearing has 47 year old grease to lube the bearing. It may or may not be serviceable for long, unless you repack the bearing, which would require new seals unless you could remove and reuse the old seal with out damaging it. The last thing you want, is to soak your brake shoes with gear oil.

If it were me, I'd replace the bearing if I intended to use the Axel on a driver.

[Scot Minesinger]

I'm a replace it just cuz guy, but after suffering chronic new part failures, my opinion has changed.  Anything that requires precision machining, metallurgy and the like which is unlikely to be executed in China with quality is likely to be much worse than original used with 50% remaining life. 

ditto T. J. Hopland's and others advice.

[speach]

Man yea I'm not sure what to do. The one on my car is leaking and making some growl. I would really like to redo this one and not touch it again you know. Not sure thats a realistic expectation considering the quality of the current wheel bearings available. I have to get the axles out to be able to get the carrier out. Gear oil is super clean but I need to paint behind the carrier and would like to put new gaskets in.

[TJ Hopland]

I don't remember having to use any special tools to get axles out.  I pretty much remember just pulling them out.  The complete bearing assembly stays on the axle.   

If you have the C clip style you do need a slide hammer to pull the bearings and you do often damage them in the process.  The C clip style the bearing is pressed into the housing and the axle then just slides into the bearing and is held in with the C clip inside the carrier.  This could be the style you are thinking about or people are telling you about where you could damage the bearings.  That was a very common style for GM starting in the 70's.  Guessing the light trucks still use that system. 

[savemy67]

Hello William,

I own a '67 Sedan DeVille with about 93,000 miles on the odometer.  I have yet to thoroughly examine the rear wheels, but plan to do so soon.  The '67 Shop Manual (page 4-34) shows the use of a slide hammer to remove the rear axles.  Since the '67 uses a non-C clip axle, the use of a slide hammer implies that the o-ring that seals the outer diameter of the bearing and the inside diameter of the axle tube creates a tight enough fit as to require some force to remove the axle.  Although, as many have posted, after decades of use sometimes the axles can be pulled out by hand.  As dadscad points out, the Manual also states that the o-ring should be replaced whenever the bearing is removed and re-used.  This begs the question, where can the o-rings be purchased?  I have searched a few vendors but have not located a source.  Does anyone have a source for just the o-rings?

I think that your '68 is similar to my '67.  As far as bearings go, for a '68 Deville, RockAuto lists three rear wheel bearings under the category Brake/Wheel Hub/Wheel Bearing - National, Timken, and SKF - at $58.79, $64.79, and $81.79 respectively.  RockAuto also lists two rear wheel bearings under the category Drivetrain/Axle Shaft Bearing - Centric (standard), and Centric (premium) - at $25.99, and $99.79 respectively.  So, one vendor, four labeled manufacturers, five bearings, and five prices differing by about $74 can certainly make choosing a good bearing challenging (remember when there was just one phone company?).  One has to ask what justifies a four-fold difference in the price of the Centric bearings.  The other three brands are closer in price to the average for a replacement wheel bearing.  The other three brands are also companies that have been around for 60 - 100 years with American and European engineering and metallurgical experience.  All three are globally competitive so you can reasonably expect a product from them to be acceptable.

It is difficult to duplicate operating conditions when a bearing is out of the car.  But bearings are tough parts.  If you can't feel anything other than smooth rotation when rotating the bearing by hand applying hand pressure, your bearing may be OK.   If your budget is tight, and the bearings feel OK, consider re-using the bearings, but replace the o-ring.  Most likely, any future bearing problem will be presaged by symptoms before a catastrophic failure, so you can do a complete replacement later.  If your budget allows, replace the bearings and drive happily ever after.  Keep in mind, that if you do not do the work yourself, you must pay a shop to remove and replace the bearings and retainers, so add that to the cost of the bearings.  Be sure to find a shop that knows what they are doing.

Respectfully,

Christopher Winter

[speach]

Thanks for the help.I just borrowed a axle puller that is big enough for the job. So we will see how easy they come out and if I will be reusing them. Hopefully I will be able to. The car this axle came from seemed to be pretty babied and I'm not going to be driving mine all of the time anyway. Ill try to post some pics or add it to my restoration blog.

[cadman56]

You have received a lot of good advice.  If it were mine I wouldn't even question it.  I would change them.  They are sealed bearings & the grease is old & gets hard.  I use SKF & BCA bearings.  Good luck, Larry

[speach]

Any idea where to get those brands? Have you heard good or bad about National?

[speach]

Ok so a little clarity if anyone needs to know. Rock auto has all the parts you would need. You have to look them up under wheel parts and not drivetrain. If you look under drivetrain you will see only a few parts and not the seal kits or all of the choices of rear bearings. Also the manuals say that you have to drill and break the pressed ring to get it off. I am hoping I can do this and re grease my old bearings and install new seals without having to have the bearings pressed on and off. We will see.

[speach]

A bit of an update. I took my axles to a local restoration shop and they only charged me 20 bucks to take them off the axles. I'll be going back to have the new ones installed after I clean them up. I also was wanting to have them bust the main nut off of the axle carrier but they told me if it wasn't leaking not to mess with it. They told me that their is a crushed sleeve in it and the nut has to be replaced exactly the same so if I really wanted it done to take it to a rear end specialist so they can replace the sleeve and bearing at the same time. Interesting information that I am glad they made me aware of.