roman944

Ok so I made it to work fine. I was driving with the car shaking and making all kinds of grinding noises and sounded like metal was breaking etc. = VERY scary. So I came in and talked to my boss. He said "do what you gota do" and I love my 944 way too much.

So I had one of the mechanics (also a maintenance guy at the facility - fixes anything related to machinery, electricity, is a car nut, and a Harley rider); called my dad; dad came in - they had me jack the car up - and on to the test we went

1 - are wheels supposed to spin or not when the car is jacked? I couldn't figure out because one minute they were spining, the next they were dead still; same on both sides, but the right side (which I though was trouble) wasn't spining at first, then it started spining good and left side wouldnt go

2 - with car jacked, went through all gears up to 3500 RPM GENTLY! - and thats when the left side kinda stopped spining, and was making the MOST noise; tried moving it, and left side was VERY loose and right side was more stable

3 - on my way to work I was passing a "broke down?" semi, and I felt a bolt fly out form my rear wheels somewhere, but kept on going because I thought it might have been from a semi - once the car was jacked - I found out that the bolt I saw was indeed from MY car, and the reason why my brackes were pulsating is because my bearings are so bad they took toll on the rotor/caliper/brakes in the back - the bolt I saw fly out was the one that holds the brake pads with that metal wire clamp on them

4 - by now simple, car is jacked, everything seems fine except for rear, noise is coming from "inside" and not CV joints, so problem is obvious - bearings or something inside transmission - but transmission is working perfectly, so we assume that it's bearings

now onto questions:

1 - both sides are bad, but left (driver's side) is the worst; how's so?

2 - I removed the wheels, now looking at clark's garage and at what I'm dealing with - not sure what kind of trailing arms I have, does it really matter?

3 - when, and how, do we remove the spacer? and do we have to? looks like we do, but not sure; do this before the nut, or after?

4 - best deal on bearings? package deals? do bearings for newer cars fit early cars? are they better?

5 - any tips to make this the lest painfull are apreciated!

and ofcourse, anyone near me wants to help me out this weekend - I will only welcome any help I can get!

so yeah, any pointers are apreciated; is Clark's manual spot on or are there things that can be done "differently, faster, or better" ? or just follow it to the "."

thanks a lot!

Spidey944

With the car in the air, the rear wheels should spin freely as long as Ebrake is not on and the car is not in gear.

As far as the bearings go, the are all independant of each other and one can wear out at any time. I have found that in most instances when one fails badly, it has taken an impact at some point in time (curb checked badly, pot-hole etc) and it crushed or cracked the bearings so they start making a lot of noise, and eventualy fail.

They are not tough to replace, but the bearing removal tool makes things a lot easier to replace. And my guess is they will either fall out with no issues, or be stuck like a **** due to being overheated and siezed to the races.

roman944

that's the part I'm really affraid of; when I was driving it home from work it was making grinding noises as before, then heard cracking and moving and crunching, then all of a sudden those noises stopped, the car stopped violently shaking, my brakes came back fine like before, and the only thing I heard was the grinding noise from metal

so I am assuming that atleast on the "drivers side" the bearing is actaully done for; the right side still seems "ok" but it has some play to it now as well

so we are going to get them both done at the same time

the car's rear is jacked up, wheels are off, and I'm ready to "dig in" for the rest of the stuff

my dad works today, and I will HAVE to work tomorrow, but between two of us and a nice long weekend I think we'll have it ready for Monday to have new stuff go in as it arrives

another question for you then, I know that my car doesn't has LSD, but my dad thought that it does, kinda funny, but, real question: with the LSD would they wear out at the same time, or not? just normal wear and tear - assuming no "curb hitting" etc.

thanks!

roman944

I just looked, and it looks like the right side was done at some point already, but the left one needs work, either way both are going to get done - pretty much at the same time

just if anyone has done this before please let me know how you took the spacers off, because those things are like dead on there

roman944

ok, so I got the spacers and the pins out, I had to get a big wrench to undo the spacers

I found 2 things both related to the right side:

1 - and the biggest potential problem - is that this wheel always looked like it was "sticking in" - reason being, possibly, because the spacer on this side has a decent sized gash in it, and on one side, it's sticking out of the surface of the spacer by maybe 1-2mm; but when wheel is on possibly big enough to make a difference; so now I need to find a 2" H&R spacer as well

2 - right side wheel nuts, and spacer nuts, were BY FAR easier to undo then the left side; maybe because left side is so bad and because of vibration? or maybe because right side simply wasn't tightened enough? who knows? but it's getting fixed!

also, amongst little things, my dad has all kinds of stuff left from previous cars, so we found a coolant cap that fits this tank - so I'm going to get new bearings, relays for fans and headlights, a new thermo switch that's on the block (should I go low temp? how low?); I'm going to TRY MY BEST to get a new expansion tank right now; and I'll try to use this coolant cap (I think its from a '95 Plymouth Voyager);

the car is also way due for an oil change, so I might have that done now as well

I had a few more questions on how to check transmission fluid and does it "ever" need to be changed?

I kind of hit a dead end right now, because I don't have a big enough socket to take out the axle nut; biggest wrench I have is only 22mm and Clark's says that a 36mm one is needed

so far it has been fairly easy

I hope you guys don't mind me doing this; this is actually the first time I'm doing something "myself" @ home to my own car; I've done things before with help of other people (my uncle, brother, friends, cousins), but never actually by myself; my dad is going to overlook, but still I'm kinda proud!

so as of right now I don't have a set of wheels to go and get the right wrench, kinda sucks; in the meantime I think I could take the brake dist, caliper, and the rest of system off; I'm going to check and try to follow Clark's the best I can, but should I be worried about brake fluid leaking out? any other leaks possible from anywhere down there?

like I said, I'm doing this now, and these little updates are more for myself (because I'm really proud of myself as of right now []) and to get some help!

thanks a lot guys!

Roman

F18Rep

Roman... you'l get better advice if you can somehow provide pics. Also what year is your 944? I'm betting you have a loose rear axle nut - they come loose sometimes and will give all the symptoms you describe. They are supposed to be torqued to 350, which means a pretty damn big breaker bar. changing the rear bearings is not a really good first timer job. Take a look at this page for some ideas... Bruce

PS... I've got a "loaner" tool if you're desparate.

Airflite40

I have a pair of 2" hubcentric spacers for sale if u want. pm me

AKCJ

Roman,
I think there's a difference between the early and late models so post the year of your car.
I haven't done the rear wheel bearings yet but I'm pretty sure you have to drop the CV so you'll need the special tool for those bolts. I just got mine from the Mac Tool guy but I found a low $ one at NAPA also. Read up on that procedure.
Don't wimp out when it comes to putting that big nut back on - I've seen troubles on other rigs when the nut was not tighten enough.
Good Luck
Jerry

Oh, and listen to Bruce - he's The Man when it comes to rear wheel bearings (and a lot of other stuff including painting?!)

roman944

bah - this reminds me: UPDATE MY PROFILE!

it's an early car it's an '83; it's really great

so far I've done plenty for today by myself; I was able to break loose all nuts and bolts with a little muscle; so far I've got:

1) wheels are off, by hand (they were torqued by air wrench)
2) I got spacers off, by hand, no idea how they were torqued with, or if they were taken off in the last few years, but I got them done!
3) loosened brake caliper - now, tricky, do I need to COMPLETELY take it off, or just letting it sit there? is it going to get in the way, or am I better off taking it off completely?
4) I took those "pins" out for the axle nut, and I've taken the screws out that hold the brake disc

I don't trust "jack stands" because they are so tiny, so I'm using 2 16" audi wheels with wood braces to hold the car steady, so far it's been up to the job! there is NO way it will rool anywhere []

so yeah, tomorrow's plan (and over the weekend) is to take the axle nut off, pull the CV joints out, basically, get to the bearings themselves, and have them out - ready for new ones to go in

question: I guess a dumb one, but I should keep the car covered once the axle nut and axles are out to keep the dust away and in case it rains? I should have parked it inside the garage, but its so nice outside, and more light then inside

thanks!

Roman

PS: I ran out to Autozone, and they don't have any bearings in stock; I'm going to try NAPA and Advance Auto Parts to see if they have them; if not, then I'll order them tomorrow so I get them Monday, and I should have the car back by Tuesday (hopefully!)

I'll also ask them if they have an air wrench as a "rent tool" - not sure if they do, but it will definetly help with the axle nut! I'm really not sure how to take it off now; I gota use a brace or something to keep the assembly still and get a long pipe with a socket wrench I guess

roman944

by the way, I am taking my camera with me so I can take some shots of stuff I've taken off, and show a picture of that "gashed" spacer so maybe you guys can chime in

I should have done this before I started taking it apart, maybe I'll do it as I'm putting it back together!

thanks for all the help!

Roman

F18Rep

Early car - good, probably easier to deal with since the bearings are pressed in - I don't really know them but lot of other guys here do....Bruce

roman944

ok

so the right side is now open (axle nut is off and dust shield along with the rest of the hub)

I can see bits and pieces of what used to be a bearing; various crushed metal stuff and little *****; question now: I have to take the whole axle off from transmission and stuff? or? I need some help with this part

I'm going to check Clark's too

thanks!

roman944

ok so we opened it all up on 1 side
keep in mind that I'm a newbie at this, so please if you have done this on your early car - help me out!

the annworks tool (or w/e) is for newer cars right?
looks like bearings are sitting on that "bolt looking thingie" - is this the stub axle?

so all I have to do now is, unbold the axle, hang it out of the way, take a hammer and a block of wood - take the "bolt thingie" out, take old bearings out (should be able to see them right?)

what do I clean all the old grease out with?

and to install new bearings, I pack them with new grease, and put them inside the trailing arm - then put the "bolt thingie" back in, and then everything else?

PS: the bolt thing I am refering to is the one on the bottom of this pic:

MAGK944

Everything you need to know is in The Manual. Start at page 35.

Mike

roman944

allright this is moving along nicely; after putting 100 miles on the van and spending $30 on gas I was able to find the dreaded 8mm 12 point allen wrench (well, this one is a socket, so YAY for me! found it at Pep Boys by the way)

so going to dig into the car a little more now; no hurry because my order was done and processed just today (had to redo because there was a mistake) and I won't have the bearings untill this weekend

now while it's up in the air I would like to change the transmission fluid, and maybe lower the eccentric bolt

I'll check with Clark's; but I do have a question on the oil - since it's an early car, what would work better? 75-90? Mobile 1 is good (since it's all over the place here, but others will have to be ordered as well)

also, which bolts should I use "thread lock" on once the rear will be put back together? is a gear puller necessary or going to make the bearing job easier?

and what engine oil would you guys recomend? last I read 15-40 was the favorite; I was wondering if it would be allrigh to use motorcycle oil (what weight) - I know a few people with RX-7's runing (I know its a different engine etc), but still, safe? for a DD?

thanks!