IcemanG17

After all the recent posts about thrust bearing failure (TBF) I decided it was a good time to check mine. After a quick brake fluid flush to ATE Super Blue Bill B & I got to work (lifts really help)....everything check out fine.....the clamp moved 1.73mm, but it looked like more? Since everything was open we checked the crank end play...it had a slight movement, but not much...using Bill's dial micrometer it came up with a repeatable .0008" or .2032mm...right where it should be! Thats a relief!! One less thing for me to worry about! The last pic is Bill's new wheels.....very sharp....I really need some new wheels!

jeff jackson

Great for you Brian....more S4 guys with automatics, ought to do the same type test, and "hopefully", breathe a sigh of relief. Also nice to have someone like Bill in the neighborhood to provide assistance. Looks like you have many more years of pure driving pleasure out of your shark...without the dreaded "Oh-****"... Good job.

Bill Ball

Hey Brian, it was 0.008" (off one decimal point). Still 0.2mm. The dial indicator looks bit crooked from that angle, but it was perpindicular, and we got a very good reading. Regardless, drive on!

Chazz

Wow, those are nice wheels. What are they?

IcemanG17

Bill
.008 is right....got a little to quick on the button! Still...its nice piece of mind!! Gotta start saving for my wheels....then mabye an S/C!!!!

Nicole

Congratulations:

Brian for having no TBF issues to worry about

Bill for the new wheels. It was about time you upgraded to something more appropriate for the power of your car. Did you end up buying the tinted tail lights?

Bill Ball

They're 17" 996 wheels from 2002-?. Take-offs from eBay. I like the look. They are only 7 and 9" wide, so, not as aggressive as some of 8 and 10 inch wide 18s in other threads (e.g., the 997 Carrera 3 wheels). Fine with me. A nice improvement over the stock 16s.

The offset is 55 rear, 50 front. I initially reported they did not fit in the front. The rears are just about right, but the fronts are right on the edge of the wheel well arch. They should camber inside and not rub on compression, but they look goofy with the rears recessed in much further. So, I'm going to bump the rears out 8mm to make things look more balanced.

Supposedly 50mm offset in the front can screw handling due to a loss of scrub angle, leading to poor directional stability and tramlining. Uhuh, not in this case. I had much more tramlining with the stock wheels, and high speed directional stability is fine.

Yeah, Nicole, I sent off a check for the tinted tailights.

SharkSkin

Yeah, those are really sharp looking wheels, Bill. Konstantin & I were admiring them last weekend! Funny, my tramlining went away when I put my "incorrect" 55mm offset wheels on.

Bill Ball

Oh, one more thing about these 996 wheels...

I believe these were intended to be used with the slightly concave (dished) centercaps. On the front, the wheel bearing cap clearance is not enough to use concave centercaps. So, I got some of the common flat caps, and they JUST fit on the front and look fine all around. Keith ran into a similar problem with his new aftermarket wheels, and I believe he had some custom, low profile bearing caps made to provide more clearance for the wheel centercaps.

cfc928gt

Bill, I had a problem with the ATP Rivas I'm running not allowing for the concave center caps. I cut down the bearing caps a bit and they fit. Porsche left lots of space you can work with.

Brian, glad everything went okay with the TB check.

Bill Ball

cfc - There's a thought. Thanks!

edco

Hey Brian,

HeeHee my car had the sane treatment two weeks ago when Bill gave her the once over. Nice photos, glad to hear that all is well I was in good shape too.

Bill -

The wheels look great; when I saw them last they were leaning up against the wall. They look much better on you're shark!...

Matt

IcemanG17

Matt
You got a very nice 928 for a very good price too!! A mirror of Nicoles, in similar condition.....can't wait to see it in person! I was pretty sure the thrustbearing-endplay was fine...but its always nice to know for sure!

Sharks in the Park is under two months away!!!

BC

Those are great pics.

Am I supposed to be able to move the crank back and forth with that clamp and everything else all tight?

Or am I supposed to undo that clamp at the front and then measure?

I am in the 85 euro, and the pan and bell housing cover are off.

jarroyo

Is this an S4 only problem, or should I be concerned with my 81 16v? I only have 58k on the odo, and am still reversing much of the neglect from the P.O.