hub bearing cap

Any tricks to getting this off on the front wheel. I've tried prying but am marring the cap. thanks in advance for any input.

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Rob Fix
'78 SC Targa

anyone? I've tried channel locks and prying with a screwdriver on a 2 1/4 inch muffler clamp. Its not budgeing. Used a hammer claw with a wedge of wood on the hub, still not budging.

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Rob Fix
'78 SC Targa

[This message has been edited by robfix (edited 11-18-2000).]

Try to get the tip of a strong screwdriver in between the lip of the cap and the hub-then go around the edge, twisting the screwdriver to separate them. You need a strong screwdriver and a hammer for this.

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Clay Mcguill www.geocities.com/the912guy

You still need to at least get it out far enough for that. I know how tight they can be. I used this as an excuse to buy a tool I wanted anyway. it's a channel-lock type plier that is HUGE. I mean this thing may be 20" long. Works great. You still need to try hard to prevent damage.

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'83 SC

I just used a hammer and lightly tapped the top of the cap and rotated the hub and tapped some more. After about 720 degrees of rotation, I could just pull the cap off. No marring whatsoever.

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Eric Purdy - 1980
911SC

[QUOTE]Very large channel locks, with a piece of thin rubber aroung the hub cover to prevent damage. But his in not an operative part. It is only for protection. Thus, any damage is not performance related.

Maybe not Real important, but it has its' job to do, keeping all of that Swepco 101 grease in its' place ... and it has its' pride, too, all coated in PPG DP40/401 Epoxy Chromate Primer, and catalyzed Gloss Black Dupont Centari, and clear-coated!!!

The screwdriver under the edge always works for me ... I wonder if the later part is different than my pair of 914.341.684.00 'Kappe fur Vorderradnabe'!!!

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Warren Hall
1973 911S Targa

I had to beat the living hell out of mine to get them off.

Dean

I am officially beating the living daylights out of mine with no better results, 16" channel locks and two pieces of wood with holes that fit the wheel studs to keep the hub from turning. No Luck. I'll either succeed tomorrow or have to to a) take it to a mechanic (don't want to do that) or b) cut (torch) the cap off and hope I can obtain a replacement.

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Rob Fix
'78 SC Targa

Originally posted by robfix:
I am officially beating the living daylights out of mine with no better results, 16" channel locks and two pieces of wood with holes that fit the wheel studs to keep the hub from turning. No Luck. I'll either succeed tomorrow or have to to a) take it to a mechanic (don't want to do that) or b) cut (torch) the cap off and hope I can obtain a replacement. Thanks everyone for the advice. For the channel lock method were you using it perpindicular to the rotor and rocking or was it parallel to the rotor and more of a twisting effort?

Rob,

Before you start the beating, why don't you try a stainless wormgear clamp, and the LONG screwdriver prying the 'worm' retainer no more than 1/16" at a time, move clamp 180 degrees, pry again, etc.? You may even want to try the Channel lock trick at the same time, perpendicular to hub, rocking motion, of course!

Beating anything around that aluminum hub sounds VERY RISKY to me! If you trash a wheel stud, you won't be able to find one at the local parts store generic bin! And, you might crack the hub, too!

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Warren Hall
1973 911S Targa

[This message has been edited by Early_S_Man (edited 11-18-2000).]

That stumped me for years until I found the ultimate secret non-Porsche Porsche tool:

Get a 10" claw bar (nail puller) --- NOT the flat ones but the black ones with a rubber handle and the shaft looks like a 14mm allen wrench which curves into a round split cup where the nail pulling business happens. (I've got a JPG of it but no where to post it --- I could e-mail it to someone if they could put it on a website and point to it)
There's no brand name on mine and I bought it too long ago to remember where I got it but it looks like one located at http://www.baltimoretool.com/nail%20pull.htm

Anyway what makes it work so well (in case you have something similar) is that the head (bottom of the L-shape) is about 2 inches long and allows you to evenly pry on the cap against each of the 5 studs. You just work your way around in a star pattern (same as tightening the wheel stud nuts) and pry gently in the middle of the cap slightly at each point. About 5 to 10 quick, gentle prys and it pops right off --- takes about 10-20 seconds. Leaves no marks if you're gentle).
This tool graduated out of my general toolbox into my "special" Porsche tool box years ago and it resides in a place of honor there. (I have not insulted it by asking it to pull a nail since!)

Warren, will try tomorrow, thanks. Have not yet beat anything, but I am at that point of frustration of needing to stop, have a few beers and contemplate the next move.

Tog, I looked at something similar at Sears today only the claw was at about 120 degrees to the handle whereas the picture in the link is 90 degrees. I probally should have picked it up.

[This message has been edited by robfix (edited 11-18-2000).]

robfix ---
I just e-mailed you a picture of my actual tool with measurements --- I have a scanner so I could scan a pix, just no web site to post it.
If it's really stuck, you might use some of the other suggestions in combination with this tool (if you can find something similar) since you don't want to pry so hard that you bend the cap and/or damage the stud threads. Once cap is successfully off and cleaned up you can use this thereafter with no further damage to cap or stud threads.

... just sent a second one for clarity --- good luck.

[This message has been edited by tog (edited 11-18-2000).]

I just took mine off the other day. The shops use a slide hammer. I used a large crow bar. Pry evenly around the cap using the wheel studs as the fulcrum. Took little effort and cam right off. It was a pretty big bar, also.

per 89911 --- seems that more than one form of crowbar would work...

(I can't envision how a slide-hammer would work without drilling a hole in the end of the cap )

Rob
My caps were very tight also.
I ended up using the tap & pry method, but I think it was the follwing two items that ended up making the difference:
1. Liberal amounts of penetraing oil.
2. Heat applied from a heat gun of the type used to strip paint.
I applied the heat 3-4 minutes at a time, and tapped, pried, and re-oiled between applications. It took about three cycles per side, but the caps eventually came off undamaged.

Joe

I believe some of the later hub caps have threaded holes in them to use with a slide-hammer. Perhaps this started with Carreras in '84?



[This message has been edited by orbmedia (edited 11-19-2000).]

My arms are so tired I can barely type, but THE CAPS ARE OFF!! Thanks to all who posted I think I used every idea suggested.

Now I just have to wait for my wife to be out of the house so I can put the hubs in the oven.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that the beer tastes better today than it did last night!
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Rob Fix
'78 SC Targa

[This message has been edited by robfix (edited 11-19-2000).]

"Oh, you're home early dear... Ummm, ummm... Surprise! Sit down, relax, I'm cooking tonight... We're having, uhhh, hot-buttered hubs in penetrating sauce. Yum!"