What a bad wheel bearing sound like?

[Wret]

It wasn't particularly hard but I managed to spread it out for most of the day with breaks for beer, soaking in the pool, bbqing, and an unplanned father's day celebration.

I did it without the special $250 tool. I found and reviewed two or three DIY's and accumulated some parts for a couple weeks that I thought I would need. I didn't remove the strut, only the ball joing connections for the toe and camber control arms. A generic hub puller that did the trick for the pulling the hub, which came out with half the bearing attached to it.


A 12"x 5/8 threaded rod with various washers got the rest of the bearing and shell out. The one part that might be harder to find is a cup to draw the bearing into. A 3" pipe or aluminum conduit union would be perfect but Home Depot doesn't stock anything that large. Maybe a plumbing or electrical supply store. Fortunately I had a piece of pipe that did the trick. I'll try a little sketch.

The part of the bearing still seized to the hub might give you a problem. I scored it slightly with an angle grinder blade so that it cracked and slid off. The most frustrating thing was getting the shafts of the ball joints to slide back in. The socket has a lip near the top and the shaft kept getting hung up and would slide past the lip. I ended up smoothing the lip just a bit with a drill and it slide right in. I put the bearing in the freezer before pressing it in with the same threaded rod tool and also chilled the hub before pressing it in.

[sasha055]

Thanks Wret!

I'm planning to use HF tools for that

http://www.harborfreight.com/fwd-front-wheel-bearing-adapters-66829.html

and

http://www.harborfreight.com/17-piece-heavy-duty-slide-hammer-kit-5223.html

You gave me enough confidence to tacke it!

Thanks
Sasha

[Wret]

That bearing set should work if the spacer ring is big enough. I actually have the same slide hammer. I tried it first and broke the adapter plate after about 30 or 40 good whacks. It is VERY cheaply made. The other type hub puller was my fall back and it worked like a charm.

I'll be taking the slide hammer back for a refund.

[gschotland]

Check out this specialized Porsche rear wheel bearing tool... that's NOT made by Chinese prison laborers. Actually it's sold "factory direct" from an enthusiast in Missouri (I think) who has a day job. Apparently he's got a great reputation.

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

A phenomenal value at only $105(!!!) and you can probably easily resell for not much of a hit because it can be used on so many Porsche models going all the way back to 1974.

I will definitely be buying when the time comes, which won't be long.