Van

I've heard a lot of people ask about tightening and changing front wheel bearings over the years.

I thought I'd make a video tutorial for those what don't know how to do it.

Follow along while I do one front wheel on my Turbo S.

I had to make the video in 3 parts (to meet the YouTube 10 minute restriction) - all three parts are embedded below, but you can also click here to go straight to YouTube.

Part 1



Part 2



Part 3



Enjoy!!

Van

P.s. if you want to see my method for tightening the wheel bearings, it's part way through the 3rd video.

pontifex4

Wow, nicely produced!
This is really timely -- thank you!

Lemming

Great job, should be very useful for many!

smlporsche

How often do my fellow racers do this?
Do you do it as a preventative maintnance item or just when you start to feel/hear something?

Potomac-Greg

That is fantastic! It's also a DIY for brake pads and rotors!

So, is there a symptom of bearing failure? Or a recommended interval for changing them?

Lastly, I've got one dustcap (L/F) that pops off but only at the track. I assume the hub heat is loosening the cap. Any ideas?

Lemming

Either a small hole drilled in the cap to release pressure or a bit of metal tape works as well.

Van

I can feel it when they start to go - I get a little vibration/rumble around certain corners. Sometimes I notice a little brake pad knock-back as well.

I'd say that on average I end up changing front wheel bearings every 3 years - 15-ish track days per year. And I always keep a spare set in my track box just in case. I also check their tightness at least once a season.

I go through about 2 sets of front pads a season, and a set of front rotors for every 3 or 4 sets of pads.

aj986s

Hi Eddie! Long time no see!

I tend to change bearings once I start hearing some noise. AFAIK they don't suddenly fail catastrophically. They go bad gradually, and will talk to you during the process (getting louder...).

However....IIRC the videos describe the later 951 & S2 brakes. The early 944's (pre 85.5) and possibly the later NA 944's, have a different rotor/hub design. In order to change the rotor, the hub must be removed. So with those cars, I like to do wheel bearings at the same time since everything is apart anyway. Maybe overkill, but I guess its good PM for the race car (mine's an '84).

My 944S2 (and Boxster) have rotors similar to the video, so bearings are not necessarily involved with rotor replacement.

87944turbo

Thanks for taking the time to do this! It helps so much to see a demonstration like this. Have you thought about posting this in the DIY forum? Not many topics there and it might help it from getting lost in this forum.

joonas

It seems to me that you installed the bearings too tight. Did you compare your method with factory suggested method?

luftpirate

Great Videos! thanks

Van

I've had good luck with that method and have been using it for over a decade. The torque you can put on a screw driver is very slight.

Van

Good idea. I just tried, but I don't have access to post in the DIY forums... Maybe a moderator has to start the thread?

krystar

also a note that if yer doing the left side, there's gonna be the speedo cable that attachs the the dust cap. at least on my early car. the c-clip that holds that needs to be snug and tight...or yer speedo will just drop to 0 on the highway hehe