VW Wheel Bearings FAIL

This Labor day we took the rally car out to Oregon Raceway Park for the Rat Race to get some track time and some friendly competition. In a 6+ hr enduro we toasted the left front wheel bearing (we were running CW though...) and the right front puked out most of its grease. These were brand new FAG (hecho en Mexico) so I think they should have lasted longer.
So, does anyone have a suggestions on wheel bearings? Should I remove the seal and repack them before I install them? Did I do something wrong installing them (I used a press and not a hammer)?
Also, if you ever get the opportunity to head out to ORP, do it! It is such a fun track, compared to PIR at least.

What year uprights/bearings are you running?

I've heard of repacking with high-temp grease, although I've never had an issue with them in rally use.

Axle nut was gud-n-tight, right?

What were the brakes doing? Do you think brake heat contributed to the failure?

I'm running the mk3 set up with the larger OD bearing. The axle nut was tightened to 130lb-ft, though I haven't rechecked this. The brakes were getting hot up to about hour 5 and then there were no pads left.... so they got really hot. I thought that might be the case, but they were puking grease onto the wheels after 100 minutes.

MK3 2.0 or MK3 "Plus"?

Torque spec for 2.0 suspension is 195 ft-lbs.

What do you mean by mk3 "plus"
And suspension torque being what part? axle nut, strut bolts?

I'm talking the outer CV to Hub torque spec.

"Plus" is the VR6 5 lug setup. It has a different tightening torque procedure for the axle nut.

That joint is what holds the bearing together, so it could affect bearing life if it's not torqued properly.
Dropping the car off the jack w/o the axles in will hurt the bearing, too.

Okay, I get ya. I'm using the standard mk3 uprights/knuckles.
The torque from my Bentley manual says 135 for mk2, so I assumed it's the same as mk3 as they're the same bearing/cv/spindle.

I think 135 is for the small bearings maybe?

The big bearings are 195, just like the MK3.

OK, just checked my books...my 1985 book says 170. My 85-92 book says 195 and my MK3 book says 195.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/08/2011 04:25PM by fliz.

Alright then, 195 it is. Hopefully the next set stay together better. Do you re-torque after a break in or do you just set it and forget it?

I check torque in service. If I remember, sometimes I'll stake the nut.

I have the axles off enough, the nut gets retorqued plenty.

Something about VWs makes those nuts loosen all the time. Even on my street Quantum (same CVs/bearings as 100mm Golf) retorquing the axle nuts is part of routine maintenance.

I've heard of IT racers coming down off of curbing hard enough to break the end of the axle off. No idea how they withstand rally.

(the solution of course is to turn the engine 90 degrees, there's a bellhousing for this now if you wanna keep the VW engine)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/08/2011 09:14PM by Pete.

Quote
Pete
Something about VWs makes those nuts loosen all the time. Even on my street Quantum (same CVs/bearings as 100mm Golf) retorquing the axle nuts is part of routine maintenance.

I've heard of IT racers coming down off of curbing hard enough to break the end of the axle off. No idea how they withstand rally.

(the solution of course is to turn the engine 90 degrees, there's a bellhousing for this now if you wanna keep the VW engine)

Out here VWs snapping off the splined end of the CV is common as dogsheeeet on the lawn. Too common. It is a major reason I push RWD stuff so hard.

---

John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

Quote
john vanlandingham

Quote
Pete
Something about VWs makes those nuts loosen all the time. Even on my street Quantum (same CVs/bearings as 100mm Golf) retorquing the axle nuts is part of routine maintenance.

I've heard of IT racers coming down off of curbing hard enough to break the end of the axle off. No idea how they withstand rally.

(the solution of course is to turn the engine 90 degrees, there's a bellhousing for this now if you wanna keep the VW engine)

Out here VWs snapping off the splined end of the CV is common as dogsheeeet on the lawn. Too common. It is a major reason I push RWD stuff so hard.

I've done that 3 times :-).
Went to the VR6 joints - helped tremendously apparently (knock on wood).

---

Brgrds
Brian

Quote
Pete

(the solution of course is to turn the engine 90 degrees, there's a bellhousing for this now if you wanna keep the VW engine)

What front suspension do you switch to?

As long as you run VW front uprights, you've got to have the stub axle to hold the bearing together.

The only car I've seen break stubs had a welded diff and no torque wrench (they stood on a wrench to torque the axle nuts).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/09/2011 08:24AM by fliz.

Quote
wildert
I've done that 3 times :-).

Quote

Went to the VR6 joints - helped tremendously apparently (knock on wood).

Not too much, you still want your helmet to fit.

---

John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.