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suspension questions


sl3196

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I took the gtp in for an alignment today and they said i had some bad tie rod ends and a wheel bearing out (so they couldn't align it). Does a wheel bearing have anything to do with alignment adjusting?? Anyways they wanted like $600 to fix it so I said fuck that haha. I haven't really ever gone through the suspension on this car and it has 175k on it, so what things should I replace while I'm in there doing these things? I don't want to spend a ton of money on it but I'm sure some shit is tore up. Thanks for any tips!

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wheel bearing are easy to replace, same with tie rods.

 

The only time i would not align a car with bad bearing is if there is a lot of play in them, tie rods are different is there is some play in either the inner or outer one they wont stay true to the alignment adjustment.

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Even slight play can screw with the alignment in the bearing.

 

But if you are aligning it, you can tell the rough amount of play the parts will cause on the toe change and still be able to align it and the +/- play will still have the toe within spec.

 

Not saying its done right at all (I hate aligning cars with loose parts) but like a lot of people come in with cars with play in parts and cant afford to replace them, but their alignment is over .25" out and dont want their newer tires worn out before they can afford to replace the parts.

 

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if your bearings are bad, you should have an audible humm/grind.

 

and $600 !! :willynilly: thats $120 in parts, $480 labor.

 

More often or not, the bearing will make no noise... and still be loose and bad

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if your bearings are bad' date=' you should have an audible humm/grind.

 

and $600 !! :willynilly: thats $120 in parts, $480 labor.

[/quote']

 

More often or not, the bearing will make no noise... and still be loose and bad

 

Very true!

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Jack up the car, and grab a firm hold of your wheel. Wobble it up and down and side to side. If there's play up and down, replace your hubs. If there's play left to right but not up and down, check your tie rods.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Jack up the car, and grab a firm hold of your wheel. Wobble it up and down and side to side. If there's play up and down, replace your hubs. If there's play left to right but not up and down, check your tie rods.

Up and down will also be a good indicator of bad ball joints as well. I'd be scared if there's that much play in a wheel bearing that you could tell buy shaking the tire like that. Never seen 'em that bad before.

So what kind of puller is needed to replace the hubs??

None unless for some reason they're rusted to hell. Usually the lightest tap with a hammer breaks 'em loose. If they are still stuck, either use a block of wood or large punch to act as a drift. In a pinch, you can thread the nut almost all the way on, but just to where it's flush with the end of the axle shaft, and pound on that a little. Be careful though as this is a easy way to booger the threads on the cv shaft and then you'll be mad.

If it's still stuck, then you'll need a jaw-type puller or equivalent. I've done countless and never had 'em stick that bad, and I live in MN (one of the salty roads/ rusty belt states)

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So what kind of puller is needed to replace the hubs??

 

no puller needed, its held on by four bolts on the backside of the knuckle.

What's all this talk of a puller in the manual??

 

# Using a hub puller, push the axle shaft splines back out of the hub and bearing assembly. Don't try to hammer on the end of the spindle (part of the outer CV-joint) or the joint and possibly also the hub bearing will be damaged. Use a hub puller to press the spindle out of the hub. It is good practice to leave the hub nut in place to protect the threads on the spindle as the hub puller presses the spindle free of the hub.

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So what kind of puller is needed to replace the hubs??

 

no puller needed, its held on by four bolts on the backside of the knuckle.

What's all this talk of a puller in the manual??

 

# Using a hub puller, push the axle shaft splines back out of the hub and bearing assembly. Don't try to hammer on the end of the spindle (part of the outer CV-joint) or the joint and possibly also the hub bearing will be damaged. Use a hub puller to press the spindle out of the hub. It is good practice to leave the hub nut in place to protect the threads on the spindle as the hub puller presses the spindle free of the hub.

 

You could do it that way, i have always used a hammer with no problems or harm/damage done.

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So what kind of puller is needed to replace the hubs??

 

no puller needed, its held on by four bolts on the backside of the knuckle.

What's all this talk of a puller in the manual??

 

# Using a hub puller, push the axle shaft splines back out of the hub and bearing assembly. Don't try to hammer on the end of the spindle (part of the outer CV-joint) or the joint and possibly also the hub bearing will be damaged. Use a hub puller to press the spindle out of the hub. It is good practice to leave the hub nut in place to protect the threads on the spindle as the hub puller presses the spindle free of the hub.

 

You could do it that way, i have always used a hammer with no problems or harm/damage done.

Ahh ok, Guess as long as I watch where I wack it?! haha

 

Anyone needing hubs check this site out: http://www.hubbearing.com/index.html

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