rear wheel bearing noise - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

mountainman · 07-07-2012, 01:04 PM

anyone changed rear wheel bearings? I have a roar from the rear end that I first thought was tire noise, but I notice it increases in a left turn when there is a weight shift and decreases in a right turn ( at speeds ). Pretty sure it is a wheel bearing. Is this something I can do without a bunch of special tools or will it be necessary to bend over for the porsche dealer? thanks mountainman

LAP1DOUG · 07-07-2012, 02:09 PM

Agreed this is most likely a wheel bearing. There must be something about the loading of the right rear on these cars - I had to change mine about a month ago.

You can DIY if you purchase the special tool for bearing extraction that Pelican Parts sells. Look around on these boards, and you'll find a really good explanation of how to to do it with this tool, complete with photos. You still better be pretty good at wrenching, or you should not attempt IMHO.

If you are planning to keep your car a long time, and think you can amortize the tool cost over a couple of bearing changes then it is well worth it.

peterbrown77 · 07-07-2012, 02:59 PM

I took mine to a local shop last week to get the bearing done. Supposed to be a $400 job that turned into a $1,018 nightmare. The wheel hub got demolished, which is a $375 part.

iceberg · 07-07-2012, 03:15 PM

Check out the link below. Pelican has detailed the steps in doing it. I did mine last month with the front wheels. I removed the hubs and have a friend with a hydraulic press in his garage pressed out the old bearings and installed the new ones. I am sure you can find some shop in your area that has the press. Pulling it out with a puller with the hub still on the car is easy but installing the new one is a bit harder to center and making sure not to misalign the two inner races. Otherwise, it's a fun weekend project.

Pelican Technical Article: Boxster Wheel Bearing Replacement - 986 / 987

iceberg · 07-07-2012, 03:28 PM

I did mine last month on the two front wheels. I removed the wheel hubs and have a friend with a hydraulic press in his garage pressed out the old ones and put the new ones. You can use the bearing puller with the hub still on the car but installing the new bearing was a little harder making sure it sits centered and the two inner races are not misaligned. I am sure you can find shops in your area with a press. Pelican had detailed the steps in doing this also. Good luck!

recycledsixtie · 07-07-2012, 03:36 PM

At what mileage did this happen on your cars?

opus69 · 07-07-2012, 05:03 PM

Just finished with the front wheel bearings last weekend and did the rears about 2 months ago. This is a 2002 S with 43,000 mi. The fronts were not sounding too bad but the rear sounded so quiet after replacing them I went ahead and did them too. One of the local Car Quest had a machine shop and it was well worth letting them press out the old bearings and press in the new. I would recommend using a ball joint press instead of a fork (split the ball joint cover. A coil spring compressor was helpful in removing hubs. I do a lot of auto work so I believe in only buying good tools. An exception being the ball joint press from Harbor Freight. Cheap and did the job just fine.

opus69 · 07-07-2012, 05:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peterbrown77

I took mine to a local shop last week to get the bearing done. Supposed to be a $400 job that turned into a $1,018 nightmare. The wheel hub got demolished, which is a $375 part.

I think if the shop damaged the hub they did not know what they were doing and should pay for it or at least free labor.

peterbrown77 · 07-08-2012, 04:40 AM

The bearing spun in the hub and opened it up about 0.015".... I didn't have the usual bad-bearing rumbling, it would squeal for the first 1/4 mile. So I don't doubt that the hub was damaged beyond repair. I just question Porsche's design. Seems that VW/Porsche/Audi wheel bearings have always been trouble. Had a Jetta years ago that I kept changing wheel bearings on in sequence around the car.

mountainman · 07-08-2012, 06:05 AM

thoughts on whether it would be necessary to change both rear ones if only one is making noise. Car has 33K miles on it. I will buy the extraction tool from pelican and keep it for future use anyway. Has anyone found one of equal quality cheaper than pelican? $275 seems pretty pricy to me.

brp987 · 07-08-2012, 09:44 AM

A wheel bearing isn't a sort of thing that's going to leave you stranded on the side of the road in my experience. They give you plenty of warning and allow you to arrange time and tools. And it's a big job, even with the proper tool. I put in a rear bearing at 30k miles. I now have 46k miles and other bearings are still good. So I'd do them as needed.

opus69 · 07-08-2012, 10:01 AM

I am always amazed at how much some people will do and spend to get a 5hp increase in performance. I wonder how much impact worn bearings impact performance. Surely a decrease in friction should increase performance. I replaced all 4 and do feel that the car performs better. I wonder if it would be quantifiable.

Wret · 07-09-2012, 04:43 AM

My first bearing (left rear) started howling at around 100,000. At first I diagnosed it as tire noise and realized after a tire change that it was the bearing.

If you are REALLY cheap (like me) you can DIY a tool. The key part is a very robust standoff or cup to receive the bearing as you draw it out. I had one of these lying around from a prior project (mcmaster-carr 45735K437). With that, some heavy washers, nuts, and threaded rod, its pretty easy to pull the bearings. I have since done the other three with the same rig.

black_box · 07-09-2012, 05:45 AM

I rented an SIR Tool B90 extractor from a BMW nut in texas for $50 plus a deposit of a few hundred - made the job a cinch, didn't have to remove wheel carrier at all and best of all no alignment issues. Only had to remove wheel, brake disc, rhand secondary catalyst, unbolt one end of CV axle, pop out bearing, push in a new one.

mountainman · 07-09-2012, 06:33 AM

I think I will go ahead and buy the sir tool and make it as easy to do as possible. I currently have 2 boxsters and a C4 and I don't see me ever not having 1 or 2 Porsches, so This most likely is not the last time I will need it. Much rather put my money in a tool than the dealer's pocket.
Thanks for all the good feedback. I am an hour north of asheville, NC just off the blue ridge parkway if anyone in this area ever needs assistance, I have a fairly well stocked garage with a lift and know the difference in an oil filter and a lug nut. Might even be talked into a good drive and a beer.

stephen wilson · 07-09-2012, 08:00 AM

Eh, we had to replace the LF wheel bearing on my wife's Integra at 100k Miles. We put another 100k Miles on the car without ever needing to do the other side. Though they do seem to be more of a trouble spot on the Boxster, so if it helps you sleep at night......