Thanks for sharing! How much of a pain were the wheel bearings to replace?

 

The bearings aren't too bad if you have the tools and you follow the heating and freezing procedures.

 

Really? I have never had to freeze a pressed in wheel bearing. I have always been able to use a 3 ton press.

 

I did not think they were that difficult. As Pat mentioned, if you have the right tools then it should not be that bad. I had all of the correct diameter sockets and bearing cylinders to press the bearings out/in. It will look like the following picture...



I have never had to freeze a bearing to get it to fit. I have always used dish washing detergent for stubborn bearings since it acts like a lubricant at the time, but then will dry out afterwards - much better than using a grease lubricant (not good at all). In order to do the 996 bearing properly, you just need to heat it up for removal and insertion. What is interesting is that the original bearing that was removed was manufactured in Brazil, where VW stuff is made. If you look at the difference between the German made bearing and the Brazilian, you will see that the German one is a little more stout. Maybe this had something to do with early bearing failures on the 996TT - who knows.

 

It seems as though the heat would destroy the rubber for the bearing seals. Odd.

 

My bad! When I say heat up, I mean the knuckle. As it heats up it will start to expand and then very easy to press it in with a shop press. The knuckle must be heated very well to avoid any distortion resulting from excessive bearing friction, or the bearing going in at a bad angle. The key is to take your time at the beginning of the pressing process and make sure the bearing is making contact throughout the diameter of the knuckle opening. This is why I have the knuckle elevated on the press in order which allows the opening to be horizontally level, as well, as the bearing being pressed in. I used the old bearings and taped them together in order to create the perfect diameter cylinder to use as an opposing force - it fits on the opposite side of the lip. That is what you see holding up the knuckle from underneath. This way, you are not using the knuckle for leverage which would make it hard to be level.

 

You don't have to freeze the bearing but along with the heating it does make it easer. There is a .002" interference fit between the bearing and the knuckle. Without heating damage will ocure. You have to be careful you cant over heat. The knuckle is heat treated and over heating will alter the strength of the very light weight casting. I will copy the page from the procedure manual

 

here is the page on the bearing removial.

 

Had ksport coilovers installed today on my 03 turbo. I purchased them from Michael at Acute Performance. He was very responsive to all my queries, and quite accommodating (arranged Saturday delivery at no extra cost). The install went smoothly and the ride is no longer harsh as it was with the OEM touring suspension.This is purely a daily driver setup where the goal was a slightly softer ride and the ability to lower the car. So far so good. I'll update as I get a few more miles on them.

 

Did you swap to the rubber bushings?

Michael
Owner
Acute Performance

 

please do update. qfix

 

Good god! He just installed them yesterday!!! Have a coke. Watch some TV. Read a book. I am sure he will write a review when he has had enough time to actually test them. And I think he meant a few miles figuratively speaking.


Cheers...

 

Hi Michael,
We actually tried it both ways, and it was just as quiet either way so we stayed with the regular. I figured since there was no perceptible difference that I would try it without the rubber bushings and add them later if necessary. My tech said since there was no difference he thought it better to leave them off for the moment. Thanks so much for including them. I can return them if necessary.

Pat,
I'll add some pics later so you can get an idea of the difference between the OEM touring suspension and the Ksports.

Regards,
Ben

 

ya ya . just chomping at the bit. i realy like the ride hight ajustable and preload adjustable feture. my springs in the rear have saged .5" and i cant get the camber in. in the front i took out 70 lbs ( the spair and i use a track battery ) and the front has come up about 1.3" . this has taken the camber out. with out a little bit of camber the front end is all over the place especialy in the wet.

 

qfix. how is the dampining range. can it be adjusted from very light to very hard.