I own a '73 1/2 911T that I am currently converting into an 'RS' clone. I am redoing the brake system and have gotten to the rear wheels. Not wanting to let things go at just rebuilding the caliper and installing stainless steel lines, I pulled the left rear wheel hub and found a single ball bearing assembly and no grease seals. The outer hub flange and the end of the Lobro joint appear to just sandwich this bearing and that's it. I have looked in the catalogs for pictures of what the correct bearing configuration is for my year and I haven't seen this type of ball bearing arrangement offered. Most show an enclosed bearing and no grease seals at all. Could what I have found on my car be right? As far as I can tell, the car is pretty much stone stock original. Is it as simple as just cleaning and repacking the ball bearing assembly and reassembling everything the way I found it to be? No grease seals of any description throws me a curve for sure. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

If you took the hub off (the part with the wheel studs pressed in) you have destroyed the bearing. The bearing is a one piece sealed unit that is pressed into the trailing arm.

 

Well Pete, you are right. Upon closer inspection and further investigation, it appears that the inner section of the bearing (that area which makes contact with the hub)is comprised of two halves that serve as bearing races. The part that confused me was that the outward facing race piece that faces the hub side, came off with the hub. The inward facing race section came off with the half shaft when it was removed from the back of the control arm. I am puzzled as to what exactly keeps the two inner bearing races attached to the rest of the bearing assembly? I saw no physical means of keeping the two inner bearing races connected to one another, unless there is some small quantity of adhesive or something when new from the factory? At any rate, new bearings will be ordered and properly pressed into the control arm housings with the hubs pressed into the bearing assemblies as well, and down the road we'll go. Thanks for the reply.