The bearings can be a PITA because you have to remove the arms so that means brake lines, bleeding, alignment etc. It can be difficult to get the new bearings in square but I've found the dry ice helps a lot. If you don't know the history, it is probably best to replace them even if it is no fun.

It might be possible to come up with a trick rig to do the bearings with the arms on the car but I've never tried.

The nut size is M22 X 1.5.

If you go with the Disc Lock nuts, I have a socket for them that is deep enough to take in both sets of flats and the right size. I think it is 3/4" or 1" drive but I have the adapters etc also. I don't have a 400+ LBFT torque wrench so I use my 3/4" drive breaker bar and apply my weight at the proper distance from the center of the bar to apply the correct torque.

Using the stock nuts, I found that mine would come loose gradually during the course of the season on the left side. Since converting to the Disc-Lock nuts, they have stayed put.

Big Dog wrote:


Most people don't replace them but Porsche says you should. They aren't overly pricey. P/N 900-910-093-02, $6.25 at Pelican. I went with the cam lock design for a little extra insurance since I almost lost my LR wheel at VIR at very high speed in the kink at the starter's stand. I think I was also in a podium position at the time. No noises or issues until the car started moving around at the rear while going in a straight line. It felt kind of like a flat tire.

So, the Haynes manual says:

"Replacement of the bearings in the trailing end of the aluminum control arm requires special equipment and should be done by a dealer service department."

Great. That's really encouraging. Are they really constructed that differently?

Yes they are that different.

The basic steps are:

Remove trailing arm (when you break the big nut, the axle will slide out)
Remove all brake components
Drive the hub out of the bearing (not a super tight fit)
Remove the circlip that retains the bearing
Press the old bearing out
Press the new bearing in
Reassemble, bleed the brakes, and align

Sounds pretty easy, right? The only "special" equipment you need is a press and some proper size things you can use to press the bearings in and out (I use sockets and an old pulley). Of course you need tools to remove the big nut and torque it properly at the end. And again, dry ice makes it much easier to get the new bearing in.

944Racer72 wrote:


That's not too bad. After the issues with that front strut, I need to weight and align the car anyway.

I'm pretty sure I can rent a bearing press from Autozone. Only special tool I'll need then is a way to break and torque the nut. Without an impact wrench, I was thinking floor jack moving the breaker bar to loosen. Then stand on the end of about a 2' lever arm to torque it down.


There is only one bearing in there, right? For some reason, reading in the manual it almost sounds like there is a secondary back bearing in the control arm.

You need a hydraulic type press, probably not something you can rent. Something like this at a minimum:

www.harborfreight.com/6-ton-shop-press-4711.html

I have a bigger one you could use but again we have the distance issue.

There is only one bearing.

Now off to work on my own car