Go Back   986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners > Porsche Boxster & Cayman Forums > Boxster General Discussions

Post Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 11-29-2009, 01:09 PM   #1
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Tampa, Florida
Posts: 104
New Wheel Bearings Bad?

Last week, I replaced my inner CV joints, inner/outer boots and wheel bearings. The parts came from Pelican. Now, with the new parts installed it seems like both new bearings are bad. It sounds like a 4x4 truck with mud tires going down the road and I have a nasty vibration which is worst between 70-80mph.

I know I did everything right, the only questionable thing could be the hub bolt torque (this is supposed to be about 350 lb.-ft, I had to guess by standing on a breaker bar), if anything I could have over-torqued these.

Has anyoe else had bad out-of-box bearings? And two, for that matter?

releese78 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-29-2009, 01:34 PM   #2
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Arvada, CO
Posts: 229
Have you had the alignment checked since having the work done?

BC.
__________________
Its not how fast you go, or how expensive your toys are.
Its all about how big your smile is at the end of the day that truly matters.

'98 Silver Boxster, '08 Ducati 848, '89 Honda Hawk GT, '89 Honda Pacific Coast
Bladecutter is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-29-2009, 01:49 PM   #3
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Tampa, Florida
Posts: 104
Yes. I thought about that too, I had it realigned and re-balanced the rear tires for good measure as well. Its definitely a bearing sound, although if I jack up the car and grab the wheels there isnt any movement like you would usually see in cars with bad bearings.
releese78 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-29-2009, 07:41 PM   #4
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: los angeles
Posts: 193
You say "you know you did it right". I don't know that. Did you use the SIR bearing installer tool from Pelican? You pulled the bearing into the hub by the outer race, right? You pulled the flange into the bearing by the inner race, right? The axle threads were clean and the nut spun freely, right? You tightened the axle nut atleast somewhat before setting the car on the ground, and definitely before rolling, right? I hope the cv's were packed w/grease and the cv bolts properly torqued. Bonus points for schnorr washers or threadlocker - those bolts can back out, leaving you stranded.

I've installed rear bearings on 911, 914, and boxster, and even one out-of-the-box bad FAG bearing is, to me, incredible - despite the name.
brp987 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-30-2009, 04:52 AM   #5
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Tampa, Florida
Posts: 104
I didn't use the tool from Pelican (to be honest, I didn't know it even existed until I did some searching about my issue). I used a generic bearing puller/installer, and a "slide-hammer" style puller to remove the hub. The bearing puller was used to reinstall the hub. The bearing was pulled in by the outer race, but hub may have also been pulled in against the outer bearing race, but it didnt seem to take too much force to press it. The axle splines were clean, nut went on freely and was torqued while the car was still on jackstands (got it as tight as possible, then set the parking brake to finish torquing). I did use loctite on the inner axle bolts, and these were brand new.
releese78 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-30-2009, 08:08 AM   #6
Schatten-Baum-Mechaniker
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Mississippi
Posts: 242
The Bentley manual says to tighten the drive axle nut with the car on the ground.
Is that not correct?

Are you sure you correctly reassembled the CV joints?
__________________
Tommy
2000 Boxster S
1973 914
tommy986 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-30-2009, 10:42 AM   #7
Registered User
 
litteng's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: S'toon SK. Canada
Posts: 122
Garage
wheel bearings

what was the reason for changing the original ones?

i had a wheel that sounded like the bearing was on its way out, and with the car in the air and no load on the wheel it was determined that the noise was coming from the tires, put a new bearing in anyway and the noise was still there

350 lb-ft? i thought the boxster rear axle nuts went to 250?
__________________
claus

03-r1100s, 11-f800st, 09-987.2, Norton Commando
auf adlers fluegeln getragen
litteng is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-30-2009, 01:06 PM   #8
Registered User
 
Lil bastard's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Du Monde
Posts: 2,199
Probability of a bad bearing out of the box - extremely low.

Probability of Two bad bearings out of the box - infinitesimally low.

Sorry, I'm gonna go with Operator Error on this one.

__________________
1990 Porsche 964 Carrera 4 Cabriolet
1976 BMW 2002
1990 BMW 325is
1999 Porsche Boxster
(gone, but not forgotten)
http://i933.photobucket.com/albums/a...smiley-003.gif

Never drive faster than your Guardian Angel can fly!
Lil bastard is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-30-2009, 03:52 PM   #9
Registered User
 
jcb986's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Orlando
Posts: 1,266
Where Are Bearings Made

They replacement bearing may have been an inferior product made in China or South America. I would have went with Porsche or German made one. Sorry, but when it comes to major parts I will go with Porsche, even if it costs more. :dance:

PS: Since you spun the wheel and heard no noise, why did you do it. A bad bearing does not go quite with a spinning wheel in the air. If ain't broke...don't fix it!!!
jcb986 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-30-2009, 04:03 PM   #10
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: los angeles
Posts: 193
"but hub may have also been pulled in against the outer bearing race"

That will ruin the bearing, and unfortunately I'm speaking from experience having done the same thing. There is a plastic-like piece inside the bearing that holds the balls in position that won't tolerate much loading.
brp987 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-30-2009, 04:10 PM   #11
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Tampa, Florida
Posts: 104
The bearings were bad to begin with, which is why I did this along with the inner CV joints and boots (inner boots were torn).

The replacement bearings are FAG brand, which is the OEM manufacturer for Porsche, and they are in fact German made. I think my problem is more than likely that I didnt pull the hub in using the inner races as mentioned. Not a very expensive lesson learned, but a time consuming one. Hopefully this thread helps out some fellow bearing changers! Cheers and thanks everyone for the replies.





Quote:
Originally Posted by jcb986
They replacement bearing may have been an inferior product made in China or South America. I would have went with Porsche or German made one. Sorry, but when it comes to major parts I will go with Porsche, even if it costs more. :dance:

PS: Since you spun the wheel and heard no noise, why did you do it. A bad bearing does not go quite with a spinning wheel in the air. If ain't broke...don't fix it!!!
releese78 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-22-2009, 02:12 PM   #12
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Tampa, Florida
Posts: 104
Quick question...

I bought another set of bearings and the SIR tool, and I'll be changing the rears again tomorrow. To be absolutely sure I do it right this time, I wanted to check on two things.

First, these bearings aren't directional are they? The outer rim of one side is a larger groove.

Second, since they are sealed bearings, I don't need to pack any additional grease do i?

Thanks in advance,
releese78 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-22-2009, 05:53 PM   #13
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: los angeles
Posts: 193
page 42-14 bentley says install bearings with numbers facing toward the wheel hub.

The bearings come ready to install.
brp987 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-23-2009, 03:57 PM   #14
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Pittsburgh
Posts: 11
Here is a thread on the Pelican board. It's actually for older 911's, but the concepts are similar. The post explains how to build a bearing puller similar to sir tools for less than $20 at Home Depot or Lowes. I did mine (911) using the procedure. It was very simple. Hope this helps.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/179300-rear-wheel-bearing-removal.html
gregwils is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-25-2009, 07:13 AM   #15
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Tampa, Florida
Posts: 104
I feel like a dumbass. Bought another set of bearings and the SIR tool, put in the new ones and it still made the same noise/vibration. I knew that I did it right this time (thought I did last time too, but...).

After all of that, it turned out to be my cheap wheel spacers causing the issue. I tried out a larger set to see if it was the problem, and voi-la, no more vibration. Time to spend some more cash for the right size ones.
releese78 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-25-2009, 08:23 AM   #16
Registered User
 
tnoice's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Champaign, IL
Posts: 355
glad you found the issue.

__________________
Lov'n my boxster!

2013 Lexus IS350awd
2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser
2004 Porsche Boxster S
tnoice is offline   Reply With Quote
Post Reply


Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On




All times are GMT -8. The time now is 12:05 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Content Relevant URLs by vBSEO 3.6.0
Copyright 2024 Pelican Parts, LLC - Posts may be archived for display on the Pelican Parts Website -    DMCA Registered Agent Contact Page