Bad wheel bearing

[jvmoney]

Yes, I had the same issue on my 02 S. Faulty Bearing is what they attributed it to. They are charging me about 560+ for this work and almost all of it is labor. This is insane! I'm just hoping the sound will go away.

[juan986]

get it fixed, 35 for the part in pelicanparts.com and about 2 hours of labor.

[eVoMotion]

I just had a rear wheel bearing start making noise on my 02 S as well. I bought the car with a certified warranty thinking that it covered obvious parts, but no. $700 later. WOW! I asked if I should change the other side now as well and the service manager said - no they should last 100K. WTF then?!

[porsche986spyder]

Wheel bearings are considered normal wear and tear and are NEVER covered under any warranty. They are just like windshield wipers, tires and brake pads, etc... they all wear out over time. Although some faster than others. I.E. beware of pot-holes. They can knock your wheels bearings out of whack very quickly. Found my front bearing on e-bay for $22.00 plus shipping.

[eVoMotion]

I kind of agree, but...I wonder what the expected life of an engine bearing is. Wheel bearing should last more than 30K...and the service mgr agrees.

[husker boxster]

Evo, out of curiosity, which side had the problem? If it's the right side, it appears more than a coincidence that so many 01 & 02 Ss have this problem. Faulty batch of parts?

[eVoMotion]

Mine was on the passenger side.

Anyone have experience with porsche recalls?

We had issues with our alternator for two years on another call and finally received a recall notice and it was fixed.

I would have liked to use that $ to replace my PZeros with something better.

[navpat1]

Originally Posted by eVoMotion

I kind of agree, but...I wonder what the expected life of an engine bearing is. Wheel bearing should last more than 30K...and the service mgr agrees.

My original post last summer left me with P-Zero's being rotated and noise increasing by the week. I finally coughed up the money for new Michelin Pilot Sports all around (18" with sport classic II's) and now we have less tire noise. However . . ahem . . we can now clearly hear the bearing noise (my original theory) which sounds like the sound effects for a Star War's pod racer. I have asked my service manager for a quote, noting that it will probably be less than a set of Pilot Sports, and after a week I have no response. Recall that he suggested I buy a set of new Michelins last summer. As to Evo's question on bearing longevity, I have never seen a rear wheel bearing last less than 60k miles, and that was on a '55 Chevy that I was less than kind to, shall we say. Having said that, we are talking about a different kind of bearing on a P-car. The rear is much like the front on most cars in that it is not constantly bathed in 90W differential oil, but rather is assembled with lithium or other grease and sealed. I no longer work on cars but in the absence of a response from my 'home' dealer, I visited the Livermore store and got a quote of $820 for both side (rear). This seems consistent with what others are paying, and an independent in Stockton (CA) quoted me $20 MORE than the dealer in Livermore. This will bring the total bill for putting this matter to rest at just over $2000. That's an expensive growl!
I'll post again after the fix. Cheers.