<VV> EARLY REAR BEARINGS my take!

[N2VZD at aol.com]

there is NO safe way to lube rear bearings without taking them apart to  
look at every roller after a thorough cleaning.
if you cant see the rollers , i bet on one having a spot on it.  look  at 
races carefully for shadows , or galling spots.  this advise comes from  
doing about 12 axles in the last couple years for myself and my friend  Phil.
even a 27,000 mile (beatrice ) van had a bad issue waiting to fail.
now days , with the kits now available from Clarks , i would not take a  
chance. BUT if you are not set up to do such work , get help from someone that 
 has done CORVAIR rear bearing press work. . rear bearing failure on an FC  
or early car , is not a pretty sight , and is extremity dangerous. PLUS it 
can  happen with little or no warning.
i never felt that the drilling / greasing method was a good idea , it is  
too easy to get one little chip in there , then sooner or later it will bite  
you.  read the tech guide , and think before doing.
one reason i am like this , is what i see in differentials and axles i have 
 taken apart to check / repair.  many bearings have bad spots on them long  
before failing. taking a unit apart to reseal it , or axle all apart tp 
lube it  USUALLY ends up with at least one or more bearings with bad marks on 
them , or  other things wrong waiting to happen.  if they are a ok , use 
synthetic  lube on them.
look into the kits , or rebuilt axles , and sleep better!   i am  not made 
of money , but that area of all of my corvairs has been carefully  redone.   
what i found on my own cars opened my eyes wide!
regards, Tim Colson ,   with lots of hard luck trophy parts on  hand...