FRporscheman

If you're riding on old shocks or struts, and you think you can just tolerate it the way it is, in the interest of saving money, please consider this: I just went through a mishap where bad shocks lead to bent axles.

We heard thumping noises in the 944 3 months ago, sounded like left rear, so I did a wheel bearing job. I can't remember but I think the old bearing was physically broken. The noises went away but returned after a couple days. I replaced the rear shocks which were dead, and I also bought a used axle half-shaft with 2 CVs. Noise was unaffected. I decided the stub axle must be bent, so I bought a used one and went to replace it last weekend.

This is how I found the 3-month-old bearing:




According to the noises, there were no noises until like 1 or 2 days after I did the job. Then the noises came, and it stayed the same for 3 months until I finally had time to do the job. So the brand new bearing got killed in 1 or 2 days.

What happened was, the ****TY streets in San Francisco, with all the potholes, cracks, and lumps, did a number on the car. And since the shocks were dead and could supply no damping, all the force of the shock went into the stub axle. The stub axle bended, and the bent stub axle ate the bearing.

So go buy new shocks. KYBs are inexpensive and they might not be race-grade equipment but they are MUCH better than the broken original crap you might have. KYB rears are available for all 944s and 968s, but fronts are not available for the S2 or 968. If you need to save money, I suggest buying 951 strut housings and using those with KYBs. The only thing available for 968 fronts is Konis.

Cheapest, shocks will run you $200. I had to spend $75 on a stub axle, $30 on the wheel bearing parts, and I still had to go buy shocks! Lesson learned.

tifosiman

That, and driving on blown shocks/struts is also just plain unsafe from a road-handling standpoint.

PorscheDude1

Ouch!
Could have been worse.

xsboost90

you sure the axel nut wasnt just improperly torqued? You should replace the nut every time you do a bearing job or they will come loose.

944CS

so the stub axle bended, huh?

Todd157k

Wow.. that's pretty ugly. I just replaced my rear shocks, but with 951 used ones. I may look at just getting some new ones after that.

Funny though, when I pulled my old shocks, I pushed down on them and they were still pretty firm. While I was pushing down I thought "these aren't so bad" until I let go of them... and they stayed down.

PorscheDude1

Parts like this are "cheap" why buy used?

shiners780

Why wouldn't they?

FRporscheman

Visually, the old stub axle looked fine, but I know it was bent. To confirm it, right before swapping it, I had my brother follow me as I drove the 944. He could see the wheel wobbling......

And with the replacement stub axle installed the noise is completely gone. I used the nut that came with the replacement axle, but the parts were used. I'll order a new nut and put it on next chance I get. Now that you mention it, the old nut was relatively easy to remove. Like maybe it had 200 lbft on it. The cotter pin was still in though and came out fine.

To set the torque on the nut, obviously I couldn't use my torque wrench, so I used my weight of 200lbs on a breaker bar + pipe with total length of 2 feet. I stood with one foot right at the 1.5 ft mark on the bar/pipe. Theoretically this should put 350 lbft on it. Then I backed it off just until I could slip in the cotter pin. Should there be any loctite on this nut?

Keithr726

hmm wasn't there a big debate about this on another forum?

Makis

How common is this? I thought I had a problem with my rear wheel bearing on my S2 and I changed but the noise I was hearing did not really disappear or came back after 1 or 2 days. I assumed the bearing is not the cause of my noise and removed the gearbox instead. I opened it up but could not see anything wrong with it either so I am waiting for some parts to put it back together.

Now that I have the car up at the rear no gearbox and CV half shaft attached, how can I check the rear bearings again or for a bend stub axel? Removing the HUB on the S2 will destroy the bearing so this is not a good idea. Cannot feel any roughness when I rotate the wheel in the hub. The only thing I can feal is the brake pads friction noise on the disk.

My shock absorber should be OK, but it is a coil over and is much harder then standard so it could have the same effect on the stub axel as having bad shock.

bader$

I don't think shocks caused that, a pot hole maybe or as someone else said the nut came loose or wasn't torqued properly. shocks only dampen the energy from the springs. this doesn't prevent impact shock to the wheels and bearings

Potomac-Greg

I had the same thought. I hope that adding coilovers does not threaten the stub axle.

billthe3

Arash just is not mentioning all the homeless people he runs over in SF.

FRporscheman

So I just bought Konis for nothing. Fantastic.
Are you sure? I don't mean to question your knowledge but I'd like to know if this is really true. It does make sense.

I do think firmer suspension would give the stub axles & spindles are harder time.

I think the best way to check for broken stub axles is either watch the wheel for wobble as it drives along, or check the wheel bearing for damage. If it's new and it's broken, the stub axle is more than likely bent.