Replacing front wheel bearings. Should be a sinch as long as the old bearings play nice and come out.

Now, I figured grease was grease (I mean, I know there's different grades...), but what good quality moly bearing grease do you fellas recommend? I figured as long as I stuck with a name (ie: Swepco, Redline, etc...) brand synthetic, I'd be okay... Or is that just naive thinking?

10/23/2009 11:17:54 AM

i'd go with the mobil 1 or valvoline synthetic

[Edited on October 26, 2009 at 8:09 AM. Reason : holds up to high brake heat better]

10/26/2009 8:09:35 AM

I generally get synthetic marine grease for peace of mind as far as its ability to handle water

10/26/2009 8:55:40 AM

^ But what about it's ability to handle 400*+ heat from hard, repetitive braking?

10/26/2009 9:04:54 AM

Is AMSOIL - Series 2000 Synthetic Racing Grease (GRG) overkill?

10/26/2009 11:49:06 AM

I've always used Lubro Moly, but I'd guess that anything labeled wheel bearing grease should be fine.

10/26/2009 2:23:11 PM

i think both valvoline and mobil 1 are the same thing, they are both red synthetic and smell the same, i wouldn't worry about marine grease, it will suck for that application and you shouldn't be getting water in there anyway

10/28/2009 7:18:22 AM

So. How should I clean up the old grease from inside the hub? Will purple power be good enough or should I be using a stronger solvent? Last question in regards to this bearing changing crap, I swear.

10/30/2009 3:32:42 PM

Never mind. I used carb. cleaner. Works like a charm

Got the bearings in one hub... Just about ruined the new brass punch set I got. Getting the out races seated into the hub is painstakingly time consuming due to the extremely tight fitment. I think I'm going to try to find a bearing driver adapter thingy to make life easier when I get around to the other hub.

Oh, and I found out why the passenger side bearings were ruined. Damn grease solidified I'm guessing either the previous owner who repacked them 5 years ago either did a crappy job or the grease wasn't high quality. The driver's side looked extremely dark gray.

So... When I find another day, I'll be finishing up this long and tiresome adventure through bearing land.

[/blog]

[Edited on November 1, 2009 at 10:46 PM. Reason : . ]

11/1/2009 10:46:37 PM

^ grease doesn't solidfy, it got overheated and the lubricant seeped out, leaving the soap emulsion behind

11/2/2009 4:02:24 PM

^Good info. This probably happened then when the brakes got REALLY hot on the Dagon about 3 years ago. The symptoms of a bad bearing didn't start showing up until about a year ago and it didn't get serious until about 2 months ago.

[Edited on November 3, 2009 at 9:30 AM. Reason : .]

11/3/2009 9:30:13 AM

you need to repack them every time you do brakes, you should have them off anyway to turn the rotors

11/4/2009 1:44:27 PM

^^ Damn son, can you not type? Didn't you mean DRagon? As in TotG? Yeah, I'll bet you did...

^Damn 69. You've been quite the helpful t-duber lately. If you wrote a book, I would actually read it. Must have some funny/witty comments though.

11/4/2009 2:03:54 PM

it'd be titled, all you ever need to know about NGR maintenance

11/5/2009 9:24:13 AM

POS cars

11/5/2009 9:46:19 AM

make sure you put some new grease seals on there every time too

11/9/2009 7:12:38 AM

^ No expense spared Still a slight grinding/vibration, although the majority of the symptoms are gone. I believe the rear bearings will be needing replacement as well. Steering response is back to normal, as far as I can tell. I haven't really pushed the car yet, although it is a drastic improvement.

I also flushed the brake fluid out with ATE Super Blue, bleeding all 4 brakes and the clutch master cylinder. I broke a 7mm craftsman wrench on one of the bleeder screws. I was more giddy than pissed because I have officially broken my first tool, and I get to roll up into a Sears and be like "Give me my free wrench." Stupid reason to be giddy, but w/e.

11/9/2009 8:02:03 AM

i've never been big on the silicone brake fluid, you better flush it every 6 months

11/9/2009 11:29:44 AM

Stephen, what's with the high dollar brake fluid? Are you going to the track soon and not telling me?!

11/9/2009 1:26:56 PM

ATE is neither silicone nor "high dollar" at around $11/liter.

11/9/2009 1:48:46 PM

ATE is a glycol based fluid.

11/9/2009 2:08:51 PM

Quote :

"I get to roll up into a Sears"

BALLER. Haha. I need to go there too actually.

11/9/2009 3:19:29 PM

High dollar brake fluid? I got it for $12/liter. Yeah, it's more expensive than the stuff on the shelves at Advanced, but this is also very good quality fluid. I do plan on auto-x'ing this car soon, maybe as early as January. Don't worry, I'll let you know

Pedals don't feel as firm as they used to, despite having properly flushed the fluid and bled the brakes. I wonder why that is... Maybe the MC is going bad? Hm. Might be time for a hydo boost setup...

11/9/2009 5:35:30 PM

Okay it's not $Texas, but it seems like overkill for the duties of his car

Valvoline full synthetic served me well at the track (even if it wasn't a brake heavy track) and that was maybe $5/liter?

11/10/2009 12:28:49 AM

GT-LMA FTW

11/10/2009 12:33:33 AM

FML. I badly want to beat ass on a track or auto-x event with this vehicle abomination.

So there's a little bit of firewall flex at the MC. Actually, it's not a little. It's a lot (~1-2mm). I'm going to be replacing the old rubber lines with SS braided as well. I don't know when they were last replaced and even though they look like they are in great shape, they could still be 24 years old and rotting from the inside out, flexing under pressure, thus giving the poor braking feedback. I'm looking into doing a Wilwood manual MC swap, which will require a stainless steel yoke that mounts to the pedal assembly and a 0.125" custom plate to replace the "cereal bowl" adapter that's on there now.

Ford and GM hydoboost setups are much pricier, although they are also more effective. However, they are also more "complicated" in the sense that there are more things that could possibly go wrong. Simple will suffice, as the Wilwood is a bolt on "direct swap" with a simple adapter plate, and only costs ~$130.

More to come later. Track days will have to wait, yet again (I see you shaking your head Ahmet )

[Edited on November 10, 2009 at 9:31 PM. Reason : . ]

11/10/2009 9:26:13 PM

I can only imagine how entertaining that car would be on a track with the existing tires and suspension

11/11/2009 8:30:47 AM

[failboat]

11/12/2009 8:44:14 AM

Have you ever added up how much you spent on this poor guy

11/12/2009 11:35:41 AM

Too much.

Seems like I'm not the only one who's had the fire flexing issue when it comes to these cars. The things you learn AFTER the fact...

11/12/2009 11:43:48 AM

ahmet told me about a guy pushing the entire MC through the firewall while bleeding the clutch on a porsche. So yeah.....it happens. That is the quality you get when you splurge for a Porsche, lol.

11/12/2009 11:48:11 AM

1/8" sheetmetal fix?

11/12/2009 11:52:28 AM

^^ Yeah. He told me that too when I called him. That's some scary shit. Fortunately, mine isn't bad to the point where it's cracked yet. For those unaware, this is usually only an issue with turbo cars running more power because they require a stronger pressure plate, which puts a strain on the firewall mounted MC every time you shift. Because I had the vacuum brake booster removed, I had to exert more pressure on the brake pedal, so essentially, the same thing is happening to me.

^Billet Aluminum. I'm going to use two plates, one on each side of the firewall since mine is already flexing. Steel isn't an option because of a possible chance of rust. I'll be giving some local machine shops a call to see how much it'll run me. How thick do you think it needs to be?

http://www.speedymetals.com/pc-2406-8360-18-6061-t651-aluminum-plate.aspx

$12.56 plus shipping for a 12"x12" plate. The template I have is for a ~4"x4" design. This will be more than enough material.

[Edited on November 12, 2009 at 12:34 PM. Reason : .]

11/12/2009 12:21:16 PM

I see no reason to not use steel. Believe me, any rust that occurs would be minimal...unless you're worried about the firewall rusting and giving way.

There's a good chance I could have you a set of custom plates cut for around 60 or 75 bucks total, including the material. And that material could likely be 304 stainless.

BTW this would be precision cut, and pretty as hell.

[Edited on November 12, 2009 at 12:39 PM. Reason : btw...]

11/12/2009 12:37:52 PM

c'mon,

11 ga carbon steel, drilled/cut/cleaned and painted for a fraction of all that bullshit. this thing isnt a show car.

FRANKENPORCHEV

11/12/2009 1:25:43 PM

you dont have a brake booster on the car? htf?

[Edited on November 12, 2009 at 1:51 PM. Reason : how could you still have bird legs driving a car with no brake boost]

11/12/2009 1:51:18 PM

My issue with painted steel is the fact that just a drop of brake fluid will eat that paint and cause the rusting process. I'm not concerned with pretty, I'm trying to fix this properly. I'm sure if brake fluid touches SS, it'll still corode it, but I could be wrong. I don't want potential future leaks or spills to compromise the plates, but then again, I guess considering the firewalls are just painted steel anyways, I'm sure it doesn't matter. Just me being a worry-wart.

^I may be only ~147lbs (+/-3 lbs), but it's all muscle. I used to be very athletic, but the most I do now is the occasional mountain biking.

11/12/2009 2:11:14 PM

i can mail you enough 304ss 1/8" plate for <$25 you can cut from

11/12/2009 2:12:28 PM

^^^I drove his car and while the brake pedal was tougher than average, it wasn't a killer.

11/12/2009 2:24:45 PM

if you didnt spill brake fluid everywhere, it wouldn't be a problem

11/16/2009 7:28:47 AM

So, the sandwiching idea is out of the question answer. There's simply not enough room in the cabin to reinforce the firewall with any plating. There's so much in the way because of the reinforcement plating for the pedals that it's going to be more complicated than worth. I had a buddy of mine who has a 951 parts car take some measurements and design a plate for me. I told him about this issue amongst other 944/951/968 owners and how he could have a monopoly on this particular market, as there are no other reinforcement plates being manufactured to cure this problem.

There will be 3 main points where the 1/4" plate bolts to the firewall in addition to the 2 bolts for the brake MC and 2 for the clutch MC. Welding is going to be a nasty bitch, considering all the wiring I'd have to remove (the entire dash, wiring harnesses, part of the climate control, etc...) so the heat doesn't short out wires and other electric components. So my solution to the welding is possibly sanding down the firewall surface and using JB Weld to bond the plate's perimeter to the firewall, sealing the cabin from the engine bay. I may even look into using rivets in addition to the JB Weld, but I don't know if this would be overkill or just plain unnecessary. I know it might not look pretty, but it'll work. It would be affordable and do-able. For others would really wanted to fix this properly, they could go the extra twenty miles and properly weld the plate on.

A guy on the hybrid forum also calculated that with my current setup I'm having to use 150lbs of force to lock up my brakes. 150lbs!!!! No wonder the 1/16" (arbitrary #) firewall is flexing! Getting the new Wilwood MC will reduce this to ~100lbs, which is a huge reduction in effort.

Anyways, if any of you have constructive or "professional" opinions regarding my plan to fix this current issue, please let me know as I've never done body work before. I'm open to thoughts/ideas. Are there stronger/better adhesives that will bond metal together, or is JB Weld pretty much what I should be using?

[Edited on November 20, 2009 at 9:15 PM. Reason : .]

11/20/2009 9:13:41 PM

just a desperate grasp

11/23/2009 1:00:29 PM

my advice is to find a rolling FD chassis and transfer the engine to that instead.

11/23/2009 1:27:28 PM

i would use a 3-m urethane sealant, like the heavy black windsheild sealant on there, its hardcore stuff

[Edited on November 24, 2009 at 7:25 AM. Reason : you can get it at any glass shop, i sealed the transom plate on my boat with it]

11/24/2009 7:24:04 AM

^^ Negative. Rolling Fd's are still $texas. Suspension components and such are just as expensive as Porsche. Plus, I'd go with an LSx engine. Not that I'm knockin on the LT I've got, but the LS1/2 engines can be had for only a few hundred more, are about 100# or so lighter, run cooler, make more power, etc...

But I see what you are saying

^I looked up the properties, and 3M Products do not have no where near the tensile or adhesion strength compared to JB Weld. Ironic, however, I think JB Weld is going to do the job here Plust JB Weld has a very slow cure time, allowing me to work with it to try to make it look clean and pretty. Yes, I said pretty

[Edited on November 24, 2009 at 10:42 AM. Reason : .]

11/24/2009 10:29:36 AM

i would go with belzonia in that case then, its far superior to jbweld

11/30/2009 9:36:07 AM

Damn they have a lot of produts. I'm assuming you are talking about Belzona 1121 (Super XL Metal).

In anycase, I wanted to say thanks to Jeepman for helping me fix my shifter linkage. I think Quinn would be proud of my $3.xx fix

[Edited on November 30, 2009 at 10:03 AM. Reason : .]

11/30/2009 9:59:59 AM

Give you $10 to stop playing w/this car, and get something you will actually put on track... Like an S2000, or an EVO, or a Mini, or anything. You missed out on my original $10, here's your chance to get it for realz!

12/1/2009 1:37:13 AM

i'll chip in another 5$

12/1/2009 10:38:27 AM

12/1/2009 11:10:52 AM