Wayne-----
I absolutely agree with you. In fact, I was remiss in not mentioning that possibility. I guess I just hate to think that there are "mechanics" out there that would resort to such a bogus and inferior repair methodology. But, I KNOW that this repair methodology is all-to-common for Corvette rear bearing repairs, particualrly by some unsphisticated shade-tree mechanics and independent repair shops that don't specialize in Corvette repair. I believe that the reasoning is that the rears should be just like the fronts and can be set up similarly, avoiding a lot of work which would otherwise have to be done if spacer and shim were used. This repair strategy also "eliminates" the need for a lot of special tools.
As you indicate, if this is what has previously occurred(and its highly likely considering the 'loose' nut syndrome), and the spindle nut is torqued down now to 100 ft/lbs, the bearings will be placed into MASSIVE preload, destroying them. However, it probably wouldn't be much of a loss (assuming that the now 'locked up' spindle was recognized before the car was put into service)since I wouldn't recommend reusing these bearings at this point, anyway.
I absolutely agree with you. In fact, I was remiss in not mentioning that possibility. I guess I just hate to think that there are "mechanics" out there that would resort to such a bogus and inferior repair methodology. But, I KNOW that this repair methodology is all-to-common for Corvette rear bearing repairs, particualrly by some unsphisticated shade-tree mechanics and independent repair shops that don't specialize in Corvette repair. I believe that the reasoning is that the rears should be just like the fronts and can be set up similarly, avoiding a lot of work which would otherwise have to be done if spacer and shim were used. This repair strategy also "eliminates" the need for a lot of special tools.
As you indicate, if this is what has previously occurred(and its highly likely considering the 'loose' nut syndrome), and the spindle nut is torqued down now to 100 ft/lbs, the bearings will be placed into MASSIVE preload, destroying them. However, it probably wouldn't be much of a loss (assuming that the now 'locked up' spindle was recognized before the car was put into service)since I wouldn't recommend reusing these bearings at this point, anyway.
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