Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

I took my S2 to my mechanic friend Stewart's garage http://www.autotech-garage.co.uk/ yesterday morning and we put it on the ramps for a good look over (or rather under). He showed me that I have a noisy rear off-side wheel bearing, and showed me how my inner brake pads are stuck and doing nothing because the discs are rusty on the insides. The outside of the discs are shiny and the pads are therefore moving. There's nothing else wrong with it mechanically. Can't say the same for the driver though, after all I'm booked in for an MRI scan on my head on Saturday

I'm going to get wheel bearings and brake pads for both sides. Stewart said he'll remove the calipers and free them up so everything's fine again. Before I take it back and he starts, is there any advice to be had about this? i.e. I don't want him to start taking them apart only to need more parts that I haven't bought therefore inconveniencing him and also keeping the car off the road longer. Better to be prepared and take everything with me.

I haven't noticed anything wrong with the brakes, but then I don't drive fast enough to use the rears that often.

Thanks in advance....

I presume the 944 has a fitting kit like the 928? If so, just check all looks in order with that.
On my 928 the pins that go through the caliper and locking pins were very badly corroded and unusable once removed.
Had to come from Germany so a week wait for replacement parts.

Regards
Paul

The S2 has a problem with what some people call "plate lift" which is caused when the screws holding the pad retaining plates start to react with the alloy caliperand cause the plate to shift out of position, I have not suffered this (yet) but I know a few who have and it can be an awkward job to do as it usually means drilling out the old fasteners re-threading the caliper and fitting a replacement set plus new plates, clips etc.

I would just warn the mechanic and let him have a look at yours before worrying too much as they may be OK.

I think from memory if you replace the discs you will have to replace the pads and pad wear sensors (if badly worn or if they can not be disconnected) the rest depends on how worn or rusty the items are.

If you are replacing the handbrake shoes then you should replace the small retaining springs as they have a habit of snapping when removed (2 per side I believe 1 per shoe). Take a look at Clarkes garage and that will show details of the rear brakes which may help your mechanic. http://www.clarks-garage.com/ on there you will also find information about replacing the rear wheel bearings which again I believe can be a pain as the hub nut is done up so tight.

Hope everything is o.k mate

You should get the brake pad retention springs for the hand brake shoes. If you reuse them they can pop off & then they rattle around inside the bell. There not cheap though. Wear sensors if yours are working. I don't bother on mine as they just add to the cost & I just check the pad wear myself twice a year. Usually just reuse the other hardware after cleaning on a wire wheel. Hope the driver is soon fixed too!

As mentioned you may need break pad sensors. If they haven't worn through you might get away with reusing them. I found however that the plastic clips that attach to the pads were so brittle they fell apart. However you don't need them and could pop them back on at a later date if the old ones are not reusable.

Sounds like plate lift to me John which won't be fixed by a pad swap (could make it worse) & if your mechanic has never done it before will be a new experience & not a good one! Plate kits are around 16 quid a calliper, I've stainless bolts for mine & it is on the to do list as I have a set of callipers here awaiting paint & build up (Thanks R Boxster!)
The bodge is to grind the edge of the pads off so the pads are free in the calliper which I may or may not have done to mine
I don't bother with sensors as mine does small mileage & gets checked every year,so mine are looped out. You'll need a pad fitting kit though.

Rick has article here on his site on refurbing the callipers. http://www.cannell.co.uk/Road_tests/911 ... urbish.pdf

Driving harder would help as it makes the pads move further & may put a bit of heat into them.

PS Hope Brain scan is OK!

Thanks for your good wishes, but for the record, the scan isn't for any glamorous or exotic disease. Unfortunately I developed Tinnitus (24/7 ringing in the ears) last August and am willing to go to anything anywhere I am sent to try and do something to stop it. Friday I am booked in for my 'well man' checks including blood pressure and cholesterol etc to see if there is anything wrong there - but seeing as I'm 6' tall, 11st 10lb, and my blood pressure is somewhere around 125 over 66 with a resting pulse of 48, I can't see it being that.

It's just one of those crappy things in life where they don't know what causes it and don't know how to cure it.

What with that and the sciatica I had from October 08 to June 09...... all the problems seemed to happen after I turned 50

Never mind, just keep plodding on.....

Definately sounds like plate lift. Dont let your mechanic grind down the pads - you lose pedal feel.

The button heads will almost definately round if you try and undo them to remove the plates. I have done quite alot of these and have sort of got my self a method to get them undone.

Lots of heat on the bolts, I then use a fairly small blunt chisel to get them moving a quarter turn or so then if you havent touched the button head before they will come undone with an allen key. Just done all 4 calipers on my 968 (post to follow) like this and previously my turbo and S2.

Unfortunately its one of those jobs you wont know what you need til you do it but button heads can be bought from screwfix £3 for 50.(M6 x 16mm)
Plates can often be straightened but may crack if so I think they are £16 each - 2 per caliper. Dust seals may need replacing.

Rich

Bigg Red do a full set of 8 dust seals and main seals for the Turbo/S2 caliper for £37 per pair of calipers, fronts or backs. The method I use to get bolts out is to build them up with a bit of weld from the MIG and out they come. I also use the same method for bleed nipples, etc. Never scrapped a caliper yet, they always come out. Best method for sheared nipples and hose connections is to drill the nipple with a 3 mm pilot drill being careful to to drill right into the caliper. Measure against a good nipple and mark the height with a bit of tape. Gradually increase drill size until you are up to 8mm. I then fill the hole with weld until about 8 to 10 mm out and then unscrew with a pair of vice grips.
Alasdair

I feel your pain mate, I got some sort of ear infection about a year ago through swimming everyday and lost about 75% of hearing in my left ear. After about a month of no improvement and lots of drops I eventually went and had my ear flushed (a modern day equivalent of syringing) and it still didn't clear and then one morning I woke up and bingo, it had cleared, but now slight tinnitus in that ear. It drives you barmy in bed at night and I've only got it slightly. Our kid has had it in both ears for years and said he has just learned to live with it.
The upshot is I hardly swim anymore and i've really stacked on the timber although I don't think drinking everynight helps

I can understand completly, I've had it for years. When I served my time and went to work on steam boilers, no one believed in hearing protection ( I know, steam boilers, I must be old ). I wish I could turn back the clock. Hope you get a result and find something. Good luck.

Lee.