Hub Assembly Help Please

[Hoppo1979 0]

Hi All, I need your help. My 88 F 1.9 GTI has encountered a problem. Upon replacing the front discs at work (I work in the trade so have access to technicians on the cheap) it became apparent that there was massive play in the front drivers side wheel bearing. I bought a new bearing and we replaced it and rebuilt the hub only to find the play still there! We guessed at a damaged hub so I bought a second hand hub off fleabay, fitted that, still the same play! Even a fully trained Porsche technician cant work out whats wrong so i'm absolutely stumped! Any advise would be great, The next try will be the driveshaft but to be honest it feels like i'm just throwing good money after bad!

[jimistdt 1]

Where did you buy the bearing from, what brand was it? Is it possible that the second-hand hub you've bought also has a dead bearing in?

 

Also have you torqued up the driveshaft nut and still detected play?

[Masekwm 2]

I've got the same issue:-

 

2 hubs, 2 bearings, 2 different pressers.

 

Still play.

 

I can only think it's the cheap 2nd hand driveshaft on mine.

[Hoppo1979 0]

Yes nut torqued up. New bearing from Euro car parts in Nottingham, it cost me £14 trade but I don't have the brand to hand. When this didn't work I bought the second hand hub complete with bearing and thats the same. Surely I can't be that unlucky? A brand new bearing thats a lemon and a used hub with a bearing thats also a lemon?

[Hoppo1979 0]

Yes I think my next move is a new briveshaft but they aint cheap. The tyre wear is pretty normal so I don't think the bearings been like this for too long. The car also passed its MOT in February so thats even more strange!

[welshpug 1,655]

try a different nut or a large washer under the nut.

 

I have seen some CV joints where the outer spline is a tad too long and doesn't allow the nut to tighten up properly.

[Masekwm 2]

Yes I think my next move is a new briveshaft but they aint cheap. The tyre wear is pretty normal so I don't think the bearings been like this for too long. The car also passed its MOT in February so thats even more strange!

 

 

Are you driving my car, it's exactly the same issue! Even the same mot month.

 

Welshpug - I shall try that too

[Hoppo1979 0]

[Well to be honest the nut looks like the original one on the other side and thats as tight as a ducks arse so Welshpug may have a point. The nut that came with the bearing is the newer style that has a flange and you have to dent it to hold it tight, the other side is the more traditional with the pin that goes through. If the nut can't tighten then the bearing won't come together properly and so have play in it! By jove I think Welshpug may have solved it!

[jimistdt 1]

Did this cure your woes? And Masekwm too?

[GLPoomobile 958]

The nut that came with the bearing is the newer style that has a flange and you have to dent it to hold it tight, the other side is the more traditional with the pin that goes through.

 

I may be talking s*ite here, but bare with me. I always thought that it was the 1.6 shafts that used the nut with an R clip, and the 1.9s used the nut that you stake in. So lets say that's true, is it 1.6 shafts that both you guys are using?

 

Is it possible that you have 1.6 shafts, but have been supplied with 1.9 bearings? Would that account for the poor fit?

[Hoppo1979 0]

Sadly not. Had it in the workshop tonight after work, got the wheel off and a huge long torque wrench and tried to tighten the centre nut big time. Still a tonne of play. The suspition now is that the driveshaft is a dud. On the passenger side it has a hole in it for the split pin to locate, however on the drivers side there is no hole which points to a different drive shaft that maybe causing the issues. To be honest 5 Porsche trained technicians are baffled so god knows what i'm going to do. I have fitted a new passenger seat and the new front fogs are on there way which will make him look great, I just cant drive him cos of this bloody wheel bearing problem! I'm very frustrated as its putting back the project! I need to sort the mixture and idle out but can't yet due to this. FRUSTRATED!!!!!!!!!!

[welshpug 1,655]

did you try a large washer under the nut?

 

as a side note to something mentioned regarding the style of nuts used, it did vary on the 1.9, my car has one of each type without any issues at all.

 

I believe earlier cars were staked like the 1.6, later were R-clipped.

[Masekwm 2]

The suspition now is that the driveshaft is a dud. On the passenger side it has a hole in it for the split pin to locate, however on the drivers side there is no hole which points to a different drive shaft that maybe causing the issues.

 

The driveshaft is 2nd hand, is it possible that? Unlike all the other 1.9 ones I've seen it doesn't have the hole for the pin.

 

Oh look, exactly the same issue, I think it's the revenge of those cheap ECP shafts from a while back

 

Did this cure your woes? And Masekwm too?

 

No shafts in stock for me, should have one tomorrow

[Hoppo1979 0]

Hi there, no not tried the nut yet but speaing to Evans Halshaw Pug in Mansfield (they're part of our company) and getting some diagrams faxed over is pointing to the drive shaft. The theory is some numbnuts has put a 1.6 gti driveshaft on as they didn't have the hole in the end for the split pin, but again this is only a theory. I think the 1.6 had a shorter front track and the problem seems to be that the bearing isn't being pressed tightly against the driveshaft which is causing the problem.

 

On the plus side the brand new genuine Siem driving lamps have turned up today, yippee!!!!!!!!!!!!

[welshpug 1,655]

the 1.6 driveshafts are exactly the same length, and the track is actually wider than a 1.9.

 

also the splines of a 1.6 are smaller (less of them, smaller diameter) than a 1.9, so they "shouldn't" work, though I don't know if the CV can still be put in the hub, IIRC the splines of the CV may be longer on the 1.6 but I've never compared them.

[Hoppo1979 0]

Interesting. We thought there should be a shim on the driveshaft at first. The thing Pug Mansfield said was the 1.9 had a hole for a split pin to locate but a 1.6 didn't, hence the theory. The centre nut doesn't seem to take long to tighten up so thats why we thought the driveshaft may be to blame. are the driveshafts the same length either side or could some dipstick have put the wrong one on the wrong side?

[welshpug 1,655]

its impossible to put them on the wrong side, one has an intermediate bearing and a very long inner shaft between the CV and the Differential, whilst the nearside inner CV fits directly into the diff.

 

the outer CV is identical however, so even if someone had managed to fit them on the wrong side, it wouldnet make any differecne to it fitting the hub.

[Masekwm 2]

When I was searching I found talk of cheap ECP driveshafts doing this in the past, my guess is that we've both ended up with one of those shafts and that has caused the "wheel bearing failure" and what we are actually seeing is that the shaft is simply not the correct fit at the hub end.

[Hoppo1979 0]

Yes its all pointing to a moody driveshaft isnt it. Welshpug seems to have confirmed that some tool can't have made a stupid mistake so it looks like a cheapo driveshaft. Eurocarparts list a Q-Drive shaft for about £75 on a surcharge basis. Anyone know if these Q-Drive shafts are any good?

[Hoppo1979 0]

Problem solved. The driveshaft had been replaced with one that wasn't right. It looked identical apart from the end that went into the bearing. The splines were longer on the old driveshaft meaning no matter how much I tightened the nut it didn't pull the bearing together. It now drives like a completely different car!So if you have this issue, check your driveshaft is a genuine one. And a huge tip, after some dealing a genuine Peugeot part which took 2 days to get only cost £30 more than an aftermarket one.

[Masekwm 2]

Did mine today aswell, used a shaft from GSF. Looks like it's fine now