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

husker boxster · 11-09-2008, 04:37 AM

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?

Paul · 11-09-2008, 06:40 AM

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.

brp987 · 11-09-2008, 07:46 AM

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.

brp987 · 11-09-2008, 03:47 PM

autopsy photos:

spanos70 · 01-07-2009, 03:53 PM

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...

eVoMotion · 04-16-2009, 08:16 AM

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