Re: replacing rear wheel bearing (2001 Boxster S)

Local shop thinks my RR wheel bearing is going (I had them road test it).

So I plan to replace it myself over the Christmas holiday. I have access to a hoist, and I plan to replace all four axle boots at the same time.

I'm thinking that I can remove the wheel carrier and take it to a shop to have the old bearing pressed out and the new one inserted.

Does that make sense? Everything else seems fairly straightforward (other than the need for an alignment when I'm done).

Wondering if there are any gotchas with this approach.


best,
Stefan (in Seattle)

make sure you have all the right books and tools

[www.renntech.org]

Regards, Maurice.

I must be missing something. Tutorial seems very incomplete. Just a few photos of jacking the car up, and a reference to the B90 tools. Nothing at all about how to use them and no photos on actual replacement of the wheel bearing. Either section 103 is missing or the guy never finished the tutorial.

thanks, S.

Drivers side rear had been howling and ticking since summer but was getting progressively worse. I initially thought I had a tire out of round. Car has 92K miles.

There is a gentleman name Glyn on Rennlist that will email you picture instructions. I found them to be very helpful. I purchased the bearing at Autohaus for $39. I added an oil filter to the order to push the total to over $50 which triggered free shipping. I also purchased two new axle nuts from Rock Auto (Autohaus doesn't stock the nuts) as you're not suppose to reuse your old ones. The nuts were Raybestos brand and were $2.75 each, shipping was about $8.

I had access to a lift and press at our Navy base auto hobby shop. No SIR tool. Removing the wheel carrier and hub was straightforward. When pressing out the hub, the bearing will most likely break, leaving part of it on the hub. We heated the hub (in a vise) and pounded the bearing off. The remaining portion of the bearing still in the wheel carrier was pressed out. The old bearing was very dry.

Insertion of the new bearing was simple as I had 'froze' it overnight and carried it to the shop in a small cooler. I added grease to the inside of the wheel carrier. Very easy to install with a hammer and a disc placed on the bearing. Likewise, the hub was hammered in (without heat).

The toughest part that I ran into was reconnecting the parking brake cable to the wheel carrier...took me over an hour to fiddle with it. If I was doing it again, I would loosen the cable at the parking brake handle to have more room at the wheel (you'll see when you pull the wheel).

Total time to do the one side was about 5.5 hours. I'm sure I could do the job quicker now but I figure it would still be 3 hours or so.

The car is nice and quiet now. I have not decided yet on weather to do the other side as it is not currently exhibiting any noise.

It is easier, and quicker, to use the B90 tool system as you would not have to remove the hub carriers, which adds a lot of time to the process.



“Anything really new is invented only in one’s youth. Later, one becomes more experienced, more famous – and more stupid.” - Albert Einstein

This Pelican Tech Article w/pics may help

[www.pelicanparts.com]

Tip - disconnect the Ebrake cable at the handle inside the car to provide enough cable to remove at the wheel

There are several good DIY instructions on other forums - but I could not find the one I used a few years ago...

Agree that using the B90 tool would save you a lot of time and grief of removing the hub carrier (time vs money issue)

Also, you might want to replace both rear bearings while you have the tools and everything is a part. Ours failed about a year apart.

Take care,
Ed(Roy)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/25/2010 05:59PM by Ed(Arizona). (view changes)