Can I tighten my bearings without pulling the rotors/calipers?
 

I took my 930 for a drive yesterday to "clear out her lungs." :D At triple-digit speeds, I noticed a strong vibration in the front end. The tires are brand-new, the steering rack and tie rods are brand new.... After some investigation, I realized both front wheels have excessive play (the bearings - that I replaced a couple years ago - are too loose).

I can't recall the process... Can I pull the "hub caps" and tighten the bearing? Or, do I need to pull the rotor/caliper, etc... first?

Thanks in advance,

- Mike

Mike:

You do NOT have to pull the rotors/calipers off to adjust the wheel bearings. I would remove the wheels to make it easier to pull the hub covers and gain access to the adjusters.

You just made my day - I wasn't in the mood to pull everything apart. SmileWavy

Thanks, and of course I'll be pulling the wheels! :D

- Mike

Once you have the front off the ground, tires off and the dust cover removed, you can adjust your wheel bearing. Your owner manual has the procedure or you can find it here:

Per Superman-"Remove the dust cap (not easy, plenty of discussions here about that......do a SEARCH). Loosen the lock nut (hex key) and rotate the big not clockwise until it's snug. Not tight. Just use your fingers." http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/375979-71-911t-wandering-issue-post3572986.html

Per Formerly Steve Wilkinson-"If you have the slightest doubt, take off the hub dust cap--it's really no big deal and there are a variety of ways to do it (do a search) even if it hasn't moved in 100,000 miles--and then you'll see the wheel-bearing lock nut. It's actually not a nut but a horseshoe-shaped piece threaded like a nut. Loosen it by backing off the 6mm Allen screw that snugs it down and prevents it from backing off.

Then, while slowly rotating the wheel by hand, carefully tighten the "nut" by using the Allen wrench as a handle until you can just barely move the big washer under it with a screwdriver blade. You can fully tighten the locking nut and then back it off slightly until you achieve this condition, but be careful: do NOT overtighten, since that's not good for the bearing.

What "barely moving" the washer means is that if you can flop it back and forth easily with a flip of the screwdriver, that's too loose. If you can move it back and forth but need to use the wheel hub as a fulcrum for the screwdriver blade, that's too tight. You want to be able to move the washer with a firm grip on the screwdriver but without artificially adding any torque to it, like using it as a small prybar. Don't do that." http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/304675-steering-wheel-shimmy.html#post2817511

use a 2 inch exhaust pipe clamp ($2) on the cap and pry off with a screwdriver...easy.

Thankfully, with the turbo the caps are threaded. The first one came off in a matter of seconds. I'll post a pic of my homemade "tool" after I get the other side done.

Just got one side done... but I don't think my problem was wheel bearing related. :confused:

The front wheels still "rock" a bit back and forth just as before I tightened the bearing. I will start a new thread on this.

Pics of my homemade tool for pulling the caps. Simple components purchased at Home Depot.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1199050660.jpg

Turn the nut and it pulls the cap off!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1199050686.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1199050712.jpg