JDS968

Weekend is not going so well...

Recently my rear driver's side hub nut started backing out, which I only diagnosed after the wheel picked up a bit of a wobble...which wore down the outer pad unevenly and, by grinding against it unevenly, overheated the whole thing and warped the rotor. Hooray.

So I got new rear rotors (thanks to Michael at Prospeed) and two new locknuts, cracked open a box of PF brake pads, and bought a length of thick steel pipe that fit over my breaker bar when I gave up on finding a torque wrench able to measure out 500 newton meters, or even a breaker bar long enough for me to stand on and apply that much torque.

Disassembled everything, all ready to reassemble it with new parts and congratulate myself...when I find a fragment of very shiny, curved metal.

I'm thinking this is a fragment of the wheel bearing outer race, anybody recognize it?

And if so, I'm guessing I need to just replace the whole wheel bearing, yes?

So does anybody have a 944S2/968 specific bearing install/removal tool I could borrow?

Hub nut eventually backed out very far:


I cranked down that nut the first time it backed out, but of course it backed out again (faster than I expected, though), and the wobble came back. Apparently this actually cracked the pad.


I believe this is a fragment of the outer wheel bearing race...does anybody recognize this?


Close up of suspected outer wheel bearing race fragment:


This is where the fragment came from:


Close up:

ramius665

Don't the rear hub bolts use a cotter pin to keep them from backing off?

As far as your piece of metal, I think you're correct and it's a piece of the wheel bearing.

JDS968

They are described as "lock nuts", but no, they're not castle nuts. Nor are they nylock nuts. I can only guess that they are the type that utilize a locking action in the threads themselves (of which there are a few varieties).

Julian Allen

I think they're called prevailing torque nuts, with a crimp in the outermost threads that keeps the initial torque.

samluke

Yes it looks like the bearing is breaking up. You should be able to loan a bearing puller set locally. Autozone loans them out if you buy parts from them, or you might find another place to rent/loan one.

JDS968

Isn't the removal/installation tool model-specific? Or will a generic tool work?

ramius665

How close is Miami Beach to Pompano Beach? I would give Ian Riley at 944 online a call, explain your situation and I'm sure if you buy your parts from him he'll let you borrow the tools you'll need. He's a great guy and has helped me out in the past.

samluke

The kits are generic or make/model specific. The loaner ones are generic, Its a set of hardened sleeves and various other devices. You select the appropriate collars/devices to remove and replace the bearings. Here's an example.
http://www.etoolcart.com/europeanrea...itb90-rwe.aspx

JDS968

Pompano is definitely close enough, I'll give him a call. Thank you!

JDS968

Spoke to Ian Riley, he's got the wheel bearing but said that he doesn't have any model-specific tool and has never heard of anybody needing one, and a generic bearing puller from an auto parts store will do the job. My local Advance has one for rent, so I figure I'll go get the bearing on Thursday or Friday and then rent the puller and have the job done in time to go for a nice Sunday drive

samluke

When you do it be patient and careful. It can take a lot of force to get them out. Clean and lube the trailing arm with something like WD40 or light oil when you pull the new bearing in. Make sure you torque the nut correctly, I forget the torque but its pretty high and more than you will likely get on a 1/2" drive.

JDS968

I was planning on using PB Blaster when removing it and probably WD-40 putting the new one in.

It's 369 foot pounds...which is more than I can measure on my torque wrench or any torque wrench I can buy in the Miami area. But I have a very strong pipe to extend my breaker bar, and I can just estimate the torque using basic math...it IS 1/2" drive, but I think it will work. Or maybe it will snap, and I'll have to go get a 3/4" drive bar. Either way.

JDS968

I got everything out except for the bearing outer race.

The puller from Advance predictably was not in any way useful. Those people are retarded, speak no English, and have no idea what I'm talking about anyway.

Tried putting a torch on the aluminum semi-trailing arm to loosen the interference fit so I could tap the race out with a flat punch. I love applying fire to things, AND I love hitting things with blunt objects, and yet I failed miserably. Didn't budge in the slightest.

I finally gave in and found the best deal on a SIR Tools B90-P. If you've never seen one...this is what it looks like.



Wish me luck...I'll need it

Techno Duck

This tool made by Arnnworx is meant specifically for removing the rear wheel bearing on 944/968 series cars, only about $100 also.

http://www.arnnworx.com/BearingTool1.htm

I have used this tool on my friends '89 944 to replace the wheel bearings and it made a usually awful job pretty easy. The hardest part is indeed getting the locknut off.. this is what my friend and i had to do. I was surprised the breaker bar did not snap. My friend bought a used torque wrench that went up to something like 500ft-lbs (used for trucks / buses)..the torque wrench is about 4ft long! .

FRporscheman

I use the Arnnworx tool and it works great. I also have a multipurpose bearing tool which also works great for other cars. It's not as nice as your set though!

Good luck! In a way I'm glad your wheel bearing lost a fragment - with the issues you were having, I'd definitely suspect the wheel bearing and lean towards replacing it. Also glad your wheel didn't fall off and you're ok!