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Strut Bearing Failing?

If you replace the TWO bearings per frt wheels, you also need to replace the race for each bearing.

Just how much natural mechanical skills do you possess? Because installing the races STRAIGHT in the hubs , with out damaging the races.... may be above your skill level (judging by how you've never done a wheel brg replacement)

I don't want to replace anything that I don't KNOW is bad..so I'll see if I can't tighten the gland nut (once I figure out what it is) and shim up the top nut.

I have the skill to replace the bearing, I believe. I'd just need to read up on it.
 
Wait..how do you know what Nut I'm talking about? I popped the cap off the nut (by the rubber strut mounts..?) and tightened that nut. That ones not the gland nut?

Because the strut gland nut is not tightened with an impact. Special tool, pipe wrench, channel locks, etc. But not impact.
 
Because the strut gland nut is not tightened with an impact. Special tool, pipe wrench, channel locks, etc. But not impact.

Yeah I finally realized that after I found out what it was.. I will tighten it tomorrow if I get the chance. It needs to be tightened with the vehicles full weight on the ground, correct?
 
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Yeah I finally realized that after I found out what it was.. I will tighten it tomorrow if I get the chance. It needs to be tightened with the vehicles full weight on the ground, correct?

NO..needs to be raised off the ground.

Use the search function and search front wheel brg adjustment OR replacement This has been covered on TB a number of times.

If you do it incorrectly you can really screw things up.
 
I had that clunk on one side after I replaced the struts. I had a gland nut that had about 2 more turns left before being fully tight but that caused the strut to be loose enough to clunk.
 
NO..needs to be raised off the ground.

Use the search function and search front wheel brg adjustment OR replacement This has been covered on TB a number of times.

If you do it incorrectly you can really screw things up.

He's talking about the strut gland nut, based on what he quoted (me).

You can tighten the gland nut with the car on the ground, but how would you reach it? You need the wheel off so you can get to it, so support the car on a jackstand and use a pipe wrench. They work quite well (assuming you still have stock-type front springs that have enough space to get a pipe wrench in there.)

Front wheel bearings do fail. I've only lost one on our endurance race car, because our inner grease seal was missing I think. Otherwise, never had an issue with one because I monitor the condition of the front end and will adjust them and/or repack & adjust them as needed. They are serviceable. I've never had to replace a bad one on one of my cars because I've never let one get to that point. Even on my autocross car with big tires, no problems even after years of hard driving. I don't consider them a weak point, if maintained.

The symptom I noticed when the bearing was failing on our endurance race car was a long brake pedal, but it pumped up firm and felt fine until a few more corners. The wheel/hub/rotor was wobbling on the spindle so it pushed the brake pads back. Pedal sank almost to the floor to get the pads back up to the rotor, but then it was firm because the brake system was fine. Barely made it around to the pits on that lap, by the time I was on the hot pit there was smoke from the front wheel and the rotor was digging into the aluminum caliper. Still can't believe the caliper didn't break. It sounded bad and looked worse. Ended up having to cut the inner race off the spindle, but then was able to install a new bearing and continue racing.
 
He's talking about the strut gland nut, based on what he quoted (me).

You can tighten the gland nut with the car on the ground, but how would you reach it? You need the wheel off so you can get to it, so support the car on a jackstand and use a pipe wrench. They work quite well (assuming you still have stock-type front springs that have enough space to get a pipe wrench in there.)

Front wheel bearings do fail. I've only lost one on our endurance race car, because our inner grease seal was missing I think. Otherwise, never had an issue with one because I monitor the condition of the front end and will adjust them and/or repack & adjust them as needed. They are serviceable. I've never had to replace a bad one on one of my cars because I've never let one get to that point. Even on my autocross car with big tires, no problems even after years of hard driving. I don't consider them a weak point, if maintained.

The symptom I noticed when the bearing was failing on our endurance race car was a long brake pedal, but it pumped up firm and felt fine until a few more corners. The wheel/hub/rotor was wobbling on the spindle so it pushed the brake pads back. Pedal sank almost to the floor to get the pads back up to the rotor, but then it was firm because the brake system was fine. Barely made it around to the pits on that lap, by the time I was on the hot pit there was smoke from the front wheel and the rotor was digging into the aluminum caliper. Still can't believe the caliper didn't break. It sounded bad and looked worse. Ended up having to cut the inner race off the spindle, but then was able to install a new bearing and continue racing.
Wow, my problem seems a bit less severe. Just a but of a wobble/vibration noise over bumps. I might as well repack wheel bearings if they're not too hard to get to.
 
All this overthinking is a pleasant diversion from work, but I'd hate to see you wind up tearing the whole thing apart. Re-packing is a nice sunny Saturday morning plan, but you just want the wheel to be tight for now.

A front wheel bearing can withstand an adjustment or two over its multi-hundred-thousand mile existence without needing overhaul. Really. Just pull out the cotter pin and see how far you can turn the nut tighter to gauge whether it needs adjustment.

Edit: You don't need to remove the wheel. Just get it a bit off of the ground.

Do this by hand, not with a breaker bar. Just fingers to start with, or go easy with an adjustable wrench or channel lock pliers. I use the same ones I used to grab the dust cap and straighten and pull the cotter pin.

Just don't leave it that tight after finding whether it cures that noise you generated by pounding the tire at 12 o'clock. And if you ever hear these singing to you as you go around the cloverleaves, then get them changed.
 
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^ :nod:

Finger tight only, then put the pin back in, put the wheel back on and wrangle it around to check for play, then bend the pin, and reassemble.
 
I definitely like to have the wheel on the hub to gauge how free the hub turns. I can't tell when just spinning the hub, always feels too tight.

I'll use a socket on a ratchet, but hold the ratchet near the socket end and snug the castle nut down, then back it off a little bit. You don't want play, but you don't want preload either. It takes touch. With the wheel on, you can feel if it spins freely or if it drags a bit. You can also feel for play more easily with the wheel on the hub (snug down a couple of lugnuts).

I'd still suggest verifying the strut gland nut in the top of the strut tube is tight before popping the grease cap off the spindle to mess with the wheel bearing. If you can feel play on the wheel at all points, then yes, likely the wheel bearing is at fault if everything else checks out.
 
Well apparently there's more to it than I thought. I'll Jack it up, tighten the gland nut and see if that fixes my problem. Next I'll check the wheel bearing.
 
-I removed the dust cap and verified that the wheel bearing nut was as finger tight as it should go, then I put it all back together.
-I attempted to tighten the gland nut with some channel locks but it didn't budge. I'll assume this means it's tight enough.
-I removed the nut on top of the strut (car on the ground) and shimmed it with some washers, but the noise remained, so I removed the washers and put everything back together.

I think I'm overthinking this, so I took a video of the tie rod end while my father turned the steering wheel back and forth. I know a worn outer tie rod can cause steering wheel noise and play, but will it cause a 'pop' noise over bumps as well? I always thought ball joints made the pop over bumps.
Warning, video is kinda loud.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/X4dJF3Ywyxw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
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