rear wheel bearing - help
 

I' m replacing a rear wheel bearing on my 30k mi '01 S. I removed the cv from the gearbox. I removed the 32mm axle nut. I expected to be able to pull the axle out of of the hub at this point. No go. Gave it a couple whacks with sledge hammer. nada. This is a CA car with no rust. Is something else holding it in there?

Are these cars purposefully designed to be contrary and infuriating? And whats up with a bearing going out at 30k mi? And there is no question it's the bearing. With the rear jacked up off the ground and the wheel spun, it sounds like the bearing has crumbled or is loaded with sand.

Did you change wheels lately?

Have you seen THIS?

Paul, thanks for the link. I even have the same SIR hub/bearing tool as used in that thread and was a little confused about how to use it, so 2 birds with 1 stone.

Yes, I put on 18x9 Fikses. They have 3mm less offset (44mm) than oe twists w/5mm spacers. Previous owner put on eibach lowering springs. I have -2.5 camber in rear. Maybe cantilevering the bearing with negative camber is hard on it.

I wouldn't be so quick to lay blame at your doorstep. There have been lots of members with 01 S's that have had problems with their rear bearings (do a search in your spare time). My previous 01 S did at about the same mileage as yours and I had factory wheels on at the time. I think they used a bad batch of bearings that year. Of course Porsche would never own up to that. Mine was a rt rear bearing that shot craps. Which side was yours?

Ever since various manufacturers started using a single pressed in wheel bearing instead of an inner and outer bearing to save weight and money, I've seen this happen quite often after a wheel change. First noticed it on Fiats in the 70s.

The bad bearing is on the driver side. The others are quiet. The weird thing is that the onset of noise was gradual. I tended to accept the noise as inherent to the car and began driving it less. Once I realized something was wrong I didn't know what to attribute it to, since I had bought new wheels, tires, and had an alignment done all around the same time. I hope a new bearing will solve this problem because it was beginning to sound like a truck with offroad tires.

For those diagnosing a noise problem, I noticed I could modulate the sound with braking. The noise was not altered by cornering. Ofcourse the sound remained upon taking it out of gear at any speed.

autopsy photos:

bad rear driver-side bearing
 

Over the last couple months I've noticed the (slow) onset of noise coming from the driver-side rear wheel of my '01 with 49k. At first, I thought it was simply tire noise as cornering and braking did not cause any noise change. Over time the noise increased along with a slightly noticeable vibration. Also over time, I began to notice noise/volume to be altered when cornering the car.

I wish I realized it was the bearing sooner, as my mechanic had to remove the axle as it had seized to the hub and bearing assembly. Lucky for me the machine shop was able press out the axle, hub and bearing - but of course it cost me for the additional labor...

My 02S is making noise again. I plan to take it to the dealer and get the other rear wheel bearing.

Here is another great write-up:
http://boxcar-racing.com/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=0722d73c35ea3ed070f1a173d53285 fd&topic=562.15