Wheel bearing problems?

[sbloxxy]

I've got a 1990 944S2 and when I had the front of the car jacked up today; I noticed that if you grip the roadwheel at the 12 and 6 o'clock positions ie top and bottom, there is a touch of movement with the top and bottom moving in and out slightly, if you see what I mean. Looking behind the wheel, it looks as though the hub is moving with the wheel. I can't see any movement on any joints so I'm presuming its a wheel bearing problem. Am I right and if so, what kind of job is it to do? Any comments would be gratefully received.

 

[TTM]

You can first try to retighten the bearing.

1/ Take off the wheel then the bearing cap.

2/ Loosen the "vis six pans creux" below and tighten the bearing by rotating clockwise the "écrou de serrage"

3/ You should leave some play in the bearing, albeit minimal - overtightening a bearing is worse than letting it too loose.

If this does not bring improvements then the bearing has to be replaced.

Hope this helps.

 

[944Turbo]

Also look very carefully to see if the strut is flexing, when they are worn and 'drooped' they can flex in the middle.
Tony

 

[Paul Fraser]

If you look at the pic you can see a washer/spacer behind the locking nut. You should just be able to move this with an unsupported screwdriver (i.e don't rest it on the rim and lever away) after tightening the nut. This, according to the manual and Haynes -- I just replaced the front brake discs and so had to do this.(And also did the wheelstuds, and coils, and shocks, and half the bearings -- couldn't think how to get the races out without a press -- and would have done the calipers if the brake line wasn't welded to the brake hose...)

 

[zeb]

Is that your car in this months porsche world bloxxy?

 

[iainfuller]

Just had a similar problem with my S2 - it was the strut not the bearing - a pair of replacements from Porsche cost me around £295 + VAT + fitting (by red line) - let's hope it is just your bearing!

Iain

 

[sbloxxy]

Yes that's my car in this month's '911 & Porsche World'. The pic at the top of the page is the S2 I'm referring to and the other pics are of my 1983 944.

Haven't had chance to investigate further yet but how does the strut produces those symptoms?

 

[iainfuller]

apparently there's a bearing in the top of the strut - if it goes it allows the movement described - the only solution is a complete strut and of course you only fit them in pairs.

Iain

 

[Fen]

The only bearing-esque thing at the top of the strut is the top mount and it is a separate part to the strut. Still blimmin' expensive though, unless you know someone with a spare pair []

 

[944Turbo]

Yes, but there must also be a 'bearing surface' in the top of the strut that the piston rod slides up and down in, I think that is what Iain was refering too. This is the area the strut flexes about - the rod-body interface. Mine did it and it felt like a wheel bearing but looking round the back the strut body was moving in relation to the piston. That was with relatively new dampers - approx 3 years old 50,000 miles - On mine it didn't actually seem to affect their performance much and the movement was only noticeable on full droop. It didn't fail the MOT like it.
Tony

 

[Fen]

Makes sense. I'd consider that the strut itself I guess. I was literally just wondering if that is why my 306 clunks occasionally on uneven surfaces like up the pavement into the drive at an angle. It's always done that and I have replaced lower arms (incl bushes and ball joint) and drop links with no help. It just passed MoT on Friday like it is and there have been no other adverse effects in 20k miles.

 

[sbloxxy]

As a follow up to this, I checked the play in the wheel bearing and, yes there was too much. I took up the slack as suggested in the second post and that seems to have done the trick. Thanks everyone!