Replacing front rotors

[don911]

I'm getting ready to put on new slotted front rotors. Should I plan on a bearing change while I'm there? As far as I know my bearings are fine but I don't know what kind of life to expect from bearings on this car. If I'm doing DE events, what grease should I use on the bearings to take the higher temps? Also, how should I break in the new rotors and new pads (pagid blues)?

Thanks,

[KTL]

Depends on how much mileage the bearings have seen and how well lubed they've been.

My 65k mi. bearings look like brand new. Just degreased hubs last weekend. The wear is almost entirely shown on the splindles, not the bearing surfaces or races.

Bearings are cheap. Only around $60 for all four. They come with new races so you should use those as well. Make sure to heat the hubs (250-300 in oven) to remove the old races and put the new races in the freezer for a while before installing.

Grease is cheap so you might as well get the good synthetic Valvoline, Mobil 1, Redline CV-2, Neo, etc. stuff. If nothing else, you should repack the existing bearings and hubs while you're at it. Replace the rear grease seal as well.

Here's some good brake info. Go to the Brake link.

Tech Info.

[Early_S_Man]

911 front wheel bearings are over-engineered by at least a factor of four in load capacity, and are larger than the bearings used on Ford Mustangs since day one of their production in 1964! Life expectancy is well over 100K miles if lubed and adjusted properly! The bearings are standard sizes, so replacements can be obtained locally from any local industrial bearing supply ...cheaper than from auto parts stores, and usually a better product with less of a chance of being a counterfeit product from China, India, or Korea in a fake box looking like a name brand! They do NOT have to be obtained form a Porsche supplier, as there is nothing special about them!

The grease is actually fairly critical -- given the high operating temperature of 911 brakes, and should be an EP-rated, Moly, high-temperature (NLGI #2) grease such as Swepco 101. Cutting corners and buying the cheapest grease available at Auto-Zone or Wall-Mart is false economy!