Trailing Arm Bearing 66 Coupe

[Frank W. Jones]

I think I may have a trailing arm bearing that may be going bad. It started as
an intermittant squeak and now sounds like the disk is coming into contact with the brake pads on each revolution of the wheel. The scraping sound is not constant but intermittent. Is there anyone out there that can give me some advice so that I can isolate the cause? I suspect that universal joints could also give the same symptons if failing. If it is a trailing arm bearing failure, I would appreciate recommendations as to where I can get the repair done as I do not have any of the special tooling required. I live in the Indianapolis area if there is any recommended shops here in this area.
Thank You for help!
Frank
66 Coupe

[Duke W.]

I think you mean rear wheel bearing

Doesn't sound like a rear wheel bearing. A spalled bearing would tend to make a steady growling sound. Remove the wheels and try to wiggle the disks. There should be little perceptible play. You can also grap the half shafts and try to wiggle them back and forth while observing and movement in the U-joints. There should be none.

An intermittent scrappiing doesn't sound too serious. I suspect it may be something in the brake, but I'll leave it to the disk brake guys to suggest an anamoly in the brake system that could cause the noise.

Duke

[Duke W.]

I think you mean rear wheel bearing

Doesn't sound like a rear wheel bearing. A spalled bearing would tend to make a steady growling sound. Remove the wheels and try to wiggle the disks. There should be little perceptible play. You can also grap the half shafts and try to wiggle them back and forth while observing and movement in the U-joints. There should be none.

An intermittent scrappiing doesn't sound too serious. I suspect it may be something in the brake, but I'll leave it to the disk brake guys to suggest an anamoly in the brake system that could cause the noise.

Duke

[kenrobb]

Re: Trailing Arm Bearing 66 Coupe

I had a trailing arm bearing go out on my 65. It sounded as a squeal when I would go around a corner at a slow speed. From your discription, that may be your problem. A failure is not good, esp. if you are driving it. Fellow had to change one out at the NJ regional last year in hotel parking lot. I took mine off myself and had it shipped to Van's in Fla. for a rebuild. there are some rebuilders in Indiana I have been told. Ken

[kenrobb]

Re: Trailing Arm Bearing 66 Coupe

I had a trailing arm bearing go out on my 65. It sounded as a squeal when I would go around a corner at a slow speed. From your discription, that may be your problem. A failure is not good, esp. if you are driving it. Fellow had to change one out at the NJ regional last year in hotel parking lot. I took mine off myself and had it shipped to Van's in Fla. for a rebuild. there are some rebuilders in Indiana I have been told. Ken

[Frank W. Jones]

Re: Trailing Arm Bearing 66 Coupe

Ken / Duke
Thanks for your input. I'm not familiar with Vans in FL. Can you provide additional contact info should I need them? I'm still in the troubleshooting phase. I need to find about 4 to 5 free hours to get to the bottom of this.
Thanks again!
Frank

[Frank W. Jones]

Re: Trailing Arm Bearing 66 Coupe

Ken / Duke
Thanks for your input. I'm not familiar with Vans in FL. Can you provide additional contact info should I need them? I'm still in the troubleshooting phase. I need to find about 4 to 5 free hours to get to the bottom of this.
Thanks again!
Frank

[Juliet P.]

Re: Trailing Arm Bearing 66 Coupe

Have you had the rotors checked for trueness lately? I had that problem - it sounded like a dragging brake. Turns out the rotor was warped and out of spec enough that it couldn't be turned. ~Juliet

[Juliet P.]

Re: Trailing Arm Bearing 66 Coupe

Have you had the rotors checked for trueness lately? I had that problem - it sounded like a dragging brake. Turns out the rotor was warped and out of spec enough that it couldn't be turned. ~Juliet