1999 C2 ft Wheel Bearings

[adigati]

My car is a stock 1999 Carrera C2 manual with 62,000 miles on it recently purchased by me.

I had this horrible noise, began at 50 mph, got quieter at 75+. Jacked the car up and started to spin tires before I bought a new set of tires because of noise. Whew, right front making a grinding sound, pulled the pads back, noise still there. Spun the other side (LF) no noise.......must be the bearing.

I did a lot of research on Renntech regarding replacement of the bearing my self. This is what I did and how.

Sir Tools, for $284.66 including shipping I bought a B90-P2, B90-3 and a B90-3J (800-845-4542). Big heavy box showed up. For $20 each a new front wheel bearing arrived. I was now ready to go. Keep in mind my previous Porsche mechanical experience was with a 911SC, it had tapered wheel bearings (normal ones?).

Make sure you loosen the center high torque nut with the wheel still on the ground (it took a nice long pipe). After jacking up the car and removing wheel, caliper and brake disk you are ready to begin. I had to stare at the tools for a little while to figure out just how they worked, the directions supplied are good, just generic. However there was no mention of having to slide the wheel carrier down on the strut. You must do this other wise you cannot get the speed sensor out and the tools will not work!! Its easy to do, just loosen the pinch bolt and remove the stabilizer link at the bottom of the wheel carrier and slide it forward. Then your foot will be able to push the carrier down far enough to remove the sensor and fit the Sir Tools stuff! A small piece of Aluminum welding rod will keep the carrier from sliding back up after you push it down (don't worry it will be obvious).

The Sir Tools pieces pulled off the hub no problem (it made one hell of a noise as it pulled it off). The reason my bearing failed at 60k I surmise, was because at one time or another, the right front wheel was under water, most likely parked at a deep curb during a rainstorm, that is my guess as there is NO other water damage anywhere on the car, even under the panels. The carrier and inside of nut and stuff was all rusty (old rust at least a year or two). When the hub finally came off it was clear!! Unfortunately, the front half of the bearing came out with the hub! The rest of the bearing came out nicely with the Sir Tools stuff, no heat nothing, just perfectly!!!

I took the hub to a press and 30 seconds later the rest of the bearing was gone. It took a couple of hours to clean everything of rust. Once everything was clean I took the new bearing and the old hub and tossed them in the freezer (after the wife went to bed of course). In the morning with clean parts and a open mind. I started assembling. New frozen bearing slid right in with the tool, no heat, no BS! All the other parts did EXACTLY the same no worries no hassles, those tools worked wonderfully!!!! Torque everything properly as per the manual. I torqued the center nut to 150lbs and then lowered the car to the ground to finish the 340lbs of torque.

Life is good. The car is silent again, it is simply AMAZING how much noise that bearing made. Start to finish about 4.5 hours. When and if I need to do the other one, I'm confident it will be a 2 hour job, now that I've done it. Don't be afraid, with the proper tools it was a cinch and the tools and the bearing were far less than half of what the dealer wanted! Plus no alignment, removing the whole strut from the car, press plates and more BS. The other three wheels will be free when the time comes.

[GranburyChuck]

My car is a stock 1999 Carrera C2 manual with 62,000 miles on it recently purchased by me.

I had this horrible noise, began at 50 mph, got quieter at 75+. Jacked the car up and started to spin tires before I bought a new set of tires because of noise. Whew, right front making a grinding sound, pulled the pads back, noise still there. Spun the other side (LF) no noise.......must be the bearing.

I did a lot of research on Renntech regarding replacement of the bearing my self. This is what I did and how.

Sir Tools, for $284.66 including shipping I bought a B90-P2, B90-3 and a B90-3J (800-845-4542). Big heavy box showed up. For $20 each a new front wheel bearing arrived. I was now ready to go. Keep in mind my previous Porsche mechanical experience was with a 911SC, it had tapered wheel bearings (normal ones?).

Make sure you loosen the center high torque nut with the wheel still on the ground (it took a nice long pipe). After jacking up the car and removing wheel, caliper and brake disk you are ready to begin. I had to stare at the tools for a little while to figure out just how they worked, the directions supplied are good, just generic. However there was no mention of having to slide the wheel carrier down on the strut. You must do this other wise you cannot get the speed sensor out and the tools will not work!! Its easy to do, just loosen the pinch bolt and remove the stabilizer link at the bottom of the wheel carrier and slide it forward. Then your foot will be able to push the carrier down far enough to remove the sensor and fit the Sir Tools stuff! A small piece of Aluminum welding rod will keep the carrier from sliding back up after you push it down (don't worry it will be obvious).

The Sir Tools pieces pulled off the hub no problem (it made one hell of a noise as it pulled it off). The reason my bearing failed at 60k I surmise, was because at one time or another, the right front wheel was under water, most likely parked at a deep curb during a rainstorm, that is my guess as there is NO other water damage anywhere on the car, even under the panels. The carrier and inside of nut and stuff was all rusty (old rust at least a year or two). When the hub finally came off it was clear!! Unfortunately, the front half of the bearing came out with the hub! The rest of the bearing came out nicely with the Sir Tools stuff, no heat nothing, just perfectly!!!

I took the hub to a press and 30 seconds later the rest of the bearing was gone. It took a couple of hours to clean everything of rust. Once everything was clean I took the new bearing and the old hub and tossed them in the freezer (after the wife went to bed of course). In the morning with clean parts and a open mind. I started assembling. New frozen bearing slid right in with the tool, no heat, no BS! All the other parts did EXACTLY the same no worries no hassles, those tools worked wonderfully!!!! Torque everything properly as per the manual. I torqued the center nut to 150lbs and then lowered the car to the ground to finish the 340lbs of torque.

Life is good. The car is silent again, it is simply AMAZING how much noise that bearing made. Start to finish about 4.5 hours. When and if I need to do the other one, I'm confident it will be a 2 hour job, now that I've done it. Don't be afraid, with the proper tools it was a cinch and the tools and the bearing were far less than half of what the dealer wanted! Plus no alignment, removing the whole strut from the car, press plates and more BS. The other three wheels will be free when the time comes.

Glad to see someone tackle this. I think I may have a bearing going out. Where did you get a torque wrench that would put 340 ft-lbs of torque. So you spent $285 for a special tool plus the cost of one big torque wrench. Did you get a quote for having it done? Wonder what the difference would be.

[adigati]

I borrowed a torque wrench from a friend who has a shop. The local Auto parts rents tools not sure if they had one that goes that high but worth a try.

[DeAd-EyE]

Glad to see someone tackle this. I think I may have a bearing going out. Where did you get a torque wrench that would put 340 ft-lbs of torque. So you spent $285 for a special tool plus the cost of one big torque wrench. Did you get a quote for having it done? Wonder what the difference would be.

you can use a snap-on torque multiplier or a really big torque wrench. also..i believe the torque on that nut is up in the 400's...unless i'm thinking in nM instead of TQ :)...either way just make sure its **** good and tight :)