strut "bearings" ?

[THe_DeTAiL3R]

I was told that my car might have bad strut bearings (or something like that). It pulls to the side, usually the right, but sometimes it will pull to the left. Occationally it will go straight . So I don't think it's simply out of alignment (and the tires look okay). What is involved, if I were to get a shop so change them what would be the labor rate etc., and parts involved? I'd need to do my struts while I'm at it.

[19Cutlass94]

Im assuming your talking about the strut bearing plate? Well to describe where it is, its on top of the spring, by the insulator. Youll need a spring compressor and youll have to remove the strut to get to it. I didnt actually replace this is part ( although it was done on my car ) I just replaced the struts. But thats where it is.

 

 

And its not actually a 'beaing' is like two metal plates with rubber on each opposite side and they call it a bearing plate.... NAPA sells it. Ill get a part number for you real quick

[19Cutlass94]

NAPA part # 261-3230 NCP

 

Comes with the insulator. This is whats in my car.

[Guest TurboSedan]

Im assuming your talking about the strut bearing plate? Well to describe where it is, its on top of the spring, by the insulator. Youll need a spring compressor and youll have to remove the strut to get to it. I didnt actually replace this is part ( although it was done on my car ) I just replaced the struts. But thats where it is.

 

 

And its not actually a 'beaing' is like two metal plates with rubber on each opposite side and they call it a bearing plate.... NAPA sells it. Ill get a part number for you real quick

 

actually, the strut bearing plate is on the BOTTOM of the spring. it's just a metal plate that the spring sits on with a bearing in the center. no rubber part at all.

 

the stuff located at the top of the spring is simply a rubber spring insulator, spring mount, and strut mount. no bearings.

[Guest TurboSedan]

NAPA part # 261-3230 NCP

 

Comes with the insulator. This is whats in my car.

 

i looked at that part on napaonline.com and i think NAPA must have it listed wrong because there is no bearing in that part (i just replaced mine too).

 

i went to rockauto.com and found this:

 

Monroe PN# 902994 (LH) & PN# 902995 (RH) - price is $25.79 each.

 

http://info.rockauto.com/Monroe/Detail.html?902994.jpg

 

looks like it includes the lower spring plate, strut bearing, and strut boot but no lower rubber spring isolator.

 

if this is indeed the part you need to replace you'll need to completely remove the strut/knuckle assembly, remove strut mount, remove the springs with a spring compressor, and then just pull the old bearing plate off and slap the new one on and then reassemble everything and go get the car realigned. yeah, kind of a PITA. if you're going to do all that i'd replace the strut cartridges, strut mounts, upper and lower spring isolators, and balljoints while you're at it. might be a good time to install some Intrax lowering springs while you're at it and the 11.25" big brake upgrade if you're car doesn't already have them (11.25" brakes were added in late 1995 W-bodies so your car might not already have them).

 

 

 

[Guest TurboSedan]

I was told that my car might have bad strut bearings (or something like that). It pulls to the side, usually the right, but sometimes it will pull to the left. Occationally it will go straight

 

after re-reading this post it sounds more to me like the problem is worn out inner and/or outer tierods.

[19Cutlass94]

NAPA part # 261-3230 NCP

 

Comes with the insulator. This is whats in my car.

 

i looked at that part on napaonline.com and i think NAPA must have it listed wrong because there is no bearing in that part (i just replaced mine too).

 

The bearing in that part in the thin round one. The other is the insulator for the strut. I could show you better pictures of it, but since your not at NAPA, its a little hard to do But basically theres two metal plates like you said, but each side has rubber on them. Those two plates side on each other and they call it a bearing.

[19Cutlass94]

NAPA call its a strut bearing plate insulator with bearing.

[Guest TurboSedan]

NAPA call its a strut bearing plate insulator with bearing.

 

so does it actually have a real bearing or do they just say it's a bearing? i'm referring to the part on top of the spring.

[19Cutlass94]

Its a bearing.

[THe_DeTAiL3R]

Aside from "memory steer" would there be any other symptoms of bad strut bearing plate?

 

Maybe I should just get one of the mechanics to road test it...

[19Cutlass94]

When mine was bad, there was this horrible noise everytime you turned the wheel, and you could feel it through the floor of the car with your foot.

[Guest TurboSedan]

i'm having a hard time with your explainations

 

Im assuming your talking about the strut bearing plate? Well to describe where it is, its on top of the spring, by the insulator.....But thats where it is.

 

NO, the strut bearing plate is below the spring.

 

so does it actually have a real bearing or do they just say it's a bearing? i'm referring to the part on top of the spring as you mentioned above.

 

Its a bearing.

 

and then...

 

And its not actually a 'beaing' is like two metal plates with rubber on each opposite side and they call it a bearing plate

 

so is it a bearing or not?

 

so what you're saying is that there is a bearing in the part that the strut mount goes into?

 

 

it looked totally solid to me and doesn't spin (i mean how could it? it's bolted to the strut tower). and there is no bearing in the strut mount, since it's bolted solidly to the strut shaft.

 

the only bearing in the front suspension is below the spring, ie the strut bearing plate.

[R Dubya]

sometimes bad ball joints can cause this problem with steering. There actually is a bearing up there, it is enclosed and is basically what allows the struts to roll in the direction of the tierods that pull them. I know because I accidentally busted one before, and exposed them. They are similar on N bodies as well.

[19Cutlass94]

I meant bottom

 

the only bearing in the front suspension is below the spring, ie the strut bearing plate.

Thats what I was talking about. Sorry I missed it when you said bottom, thats what I meant.

[Guest TurboSedan]

There actually is a bearing up there, it is enclosed and is basically what allows the struts to roll in the direction of the tierods that pull them. I know because I accidentally busted one before, and exposed them.

 

now i did not know that! i guess i didn't look at that part closely enough. my bad

[Guest TurboSedan]

I meant bottom

 

the only bearing in the front suspension is below the spring, ie the strut bearing plate.

Thats what I was talking about. Sorry I missed it when you said bottom, thats what I meant.

 

yeah i was just confused is all. looks like we were both right after all thanks to Ryan pointing that out in his last post. so there IS a bearing above and below the spring

 

learn something new everyday

[Guest TurboSedan]

sometimes bad ball joints can cause this problem with steering.

 

fwiw, i replaced the balljoints in my Cutty last week and it is now MUCH easier to turn the steering wheel!

[joey b]

def sounds like that bearing plate to me. Other symptoms may be that you will hear a loud clunking sound as you turn the wheel and the wheel may be resistant to turning. You will have to remove the strut assembly and dissect the whole spring assembly to get to it.

[R Dubya]

wait, I need to clarify. I the N bodies there is a bearing on the top plate, but on my TGP struts there is not one on the top plate IIRC. The "actual bearing surface" is the rubber or plastic ring that sits inside of the lower spring perch, that is what allows it to turn. My bad. I was confused. The N bodies do not have a lower spring bearing, just a perch for the spring. Those struts come as entire units, unlike ours, which have inserts.

 

My apologies.

[mfewtrail]

The bearings will produce a "whirring" type noise when bad, it's a very distinct sound. You'll most likely hear it when turning onto a street or into a driveway w/ a little speed(say 10mph+).

 

If you find out you need bearings and whatnot, check out the link Josh posted. Rockauto carries a lot of our suspension parts(AC Delco brand & others) for much better prices than your typical part chains.

 

EDIT: I don't think "whirring" is the best description of the noise the strut bearings make on these cars. It's a little bit like a grinding sound and you might notice a little more steering resistance w/ a bad one. Next time I work on a car w/ a bad bearing, I'll record a video of the noise.

[THe_DeTAiL3R]

Hmm.. well the only other symptom (aside from the 'memory' steer) is it makes a little "clunk" sound when I crank the wheel all the way to one side or the other. It's not very loud though, I think it might just be a normal thing.

 

I'll have to check the tires but since I don't put on alot of mileage (mostly city driving) I dunno if the tires will tell me anything. Can bad inner tie rods make the car pull the side, with out causing wear on the tires? When I do oil changes (usually 3 times a year) and change my summer/winter rims I usually yank the wheels side to side, and up and down to see if balljoint/tie rods are good.

[joey b]

on my 95 the strut bearing were completely TRASH!!. when I disassembled the strut assembly the balls that made up the bearing fell out, like all 10 the remained of the approx 50. I would also like to add that the rack was trash in that car-- likely due to the strain (memory steer) of the strut bearings. When I would turn the wheels the bearing assembly would shift and I would hear a clunk.

 

I had to replace one on my 92 and before I did it would just rub that ear on the front side of the strut against the wheel well when I was turning or if I hit a bump. No other symptoms.

[Q-Ball]

are the bearing plates just for the front end? For me, I was told I need new inner tie rods, lower ball joints and bearing plates.

[Q-Ball]

 

if this is indeed the part you need to replace you'll need to completely remove the strut/knuckle assembly, remove strut mount, remove the springs with a spring compressor, and then just pull the old bearing plate off and slap the new one on and then reassemble everything and go get the car realigned. yeah, kind of a PITA. if you're going to do all that i'd replace the strut cartridges, strut mounts, upper and lower spring isolators, and balljoints while you're at it. might be a good time to install some Intrax lowering springs while you're at it and the 11.25" big brake upgrade if you're car doesn't already have them (11.25" brakes were added in late 1995 W-bodies so your car might not already have them).

 

How do you even have room to get the spring compressor on when everything is still attatched?