wheel bearing? I think.. need help!

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vicls

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So anyways haven't been on here for awhile. Is there a way i can check if my wheel bearing is not good anymore. I know the usual way is jacking the car and moving the tire and see if there is any play. Because i notice when i do a sharp turns and put pressure on the passenger side it makes like a hallow/ grind noise.

But it only makes that noise when i got my rims on not with my stock ones. How much do wheel bearings cost on a ls and how hard it is. Last time i did it on my eclipse it was very easy and cost me only like $150. Also when i hit the breaks sometimes i get some vibration on that wheel too..... but i think that because my caliper is rubbing on something. But ya i need some help guys... thanks!
 
vicls said:
So anyways haven't been on here for awhile. Is there a way i can check if my wheel bearing is not good anymore. I know the usual way is jacking the car and moving the tire and see if there is any play. Because i notice when i do a sharp turns and put pressure on the passenger side it makes like a hallow/ grind noise.

But it only makes that noise when i got my rims on not with my stock ones. How much do wheel bearings cost on a ls and how hard it is. Last time i did it on my eclipse it was very easy and cost me only like $150. Also when i hit the breaks sometimes i get some vibration on that wheel too..... but i think that because my caliper is rubbing on something. But ya i need some help guys... thanks!
Click to expand...


well if your caliper is rubbing, that could be the noise your hearing?
 
I just checked and its't not that. Its like making a hallow/grinding now here and there. Is there a way to check if its my wheel bearing? How complex is it too fix?
 
front wheel bearings are easy, as long as they come out of the knuckle easy. a lot get welded in by corrosion so they take a lot to get them out. if your replacing them you can just beat on the back of them. you can get the from the sponsors over there, and I think they are ~$100 --->>>>>>

take wheel, caliper, and rotor off.
4 bolts hold the wheel bearing in, slide it, or beat it out.
make sure you disconnect the wheel speed sensor.
clean up the edges of the hole and slide the new one in.
reconnect wheel speed sensor.
install rotor, caliper, wheel.
done.
 
Jack up the car so the wheel is just OFF the ground. If you can move the wheel vertical, its your ball joints, move it horizontal its your hub / bearing.
 
So changing the front wheel bearings and joints aren't hard? I thought you had to buy the whole unit for like $1000 , unless that guy is an idiot. If the bearing is just $100 i'll get her done, first i gotta check.
 
Wheel bearing/hub assembly runs aabout 130 per side + shipping IIRC. I need to replace on of my fronts.

The ball joints have to be purchased with the whole control arm for like 400 bucks per side, if buying from the dealer. You can get euromarque's ball joints from ebay for 69.99, and if you mention LVC, they will ship for free.

The easiest way to swap the balljoints is to take off the control arm, and bring the whole thing to the shop and have them press in the new one. They'll do it for 20-30 bucks. I used a ball joint press, and it took me over an hour to get the old ball joint out/new one in. But the C-Clamp piece on the press I was using was warped, so that made my job a lot tougher.
 
Oh, and as far as jacking up the wheel and moving it:

Put your hands at 12 and 6, and try to move it back and forth. If it wobbles, that's your ball joint.

then put your hands at 3 and 9, and try the same thing. If it wobbles that direction, it's your outer tie rods.
 
Okay guys thanks... first I'm going to check too see what it is exactly. I think its a wheel bearing.
 
Did it start as a wop wop wop wop sound when making a turn? Does it only happen when turning one direction?
 
when i put pressure on that side it makes like grind/ hallow kinda noise. when i stop it makes like a vibration noise on that side only when i stop fast or going at high speeds, not when i'm driving at normal speeds and stopping nice and slow. So there is definately something going on that passener front side.
 
pektel said:
Did it start as a wop wop wop wop sound when making a turn? Does it only happen when turning one direction?
Click to expand...

nah doesn't make any wop wop noise when turning just when pressure on it like grind/hallow noise.. i think its the bearing not the outter tire rod
 
So i jacked the tire a bit and trying moving it horizontal and vertical NO PLAY!! WHAT CAN IT BE! Its like when i hit a pothole it so much more noticeable on that side... :S.... i dunno what it cane be..... There was no play so i guess its not the tire rod or wheel bearing? It makes a grinding noise on that side...
 
check all the wheels, it may echo thru to the other side...also, when mine first started, there was no play in my wheel...i drove on it for about 6 months, and when I went to change it last week, it had all kinds of play
 
vicls said:
So i jacked the tire a bit and trying moving it horizontal and vertical NO PLAY!! WHAT CAN IT BE! Its like when i hit a pothole it so much more noticeable on that side... :S.... i dunno what it cane be..... There was no play so i guess its not the tire rod or wheel bearing? It makes a grinding noise on that side...
Click to expand...

how loud is the noise, can it be the brakes? you could take the brakes off. then spin the rotor to see if you hear anything
 
Outkast said:
check all the wheels, it may echo thru to the other side...also, when mine first started, there was no play in my wheel...i drove on it for about 6 months, and when I went to change it last week, it had all kinds of play
Click to expand...

thats what i was exactly thinking... i know it can't be the brakes i changed them recently. I think there is no play now but i know its going to be even worse later on. I'm going to take it to my buddies shop and double check and check all 4 wheels but im 95% certain its coming from the front passenger side. I'm hoping its the bearing....
 
Outkast said:
check all the wheels, it may echo thru to the other side...also, when mine first started, there was no play in my wheel...i drove on it for about 6 months, and when I went to change it last week, it had all kinds of play
Click to expand...

by started did it make the same kinda noise as i explained?
 
Just some thoughts

Loosen and re-torque your lug nuts to the correct settings. Check your inflation pressure. Move the tire to a different position, does the noise change? If the same noise at the same location, you don't have a tire problem. Check your recent brake work, loosen and re-torque the caliper bolts. Check for spots and drag lines on the rotor, check wear on the new brake pads, check shims and brake pads for smooth operation, nothing binding or bent?
 
good suggestions... seems like my front tire kinda getting rounded off or getting flatter quicker :S
 
tireman said:
Loosen and re-torque your lug nuts to the correct settings. Check your inflation pressure. Move the tire to a different position, does the noise change? If the same noise at the same location, you don't have a tire problem. Check your recent brake work, loosen and re-torque the caliper bolts. Check for spots and drag lines on the rotor, check wear on the new brake pads, check shims and brake pads for smooth operation, nothing binding or bent?
Click to expand...

exactly what I was going to suggest... the shims make a hell of a racket when not operating correctly

also another thing I was going to suggest...

if you do end up replacing your tie rod make sure you count the number of turns on your jamb nut and make a mental note of how many turns you made.... because once you install the new one if your jamb nut isn't in the same position it was before your toe will be WAY off and you will need an alignment

another good thing to check would be the jamb nut itself... I remember the dealership didn't tighten mine all the way and it worked itself lose throwing off my toe... although I doubt the noise factors into that
 
so ya i think its my tire.. it was low on air and i think its loosening air somewhere.. dunno where :( and its a brand new tire! but it was riding fine when i put air in it.. i know my rim is rubbing on the caliper as well so i gotta figure out a way to get that fixed i still got check the shims and stuff tho..

No clue why the tire is loosening air i see no cracks or hear any leaks.. i guess its a slow leak or that rubbing is causing the tire too loose air faster i guess.....
 
pektel said:
Oh, and as far as jacking up the wheel and moving it:

Put your hands at 12 and 6, and try to move it back and forth. If it wobbles, that's your ball joint.

then put your hands at 3 and 9, and try the same thing. If it wobbles that direction, it's your outer tie rods.
Click to expand...

mine had a bad hub, and it moved all of those ways and a few more to boot.
 
so i changed tires still no difference.... i noticed i can move the caliper a bit and the rotor could that be the problem. Like is there not suppose to be any play with the rotor or it is too thin? Like i can move the caliper and rotor i think its because its pretty thin..could this be my problem?
 
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