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Rear wheel bearings

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My Boxster S has done less than 29,000 miles but had to have a new offside rear wheel bearing just before Christmas. Now the nearside wheel bearing is making a noise and is booked in for replacement. I do not drive the car hard or on track days and so am wondering if there is a general problem with wheel bearings on Boxsters?
 
ORIGINAL: somersda

My Boxster S has done less than 29,000 miles but had to have a new offside rear wheel bearing just before Christmas. Now the nearside wheel bearing is making a noise and is booked in for replacement. I do not drive the car hard or on track days and so am wondering if there is a general problem with wheel bearings on Boxsters?
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Not to my knowledge - there have been a few posts on the subject over the years.
 
I'm sure there IS a common problem.

Wheel bearing failure on modern cars is generally rare to my knowledge, yet my '04 Boxster S 550 had to have a new offside rear wheel bearing at 12000 miles and a work colleague had the same problem on an '01 Boxster S with 35000 miles on the clock.
 
Wheel bearaings can fail even at low mileage, especially if the car sits idel for long periods on one point in the bearing race. More susceptible than other or older cars - maybe, but then the cars use bigger wheels/wider tyres and exerts greatrer lateral load than a lot of other cars (hence why it handles the bends so much better). Its an age as well as a milegae issue i'm afraid, and big wheels (18/19) don't help as more suspension crash is sent through the suspension components
 
ORIGINAL: glewis

I'm sure there IS a common problem.

Wheel bearing failure on modern cars is generally rare to my knowledge, yet my '04 Boxster S 550 had to have a new offside rear wheel bearing at 12000 miles and a work colleague had the same problem on an '01 Boxster S with 35000 miles on the clock.
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Clearly common to 3 cars. [8D]

 
Common problem in the UK !

Read somewhere that Porsches' suffer less from pothole/ poor road damage, than other makes. However here in the UK , the failure rate is extremely high (but still lower than other makes) , compared to the USA say. This is they say due to our poor roads. I can tell you that I am forever zig zagging along the road here in London (with my M030 suspension) trying to avoid very very poor surfaces. Just today another pothole appreared on my route !
 
I had one go last summer and was told water can get behind the bearing and flush out the grease. 26000 miles and no winter use. Maybe the standing in my garage can affect the bearings. Just off to turn the wheels 90 degrees! Worth mentioning the Porsche warranty does NOT cover wheel bearings.
 
I got a question about bearings, is the sound very very obvious when they are going?

I feel like there a sound coming from the rear for past couple of months, but it could be me just being paranoid as nothing has gone wrong with the car so far, and the noise could be roadnoise too, I just can't seem to tell. Its a 98 2.5 with 62k on the clock.

What are the tell tale signs for bearings going?
 
Hi!....Whats the tread like on your tyres?
I had exactly the same "Wheel bearing" type "Rumble" from the rear N/S of my Boxster a while ago.
When it started the factory fitted Yokohama's were down to about 4mm.
I took it to the OPC but they couldn't find anything wrong.
A few thousand miles later when the tyres were changed....the noise has gone!!
Apparently the inside edges of the tyres had "stepped" which was causing the noise.
Hope this helps.
 
Went to local tyre place to get the tread checked. Backs are fine 6mm. The fronts 3-4mm and they are not N rated tyres either. So I think your suggestion could be a possibility. So I guess in a couple of thousand miles or less will find out.

Just wondering does bearing going on the Boxster have a distinct noise? At any particular speeds, does it get louder when it gets worse?
 
I had to replace an offside rear bearing on my Boxster, it was around £30 IIRC+fitting.
Try driving quickly round a tight bend (left and right) if the rumble gets louder (as the load increases on the bearing) then it's likely to be a bearing. Louder on a RH bend means a nearside bearing is going and vice versa.
 
ORIGINAL: systech

I think they're made of marshmallow !
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Liquorice I reckon[;)]

The Boxster is the only car I've owned that I've had to change wheel bearings on. Failed with less than 25k mileage.
After whinging to Porsche GB (unsuccessfully) I was told that 25k was an acceptable life mileage for a wheel bearing...they also, patronisingly, informed me "wheel bearings go round and round and will be subject to wear" - bu**er me, I didn't realise that!!
There are some clever sods at Porsche GB[:D]

Perhaps I should have instructed the OPC to change the remaining 3 corners as a precautionary measure...they'd have loved that at £400 a corner[&:]

Dave

 
Just an update in my case it was indeed the rear wheel bearing, both had gone, changed over and it perfect now.
 
Thanks for the update.......hope they didn't cost too much to replace!
Depends where you go though i suppose!!!
Did you go to an OPC or Independant?
 
I too had a near side rear bearing go on my 2000 Boxster S last year. It had only 26000 miles. Sounds like a common fault to me.
 
I too would say common problem.
Someone described the bearings as bon bons some time ago on this forum.
Only seems an issue with the rears and only with the original bearings, once changed they dont fail again
 
seems like Porsche and bearings dont go together well, what with IS shaft bearings and now wheel bearings .... seems a bit of a joke to me !!!................[:mad:]
 
Went to Indy (Northway)

Bearings 45 each and 2.5 hours labour. About £220 per wheel.

Drives real nice though had service too, but it might be in my mind as I spent some money [8/|]
 
Just paid £360 (less PCGB discount @ Porsche center -Chester) for new front nearside wheel bearing which went on a 2003 2.7 with 17000 on clock!

This is the only car of very many which has had to have a wheel bearing replaced - Porsche quality and workmanship. I think not.[:mad:]
 
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