996 Transmission Rebuild and Pinion Bearing Replacement DIY

996 Transmission Rebuild and Pinion Bearing Replacement DIY I have seen a few posts over the past little while about 996 owners experiencing transmission noise, described as a whine or whir, or sometimes a roar, when accelerating or decelerating. Often this is caused by a failing pinion bearing. My pinion bearing started to fail in 2016. Given that my transmission seems to be working fine other than the noise I decided to attempt to rebuild it with just replacement bearings as the cost of the bearings are ~$800. A big challenge in taking on this job is the lack of information available. The factory manual doesn't outline how to replace the bearing, so this job was completed from research on bits of information I picked up on forums, shops that specialize in these repairs, and factory parts breakdown diagrams. I hope that this thread will at least help some people understand what the job involves that are interested in rebuilding. One important thing I want to make clear is that this write up is to be used for information only. I cannot say for sure if my procedure is correct, but my rebuild was successful. As always, use PPE when doing any work on your vehicle and take all necessary steps to ensure your working in a safe environment. Checking the Pinion Bearing: An easy way I have read to check if the pinion bearing is starting to fail is to pull the drain plug from the base of the transmission, poke a finger in the drain hole, bend it toward the front of the car, and see if a thick grey substance has built up. This is the grease from the pinion bearing the leaked from the bearing and out into the transmission around the magnet. This was the case in the transmission in my 1999 996 C2, and this combined with the noise was enough for me to diagnose the pinion bearing. Disassembling the Transmisson: Once the transmission is removed from the vehicle, disassembly can begin. The first step is to remove the bolts holding the nose cone onto the transmission. Once these are removed the cone can come straight off. The next step is to remove the shift forks. There are a total of 5 forks, and the order does matter when removing for a couple of them so be sure to note what order they are removed. I numbered mine with painters tape as i removed them. First, remove the 4 bolts on the outside of the transmission case that hole the shift rod ball and springs in place. Once each bolt is removed, remove the ball and spring, then bag and tag so you don't lose them. The shift fork is fastened to the rod with roll pins. I used a punch to hammer out the pin from the fork. Once the pin is removed, the rod can slide up through the fork, then the fork can be removed. Be sure to tag each pin as removed for re-installation. Take caution when removing the center fork (shortest) as there are 4 little washers that fit into a profile in the transmission case that can fall and go missing. Now that the forks are out of the way, the gear cluster can be removed. To do this, first remove the torx bolts that fasten the base plate to the housing. The cluster is held now just by the tight fit of the pinion bearing and Mainshaft bearing in the case. To remove this, I heated the case slowly using a propane torch (not to hit, the case is cast aluminum), then used some pry bars to carefully remove from the case. Once the cluster is removed from the case, it is time to start breaking down the gear stacks. Note that the pinion bearing is the larger of the two bearings, and all gears on the counter shaft must be removed to get to the pinion bearing. A special tool is required to start pulling gears off the shaft. The counter shaft is hollow so a conventional puller has no surface to push on. I had the tool in the photo below made up. This took serves two purposes - a surface for the puller to push on, as well as a hollow shaft support when high press forces will be needed to pull the tolerance fit gears. I started the process by pulling reverse, first and second gear off the stack. To do this, start by removing the large circlip at the top of the stack. Then, using a large gear puller, secure legs on first gear and pull using an air or electric impact gun. I used a 1/2" electric impact gun and was able to pull the gears relatively easily. When all components are free off the shaft, stack the assembly on the bench exactly as it came off, both the order and side that goes up/down. Take a lot of pictures while taking apart. If possible, try not to separate components as they are removed. Next, remove second gear and associated components from the stack in the same method and first and reverse. Take extra caution to try and keep these assemblies together when removing from the shaft. The first and second gear shift sleeve has 3 little ***** and spring loaded into the sleeve, if this comes apart the ***** and springs will fly everywhere and you will spend a month of Sunday's looking for them. With the reverse, first and second gear assemblies removed, I went ahead and removed the Mainshaft bearing to be able to separate the two shafts. Because there is very little room between the bearing and the cluster plate i couldn't figure out a way to press or pull the bearing off. To remove, I cut the outer race using a dremel. All the ***** and cages can be removed, then the Mainshaft can be manuvered out of the plate to isolate the countershaft. Then, using the dremel, I made one cut in the inner race of the mainshaft bearing to free from the mainshaft. This is as far as I was able to break down the transmission myself. Gears 3-6 on this shaft take over 30 T of force to remove, so I brought it to a local automotive machine shop with the new pinion bearing. Although difficult, they were able to press the gears off, replace the bearing, then heat the gears to re shrink onto the counter shaft. Here is the counter shaft with the new pinion bearing installed. Re-Assembling the Transmisson: With the new pinion bearing installed, it's now time to start the rebuild. First step was to fit the countershaft and Mainshaft back together. Once fitted, the new Mainshaft bearing was greased, and pressed on using a 20 T shop press, once lined up the bearing pressed on with ease. Install the spacer and circlip in position. The two shaft assemblies are now locked together. Now it is time to re-stack the first, second and reverse gear assemblies. The easiest way I found to do this is lay each item out on the bench in the order it came off the shaft. Be careful when taking apart the assemblies as like mentioned above the shift sleeves have the ***** and springs that fly when released. When I released the shift sleeve from the center part, I wrapped it in a rag in a clean room so when it came apart it would stay in the rag. Again, take note on not only the order, but the up/down orientation of each component. Use the parts breakdown diagram to check to ensure the components are being stacked in the proper order and orientation. A few of the components that need to be installed such as the bearing inner races, the inner portion of the shift sleeve, spacers and end bearing are a press fit onto the shaft, but fortunately this doesn't require a press. Heating the parts in the oven at 350 F for 20 minutes expanded the components enough that they easily dropped onto the shaft in position. Once the parts are installed it's important to work quickly as once they contact they shaft they cool fast enough that after a couple of seconds it will be impossible to remove without a puller. I picked out these components and put in the oven before starting to stack so I could just take them as I needed them. Notes on stacking: The most difficult part of this job was loading on the ***** and springs into the second gear shift sleeve. It took over an hour as the ***** have a tendency to shoot out when attempting to load the spring to fit in position. Once all components are installed, the top spacers and circlip should install in position. At this point you should be able to slide the shift sleeves up and down to ensure the transmission is able to go in and out of each gear. Now that the cluster is re assembled it can be installed into the transmission case. The bearings are a tight fit into the case, so I put the cluster in the freezer for a couple of hours, then heated the case with a propane torch for a few minutes before installing. It took a bit of wrestling to set in position but once it's in place enough the torx bolts holding the plate can be installed and this will fit the cluster all the way in place. The shift rods and forks can then be installed reverse of the disassembly method. Don't forget to load the *****, springs and bolts into the transmission case after installing the rods. The last and one of the most difficult parts is installing the nose cone. The shift rods must fit into the nose cone in the appropriate location in the case and it can be difficult to line up when the nose cone is already on over. I tied zip ties around the base of the fork to pull on while installing the nose cone to pull in the right direction when installing the case. After around 25 tries the cone was installed. Then I was able to pull the nose cone off the housing approximately 1/4" to apply RTV to seal the two pieces together. Install the nose cone bolts and torque to finish the job.

This is AWESOME!!!!

holy shat...my hats off to you and mad props for tacking this monster job. most of all, a million thanks for sharing

Geez - what a project! Congrats on seeing it through and thank you for sharing the details.

I am impressed. Earlier this year I had the same problem. I have done engine work on my car but not transmission work. I took it to my Indy and they disassembled the trans but could not get the gears off with their press. They ended up sending it to Gbox which has special tools.

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Thanks for sharing .Very impressive write-up and great pictures .You obviously know your way around a tool box .

Thank you Nick. This should be copied into the DIY/Project section so it can be easily found? It is the only gearbox dismantle/reassembly guide we have .

Great work!

This thread may help with a little extra info: https://rennlist.com/forums/boxster-...on-repair.html

Here are some comments on Nick's excellent wrtie-up that may help others or answer curiosity questions: 1. "This is the grease from the pinion bearing the leaked from the bearing and out into the transmission around the magnet." Yes, just like the IMSB this is greased-for-life sealed bearing ! The sticky finger test is shown on an old Motor Meister You Tube video. You need a very long skinny index finger for this simple but telling test.IMHO it should be a routine test every 20K after 60-80 k miles on the gearbox. 2, "A special tool is required to start pulling gears off the shaft. The counter shaft is hollow so a conventional puller has no surface to push on. I had the tool in the photo below made up. This took serves two purposes - a surface for the puller to push on, as well as a hollow shaft support when high press forces will be needed to pull the tolerance fit gears." The dimensioned dwg is invaluable. 3_Angels used a part from an Audi front strut iirc ! If you just use a 20 ton puller w/o Nick's tool, you will buckle the shaft ! 3. "I cut the outer race using a dremel. " This is beyond the point of no return ! In theory a very expensive puller like the Kukko has hooks that are both skinny enough & strong enough to pull this off. But why? If you have dental surgery skills with a Dremmel ,Nick's method is gentler and much cheaper ! You can find the specifics on the Kukko puller in my previous posts on this subject. Samstag Sales have them.You need the Slender Arm version. 4. "Gears 3-6 on this shaft take over 30 T of force to remove, so I brought it to a local automotive machine shop" 3_Angeles managed to pull this off with the Kukko.But if you don't have the experience and 'feel' for using such force on such a valuable mechanism, perhaps Nick's is the best alternative. When we have all the comments back from Nick and with his permission, I'll convert this to a pdf with an enlarged PET diagram to help others. Hopefully Admin will put this in the "How To" section where it can become the only source of this info.For those looking for the 3_Angeles pdf, it was only up for a few weeks and then disappeared so lets make this pdf stick within the walls of Rennlist. This is not just a home garage diy write-up. A competent transmission repair shop that had not done this gearbox before would find this a useful primer. As always, I am not an expert, so corrections and improvements are always welcome for the benefit of others who follow. If you want to see what the bearings look like and read some other commentary,this may be useful: https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...read-this.html

WOW - Mad SKILZ! Amazing write-up! Thanks for sharing! Just the documentation prolly took longer than most projects!

Amazing write-up. I have added to the Master DIY List that is blessed by Ahsai and is located here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1tw...azoJjvqJXCg_II

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Thanks Steve!

Thanks everyone. I am working on creating a report with Schnell Gelb with some more detail, ill post that when I have finished.

That was an amazing write up. What are the bearings? are they special Porsche OEM unicorns or standard bearings?

From Link in Post #11 "These two bearings are quite pricey at about $480.00 each," Pelican has an *** bearing cheaper. The Porsche part number on the Pelican page is :996-302-808-00 http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/...pg3.htm#item10 Here is a clear dwg from Auto Atlanta.It is easier to see than the PET http://www.autoatlanta.com/results.php and #21 here, $154 from Pelican- 996-301-806-00: http://www.autoatlanta.com/results.php When you get one off the shaft,take it to your local bearing shop for them to do an Interchange ? Unusual double row sealed bearing, so maybe no generic substitute easily available. Just wait till you see the price of a 2nd gear synchro assy !

I am a bearing guy (25 years) I would love to know the markings on them and potentially dimensions if needed.

The bearings are indeed a bit of a issue with these, especially as they are sealed units. They tend to fret out inside the races which makes them howl when they are failing. Great write up here. I would caution a few things. Having rebuilt a number of these with a wide variety of companies, I have seen any number of people try to do this build themselves to find that they are WAY over their heads. A 20 or 30 ton press may not be enough to press the gears off the shaft. I know that we have broken more than one of these in the past, and put a fair amount of stress on our 80 ton press, from time to time. Pulling the gears off with a gear puller has also resulted in broken gears with some DIY members. This really is not the easiest gearbox to work on. Take care not to put too much heat into the box as well, as this will end badly and cost a lot more in the long run. If anyone has questions or has a need for bearings let me know. I am always here to help. Erik Johnson - [phone removed]

In case any of you need some brand new bits for this 996 tranny work, see this listing: 996 Turbo Transmission Case - Brand New 996 Turbo Ring & Pinion (3.44) - Brand New 996 Turbo Mainshaft with 1st & 2nd gears - Brand New https://rennlist.com/forums/parts-ma...l#post13520801

I put a document together for any DIYers to use as a guide for their rebuild. See PDF below!

Nick - A Brilliant and generous offering to RL folk. Thank you for the time and effort you put in to documenting all this . Nobody else has ever done such a complete document. The "Angels" guys did one for the Boxster that came close but Nick's diy account has more photographs to help those of us who are visual learners. The remaining challenge is to find a reasonable price for the bearings. The combined cost of all the bearings you may require is eye-watering.I have searched using the *** & the Porsche part number for interchange bearings but found nothing better.

Very cool! Thanks for documenting it!

I just noticed on my 01 Turbo that the is a whine sound coming when I press the throttle. Even just a tad very light and it starts. I looked it up also on the Turbo forum and found another good post with the and video of the sound. Here is the post and write up. "This is a classic pinion bearing, thrust bearing problem." https://rennlist.com/forums/996-turb...gone-info.html

Thanks for the great write-up! I see that it's been added to the list here https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...l#post13516503

Two thumbs up and great job on a long overdue write up. About to split the case on my 99' C4 only to put new rtv (Loctite 5900) around the case half "nose cone" and the differential cover and possibly the reverse light switch. Under the impression the original sealant has dried out and is now finding it's way through these areas, enough to grab my attention. Did I mention it's a Porsche factory rebuild gearbox lol I know, everyone is telling me to bring it back to the dealer, 2 year/unlimited miles warranty etc... I did the R/R myself, so its faster for me to remove, split and re-seal. I dont have the time or patience to spend waiting 1 month for a diagnosis, only to have another reman-gearbox ordered from Deutschland, nor dealing with my local dealer My question's: 1. What torque specs did you use to tighten the case half "nose cone"? 2. What position was the gear selector in when taking off and then putting back on the nose cone? Meaning neutral, first second etc.. 3. Any idea as to how to take of the drive-shaft/output flange? Puller or special tool? And same for reinstall.. Just trying to plan this 2nd R/R as efficiently as possible lol As to not sit on this gearbox once it's pulled. Any help would be greatly appreciated ​​​​​​​ ​​​​​​

Terrific write OP, thanks for taking the time to document the process. im sure this will help many DIY members going forward. Did you consider re-gearing for quicker acceleration?

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NickHend you did a wonderful job with that post. Thank's. I was desperatly searching for infos on how to work the 996 trannies

If anyone is needing the lower pinion bearing part number 99630280800 I have a few of these for $345 , *** OEM bearing , a lot cheaper than Pelican or Porsche. Ju st send me a PM.

Could someone please help me on how to remove the nose cone on my C4 ??? Nickhend's instructions say that the cone is ready to remove right after the bolts are off. It's what I did but the best I could get is to separate the cone for about 3/4 of an inch. The shifter looks like still linked to something Inside. I must begin in neutral and begin separating and shift in a gear to lift further until it's stuck at 3/4 of an inch.

Ok just found it. I had to remove a bolt about 2.5 inch long with 13 mm head from right side of nose cone. If ever it could help someone else...

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Erik I sent you a pm. Thank's

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Well done ! Nobody on this Forum has ever reported that elusive bolt?

Thanks for the write up. I'll be doing this job very soon, my transmission is already out.

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I'll send a photo of it. Maybe nobody mentionned it cause what it holds usually stays in the nose cone? I'll check this evening.

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Do you own a C4 ?

Here on the first photo the bolt that I had to remove to be able to take off the nose cone. Maybe in Nick's instructions he did'nt mentioned it cause the assembly that it holds inside (second photo) came with his cone. In my case I was able to lift the cone only about 3/4 of an inch. I reinstalled the bolt and the small shaft and gear assembly in the nose cone for reassembly later.

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I believe I did remove this bolt to remove the cone. But I think I put it back together assembled so I wasn't sure if it was a required step. Given that you had to remove as well it's probably safe to say it should come out.

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No, it's just a C2 but the basic steps should be similar I would think.

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Thank's

Here are some photos of the shafts and gears of my C4 tranny. The shaft of a C4 is not hollow? The end of it where I will have to apply pressure is only about 1/2 of an inch. Will it be ok? Is it possible to separate the shafts earlier in the procedure like at the beginning? It would be easier to remove gears with jigs I could make to work on the press instead of a puller. Thank's in advance Nick.

Ok, I'll answer my question myself again. If ever it could help someone.... I finished removing the primary and secondary shaft from the tranny case and I don't see any reason to wait until some gears are off from the secondary shaft to remove the bearing of the primary one to separate both shafts. When separated I should be able to remove everything from the secondary shaft by pressing instead of using a puller. To be continued...

This is one of the first DIY threads done by Chris Walrod who is at Singer now. https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...y-project.html

Yes great thread. I found it before getting into almost same jobs but since it dated from 2011 and making 5 pages I did'nt resuscitated it. Thank's

Latest news. I just finished pressing everything out from the secondary shaft. I succeeded with a max pressure of 25 tons. No problems at all. The bearing was out of grease which I never found inside. Probably because the previous owner had the transmission opened and got afraid of the job and closed it back like that but took away Porsche's magic grease before. On the photo we can see the spot on the bearing race. It makes it sure that it was really the cause of the tranny noise. As soon as I can I will make another thread on the complete disassembly of C4 transmission with a few tricks I found and used. With Nick Hends DIY it could help very much

Nice! That will make it hum!

This is amazing for two reasons: 1) Fantastic write up and certainly learned a lot by reading through 2) I also learned that as handy as I think I am I could never do this as a DIY. Way above my pay grade. :-) Thanks for sharing

For those that are following this saga because they plan to follow the advice given - tell us about those 25 tons ? What jigs,reinforcements,pipes or other kit did you use to prevent any damage? One of the old threads mentioned using a tube as reinforcement to prevent bending of the shaft when re-fitting the bearings. IIRC it was from the front strut of an Audi !

Sorry for the delay. Like I wrote before I will post a new thread to give more d�tails of how I did it as soon as I have more time. For now I only removed everything from the secondary shaft. I did'nt have to use a special tool or strut from an Audi cause the secondary shaft of a C4 is not hollow. I directly press on the tip of the shaft but with the adapter I made to secure the operation. The tip of the shaft goes in the small sleeve and the other side on the piston of the press so there is no way for the shaft to slip and go away. (see photos) The first time I pressed I removed everything before the first gear. Then everything before the second gear (like on the photo) These were easy to remove. The one that needed over 25 tons were the 2 i had to remove together almost at the end. Beside that everyting went fine. If ever someone need help just PM me the time I start a new thread

Interesting that the two most informative and enterprising threads on this important subject are Canadians. Thank you neighbors !

Lol it just hapenned like that

Nice work! Its amazing how a little spot on the bearing can cause all the noise. Am have you decided if you are going to remove the grease seals on the new bearings or leave on? I had trouble making this decision, but decided to leave mine installed.

It is not easy to mutilate a so expensive brand new bearing so I understand your hesitation. I just ordered the from Porsche at $690 cdn + tx's. If it's possible I will remove the seals. I imagine that I'll have to get rid of the grease before installing them? I'm more confident with this option. I'll plan to change the tranny oil often. Maybe in a short period of use after the rebuilt.

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I guess you missed my post #29. I have the *** 99630280800 bearing for $345, A LOT cheaper than Porsche?

As a Porsche Tech (?) there is much advice you could offer to help with this very difficult task ? All I saw in Post 29 was a for sale ad.

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True, and I would love to give my advice, it's just that I never can tell how technical to get, I lose people at both ends of the spectrum. If I go too technical some can not follow, If I keep it simple some think I'm well , not knowledgeable. I had this problem before I retired from the Porsche Dealership with holding Tech sessions for PCA members.. You have a vast range of people in your audience. Some will say your too technical some will say not technical enough. I have found on these forums that the members are for the most part VERY capable of answering the questions and procedures that come up here, and if there is something that is out of everyone's league, it is usually so complicated that it would be difficult to follow in a forum. If someone asks a question that does not get answered. or is answered incorrectly I will try to chime in. I willl give a bit of advise on this subject, after you press the gears and to do a repair, stamp an R on the case near the transmission number, every time the gears are pressed off the press fit gets a bit looser, 3 R's and the transmission should be replaced due to the press fit being too the point that the gears could slip on the shaft in high torque situations. The first time you press off the gears it will take 25-30 tons, the second time 20-25 tons, the third time 15-20 tons.

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Yes I did see your offer but I needed the pinion bearing and the main shaft bearing. At a certain parts store the main shaft bearing is $272 and the pinion is $395 so it's $667 + shipping + customs and taxes. I'll have them at Porsche for $690 cdn which makes around $505 us these days + taxes. So it was a lot cheaper to buy them at the dealer and get them in 4 to 5 days. The pinion bearing is $383 cdn alone (around $280 us) Thank's anyway.

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WOW !! Yes you got a great deal !! Which Porsche dealer did you get these from?

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If you read Post 17 ,you could have got them cheaper :-).Go Wayne @ Pelican ! Meanwhile we are hoping Spud72 chimes in and helps us source an *** bearing for the main shaft and pinion.Not an *** bearing with a Porsche part number on it and a huge Porsche tax! Spud72 said :" I am a bearing guy (25 years) I would love to know the markings on them and potentially dimensions if needed. " Hoping to hear from Spud72. There has to be an *** dealer who has these ? BTW they are fitted to Volvo truck axles ! See this thread for more: https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...e-absence.html "Here are a few infos on the bearings as I continue the procedure to change them. The number on the primary shaft double ball bearing is : 572548C.H84 The dimensions are 72mm O.D. 35 mm I.D. and thickness 34mm. I also found this old thread where they mention Porsche parts numbers for 2 bearings. Probably for the main shaft and the pinion. It's a post of 2006 so maybe things have changed about availabilities. Also the O.D. of the pinion bearing is 93 mm. The other dimensions will come in a few days when I'll will be done disassembling them (I hope)." and some other fool said: "Here is some info on the bearing part numbers you mentioned: A finders fee offered ! It is an *** Volvo or Mercedes truck axle bearing ? https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...-bearings.html http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsc...-bearings.html These come up as 964 /993 bearings? Hopefully others are better than me at hunting for you. "

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Looks like Pelican went up on their bearing to $395 !! The input shaft bearing dimensions are 35x72x34 with split outer race The pinion shaft bearing dimensions is 48x93x37 with split outer race and has a notch on the outer race for select fit shims. The other bearings I have seen with these dimensions are wheel bearings that fit various models and are split inner race ( for preloading the bearing) and of course has no notch.Both bearings are quite unique, the split outer race is not a common design.

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It was Porsche Qu�bec and yes the price surprised me too. Maybe they buy their bearings in China now?? lol

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LOL.. I doubt China is copying these bearings, there are not enough volume for them to be interested. (I think )

Thanks to Porschetech3 it seems we've established that hunting for generic bearings in this application is futile. But we can still all rush to Quebec to buy the real deal at the best price :-). This was a really useful discussion Ptech3, thanks for helping out. But I am still puzzled why when the Google search using the *** part number on the bearing removed ( 572548C.H84 The dimensions are 72mm O.D. 35 mm I.D. and thickness 34mm. ) produces a hit -yet it is not the correct part. http://ytgbearing.com/Product/showpr...ing-87290.html I asked for a quote and will copy it to the Forum if I get a response. Others have tried and failed: http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsc...-bearings.html

Unfortunately no deal from Porsche. The prices I got were for the mistake in post #16 of that thread : https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...l#post13949960 The pinion bearing was much more expensive. I decided to buy it there anyway cause they have been kind taking back the wrong part without restocking fees when it was my mistake. I also won't have to wait for shipping.

Yea I kinda thought that deal was too good to be true.Porsche dealers usually can't sell that cheap, unless they buy in great bulk or somehow like Suncoast Porsche seems to do.

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So I can tell from the design of those bearings they are actually a thrust bearing, which in itself is nothing special but this type of unitized design isn't common in industry, mostly automotive. I am quite certain are not going to follow standard ISO bearing dimensions by what I've seen from the earlier posts. What does that mean? Generally that means a person is SOL as the bearing manufacturer typically will make them proprietary to the OEM. However, the earlier posts about these bearings being used in other applications (Volvo truck I think?) might give a chance for them to be available if a person is willing to dig and I might be that type of person. I have personal friends with Schaeffler (***) and if there is a chance of getting these things at all, I should be able to find out as I am owed me some favors. Luckily one friend in particular is a bit of a car guy (Audi TT IIRC) so he might take a personal interest in it for me. I'll do some research over the coming days and see what I can dig up. I am in the middle of a few big projects right now (both personal and professional.. just bought a new house!) so this won't be my #1 priority for a while, but I'll start the ball rolling. AM, do you still have the old ones for me to look at if I need to? I'm in Alberta. That is text-book spalling and that bearing was well underway to failure.

Thank you for helping Spud !

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Yes I still have the whole pinion bearing and all the remains of the main shaft bearing (cause I cut it to be able to separate the shafts. I could ship them to you if you want. I'm in Qu�bec. It should not cost more than 15$ to 20$ I will be glad to pay to ship that to you if it could help the cause. When you won't need them anymore I could want to get them back maybe. Let me know

If it comes to that I'd just ask you to throw it on Puro collect on my account. The photos gave me a pretty good idea of what it is and with the #s on it, I hope my Schaeffler guys can work off them. Will let you know.

No problem. Let me know if you need them.

I spoke to my buddy at Schaeffler and he's doing some digging for me. I'll let you guys know. Cross your fingers, but don't hold your breath.

Heard back from my *** friend. Both those 2 bearings are under no uncertain terms OEM and beholden to Porsche. If other applications use them, they are either under a different part # or actually aren't the same bearing.

Hmmm ...but the part number is the same. Unfortunately (?) the Chinese bearing source taht listed the part number did not respond to a request for a price.

Do you have a link for that? I must have missed it.

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See Post #63 above on this page and several other links in this same Thread.

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I see. I suspect that Chinese bearing company has some sort of an internet spider to scour part #s just to create web pages offering them. Even if the Chinese would make that bearing, I can't imagine too many people here would want to be guinea pigs for it. The proper Schaeffler/*** bearing is OEM. I got that info right from the company that makes the bearings for them. It's going to be a Porsche only bearing until Porsche relinquishes control of it or someone reverse engineers it as I can't imagine Porsche or *** are going to give specifications for it which isn't simple as there is a lot more to a bearing than boundary dimensions. I don't see readily accessible substitutes working for it either without modification and best guesses. These links were shortened so I can't read them. I'm curious to read about these being used as axle bearings.

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The bearings that have been mentioned that are being used as wheel bearings fit various Honda older Fords some Volvo ect. They have the same dimensions and are dual row angular thrust type bearings just like the Porsche trans bearings , but the difference is the wheels bearings are split inner race . The inner race is "squeezed" by the axle nut to produce the desired preload. The Porsche trans bearings are split outer race that is "squeezed" by the retaining plate to produce the desired preload. Also the Porsche bearings have a "notched" outer race for select fit shims. The chinese bearings are the wheel bearing design (split inner race) that are very plentifull and have been around for a long time. I have no idea why the Porsche bearings have the same identification number as the wheel bearings except that they are dimensionaly the same, but the differences make them non-interchangeable.

Great info. I had seem the inner/outer split story before but did not grasp the significance. Thank you

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I just had a revelation that could result in a interchangeable bearing solution for the upper input bearing. The upper input bearing part number 99630280700 does not have the "notch" in the outer race like the lower pinion bearing 99630280800 does, so the only other caveat is the split outer race. A pair of single row angular universally matched or precision matched (DF-X) for preload, mounted in the" X" configuration ie. face-to-face (instead of back-to-back like a wheel bearing in the "O" configuration ) would be a suitable solution. Just decide if you want them sealed or open. Spud72 should call his contact at *** and see what a pair of universally matched 7207 or 6207 35x72x17 bearings could be priced at.

We already studied that solution but unfortunately it came a few dollars away from the price of OEM bearing so I decided that I would'nt risk the success of the rebuild only for a few bucks.

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Right... If there is not a significant savings them the OEM is a better decision.

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It's not that simple. Angular contacts have specific contact angles and without knowing how that the OEM bearing is built as I would certainly not recommend a simple pair of 7207 in their place.... and certainly not conrad 6xxx deep groove bearings. If you can't get the right bearings, don't make do. It would be different if their certainly not available anymore and have to make something work, but it's not worth it at this point in my opinion.

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Your Right !! I forgot that the 6207 was NOT an angular contact bearing, Its just a plane deep groove ball bearing. I would never suggest making do, A pair of quality 7207 with matched preload and Identical contact angle ( usually 30 degrees or 40 degrees on manual trans thrust bearing) would be a viable alternative. I would use it in my personal car IF there were substantial savings. I probably would not use it in a customer car .

You guys are amazing - you never give up. I love how you keep trying to find better solutions to this bearing challenge. Thank you.

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That's part of the problem though, without an OEM drawing or an analysis of the bearing, who knows what the proper contact angle of the OEM bearing is. Would it work with the improper angle? Sure, but for how long? Furthermore, it is giving up on the sealed aspect of the bearing which I assume is something you're willing to do but if not a sealed angular contact like that is not a common critter. Is that a problem for this? I don't know. Either way, it's sort of an intellectual exercise more than anything at this point considering the proper ones are still available.

Removing the seal on the bearing A very talented Forum member (now works for Singer)who worked on this issue some years ago removed the seals and some later Posts indicate the same strategy. The conclusion was that it was worth the risk. The underlying assumption was that the unsealed bearings would last longer than the usual 80k+ miles for the factory-greased and sealed version. Who knows?

Hey guys. Great thread! Thanks Nick. I have a -99 996 C2 which has a whining manual transmission 199000kms driven. All the symptoms match to a broken pinion bearing. I did some digging and found out that Audi uses pinion bearing with same measurements and even split outer race as Porsche. I do not know if it has a notch for the shim though... Does anyone have a picture of that notch in Porsche bearing? Number 4 in the picture: http://audi.7zap.com/en/rdw/audi+a6+.../3/311-311070/ Audi part code: 0a3 311 133 Price for that bearing here in Finland is around 140€uros. This might be worth checking out!

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Check my thread : https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...nt-my-diy.html You will find photos of the pinion bearing

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Looks pretty similar to me! https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...ing/0a3311133/

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And less expensive

Well done Coltti and Europorsche914 -your split bearing find is an excellent way of breaking the Porsche price extortion. Thank you for sharing. Wake up ECS Tuning - advertise the part as fitting Porsche gearboxes - if it does ??? https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...ing/0a3311133/

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See my thread for nose cone/rear transmission cover removal: http://986forum.com/forums/diy-proje...on-repair.html Design is the same. Just loosen detent screw almost completely and rotate external gear selector as you pull rear cover away. Detent might fall out so best to do this while transmission is horizontal unless you are experienced.

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Update: My local VW dealer can get this pinion bearing (0A3-311-133) in a week for under $140 CDN. I'm going to order one through them and report back. The parts guy said it was for a 2003-2005 Passat 6-speed Has anyone managed to verify that this pinion bearing will fit the 996 gearbox?

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If I'm not mistaken, that bearing will fit the upper (input shaft) 73mm, the lower pinion bearing is 93mm. I found a supplier for the OEM *** 93mm bearing and bought a couple extra a few years ago. I can send you the 93mm pinion bearing for $265usd.

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The VW parts catalog description shows it's a 93mm bearing so it should be the same as the lower/larger pinion bearing. Will find out this week when the bearing arrived. Here is the link to the catalog: https://audi.7zap.com/en/rdw/audi+a6.../3/311-311070/

Excellent detective work guys. Thank you for sharing the details- without which future users would be unable to do this repair .Rennlist at it's best.

Picked up the Audi/VW bearing and looks exactly like the larger 996 pinion bearing. Has the same one piece inner race with a split outer race. The outer race has the step on the pinion gear side and the OD and the width are the same. Will check ID when the old bearing comes off but from the VW catalog parts description, it should be the same ID as the 996 bearing. The bearing is made by ***. There are some other numbers that I will make note later. Taxes in it was $137 CDN. at my local VW dealership. Since this bearing was also a pinion bearing on a 6-speed Passat, I'm confident that it is the same bearing as the 996 one from Porsche but at a much lower price. Pelican Parts sells this bearing for $402 USD. I got mine for around $100 USD at the local VW dealer so there was no shipping cost. That's one heck of a price difference since VW makes money on this too. Even at $265, this is 2.5 times more than at the Vee Dub dealer.

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Nice score !! But that means I'll lose on these extra bearings I got..lol There is an Audi/Vw part number for the upper 73mm bearing also for about that price, but I can't find my notes, anyway that means for about $200 usd you can replace both big bearing while your in there.. Good deal.Use to when Porsche was the only source anyone could find it would cost about $900 to buy both bearings.

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You can try putting them up on eBay and maybe they will sell at $265. I know this sucks as I was ready to PM you to get your bearing until I stumbled onto this from this tread. What I now need is the large bearing on the main shaft that looks like this one but is smaller is dimension. If I can find that, that would be awesome. Have a feeling that won't happen and I will need to fork out the Porsche tax to buy one. My other plan for that bearing is to make a tool to pull it using the inner race. This way I can re use it.

I am impressed that you manage to pull this off! I removed the front cover and quickly realized it was to much. Sent mine to Gbox and paid $2500...

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They have been up on E-bay or over a year, not many people are DIYing a G96 trans repair. If you dig in the Audi/Vw trans parts , you will find that 73mm bearing, it in there. I have so many notes from the last two decades on Porsche stuff they are scattered to where I can't find ****...lol. That part number is also in one of these pinion bearing threads.

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Awesome, I'll keep digging then. Thanks for the heads up. Give it time and the 996 owners will slowly become DIY'ers too. This is how the 928 owners were 20 years ago and then within a few years a bunch of DIY'ers started owning them. Since I bought my non running 996, 7 years ago, I have noticed the change on this forum too.

Great find on the 93mm bearing, I have been following this thread for a while, I don't suppose you guys have come up with the VAG 72mm bearing, I have sent my gearbox to be rebuilt, due to 3rd gear losing teeth and have been told I will need two new bearings, I can only assume they will be two expensive pinion and input bearings, I go up to look at it tomorrow to see which ones they are referring to but I would like to find out the 72mm bearing in advance just in case that is one of them it needs? I did spend a few hours over the weekend trying to find this elusive bearing on the VAG gearbox parts catalogs so I could post up if I came across it but I can't find anything similar?

I haven't found an input bearing either but stopped looking when I figured out how to safely remove the existing one for re use. Since I'm typing, here is a small update. Had to wait 2 weeks to get a replacement 2nd gear shifter ring detent spring (the 3 small ones holding the detent ***** inside the shifter ring. Broke one of them when trying to re assemble the shifter ring. Part came in yesterday so hopefully I can re start working on this in the next couple days.

OK, I have a contact who says he should be able to get one but I'm not holding my breath. The numbers on my input bearing are 372548 CH84 Made in Brazil by *** another ID on there is PS 13 I've been up to see my gearbox guy today, he says he can't get the input bearing off without cutting it off as they can't get both shafts in their press, I told him to cut it off which is a pity as it's still in good condition. How did you get yours off as I might be able to stop him from butchering it if there is another way?

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May I ask what was replaced in your trans for 2500.00

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See the pictures on post #45 and ready some of my description before and after that post. https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...-my-diy-3.html

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Pinion bearing, 2nd syncro and I also had them change transmission mount. Biggest difference was that the noise was all gone, I do tell myself that it shifts smoother as well.

Ouch!! Looks like they did the same as I'm planning to do and reused the input shaft bearing (only replaced the pinion bearing). You can save $2K if you do all this work yourself and buy the VW bearing.

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I was very happy to pay $2000 for this. I did some research but realized that I couldn't pull it off, seems like you have to tear down the entire gearbox.The assembly of this gearbox was to complicated for me and gears seems to be pressed on with a super mega press. here is a thread on how to do it. Good luck and post some pictures! The more information the more people can DIY this. Edit: Did you already do yours? I noticed you posted something in the other thread?

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Ah great, I didn't realize am's excellent thread had also been updated this year, I can see your puller, great idea. Looking closely and I think you have managed to remove both outer races and all the bearings, so it just clamps onto the inner race and drags it off?.

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Yes, it just clamps to the inner race and drags it off by using and air impact gun.

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I'm in the finishing stages of putting mine back together. The bearing is already swapped and the gears are almost all pressed back onto the shaft. Honestly, it looks more complicated than it really is. You do need a level of understanding how to do this but it isn't that bad.

Came across a You Tube 996 transmission rebuild series. Looks like it was posted last summer and shows a lot what it takes to take apart one of these units. This will help anyone in the future that wants to do this work themselves. The episode where the spring loaded ***** are installed starts at the 5:25 mark. You Tube Well worth the watch before tackling any internal work.

Good info (but OMG, mute the music). The "stones" in his gearbox are a different shape than in mine were (mine were more rectangular, not rounded). His technique is awesome, I struggled with this for hours and hours. Don't let this video fool you, those spring/ball/stone things are a HUGE pain. Hands down the most frustrating thing I've ever done on any car.

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Mine are rectangular too. Now here is the interesting part if forgot to mention. I broke one of the springs a couple weeks ago so ordered 3 new ones from the dealer and picked them up op Monday. Last night when I was starting to put them in, noticed that the new ones are slightly shorter. About one turn of the coil shorter. Checked the part number on the shipping bag and they are the correct ones. Looks like Porsche updated this part and now they are slightly shorter. This should make installation easier regardless of the method.

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After struggling with my nose cone, I found the single online reference to this mystery 13mm bolt and figured my troubles were over....So, removed the bolt and still no nose cone relief! Anyone know why mine won't come off? My car is a 2000 Boxster S (6 speed) and my problem for doing all this is that the 2nd gear detent wouldn't come out (and still won't come out) so that is still installed in the case. My magnet has metal shavings but not sure how much is normal, if any. Anyway, is there something else that may be holding the nose cone on? Or is it just a matter of those internal pieces in the pics above getting stuck on something?

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Got it... It was a bent detent and broken "shift segment" as Porsche calls it that was interfering with the gear selector.

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Did you ever locate the VW part number for the 73mm bearing? Need to do my pinion bearing as its making all kinds of terrible noise and figured I may as well change all bearings while I'm in there.

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The input shaft double-row ball bearing (actually 72 mm) is AFAIK unique to the G96, and is not used in other VW/Audi or Getrag transmissions. It's also not available in the aftermarket, again AFAIK. The 93 mm pinion shaft bearing was indeed used in other Getrag transmissions such as the Cayman / Boxster G87 and non-S G81, as well as Audi transmissions. It has been available in the aftermarket but supplies have dried up, and it appears to be unavailable from Audi as well. On that 93 mm bearing, there were two versions used. Most G96 and G86.20 boxes came through with a bearing that had a 2.50 mm step in the outer race facing the differential, where the S3 shim sits. Some boxes, I think just early ones, came without a step and had cases machined 2.50 mm deeper to match. If you have one of those "early" cases and install the "late" bearing, you'll have to compensate. I had a run of 2.50 mm shims made for me, which I prefer to stacking a bunch of the available factory shims. Bonus tip: you'll notice that the S4 shim from the factory has a smaller ID than the S3 shims available, although Porsche calls for using the S3 shims in the S4 position, which is fine. If you're ambitious, you can grab some early 944-series S3 shims instead, which offer a smaller ID and a bit better support for the bearing.