# Bad ball joints again?



## maroonsentra (Mar 3, 2007)

I changed my ball joints last year and all was well. Even got it aligned and sears approved it. Today I changed the oil and inspected the wheels since I noticed it making a shaky noise like a loose wheel. Boths sides have little play. Not sure if this is because I bought the cheapest brand of ball joints. Anyone else ran into this? I jacked up the car, I put a hand on top of the tire and one on bottom and I can move it maybe 1 or 2 mm.


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## maroonsentra (Mar 3, 2007)

maroonsentra said:


> I changed my ball joints last year and all was well. Even got it aligned and sears approved it. Today I changed the oil and inspected the wheels since I noticed it making a shaky noise like a loose wheel. Boths sides have little play. Not sure if this is because I bought the cheapest brand of ball joints. Anyone else ran into this? I jacked up the car, I put a hand on top of the tire and one on bottom and I can move it maybe 1 or 2 mm.


odd, no body have any thoughts?


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## IanH (Feb 11, 2003)

Wheels bearings ?


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## DjSpeed247 (Apr 13, 2009)

wheel bearings are good thing to cheack. my driver rear side one was making a horible nosie and had a lot of play. just ask the auto parts store if they well press the new bearings in for you. i know pep boys dose and Napa should too.


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## maroonsentra (Mar 3, 2007)

DjSpeed247 said:


> wheel bearings are good thing to cheack. my driver rear side one was making a horible nosie and had a lot of play. just ask the auto parts store if they well press the new bearings in for you. i know pep boys dose and Napa should too.


Actually talked to a few guys and they said the same thing you guys said. Anyone have any part numbers? Advance can't press them in for me, so I guess I'll be looking at PEPBOYS or NAPA. Will they press them in? Been a good car. Weird thing is, the bears make no noise.


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## IanH (Feb 11, 2003)

Ok, GXE, 11 yrs old and 110K miles, both front wheel beairng Ok when replaced the CV boots.
SE-R 11 yrs old, 105K miles, passenger side wheel bearing bad when replaced CV boots.
Splines rusty, says to me it has been in deep water, daughter not owning up, could have been son in law.....
Was NOT noisy, Subaru was noisy, but did hear some lose clanking noise over bumps.
BTW the water went over the hood of the Subaru on passenger side, wheel bearing died about 3 months later, so i know it was water that time.

purchased bearing and seals from Autozone, took to machine shop.
bearing is ~ $30, seals ~ 15, Machine shop ~45, not sure now if 40, 45 or 50 
They completely mangled the dust shield so tell them just to toss it.


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## IanH (Feb 11, 2003)

because of the cost i tried to get one from a wreaking yard, three sentra's 200 SX's
ALL three wheel bearings were bad on passenger side, worse than mine !!!
You cant tell till you get the brakes off when there is no wheel on the car.
Also if its really bad you cant replace only the bearing, the hub and spindle get damaged.


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## DjSpeed247 (Apr 13, 2009)

:balls::balls:The rear are a whloe assembly the front have to be pressed in. My rear diver side one was $52.00 something form napa. they have a standard and a primiume for $80.00. Pepboys well press in the front one when you buy the bearing for $32.00...


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## maroonsentra (Mar 3, 2007)

IanH said:


> Ok, GXE, 11 yrs old and 110K miles, both front wheel beairng Ok when replaced the CV boots.
> SE-R 11 yrs old, 105K miles, passenger side wheel bearing bad when replaced CV boots.
> Splines rusty, says to me it has been in deep water, daughter not owning up, could have been son in law.....
> Was NOT noisy, Subaru was noisy, but did hear some lose clanking noise over bumps.
> ...


$22 per side and $30 to get them pressed in. Not too bad. I'll find out saturday when I do the job. Thanks guys.


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## DjSpeed247 (Apr 13, 2009)

good luck!!!


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## IanH (Feb 11, 2003)

$52....well that's a lot more reasonable than around here !!!
did that include the seals ??


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## maroonsentra (Mar 3, 2007)

IanH said:


> $52....well that's a lot more reasonable than around here !!!
> did that include the seals ??


the $22.00 per side is the cheap ones, good enough for me (161k currently and it's starting to rust...LOL)

Pepboys wants $30 per side to press them, but I know a mechanic (back yard) that will do it for $25 for both sides.


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## IanH (Feb 11, 2003)

If you are in the Rust belt he may have a tough time.
The shop that did mine complained about the bearing being rusted in.
The splines in the hub were rusted in and I had to use a puller to get the axle out of the hub.
I still dont understand how your parts are so cheap, i paid about $15 just for the two seals ( per side )
I checked Autozone and O'Rielly's


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## maroonsentra (Mar 3, 2007)

IanH said:


> If you are in the Rust belt he may have a tough time.
> The shop that did mine complained about the bearing being rusted in.
> The splines in the hub were rusted in and I had to use a puller to get the axle out of the hub.
> I still dont understand how your parts are so cheap, i paid about $15 just for the two seals ( per side )
> I checked Autozone and O'Rielly's


I called NAPA and got the cheap versions quoted. Everyone else quoted teh higher end models ($50 to $60 per side) but you have to ask for the cheaper ones. Seals are usually a part of the wheel bearing as far as I know.


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## IanH (Feb 11, 2003)

Yes on my Subaru, 
No, the seals are separate on the B14


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## maroonsentra (Mar 3, 2007)

IanH said:


> Yes on my Subaru,
> No, the seals are separate on the B14


Seems it was the CV joint or most of the problem it seems so far. Pulled the wheel off the drivers side and it was shot. Just put a new axle in, much better now. Bearings may be next but who knows.


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## DjSpeed247 (Apr 13, 2009)

i would do the wheel bearing if you have the cash


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## maroonsentra (Mar 3, 2007)

DjSpeed247 said:


> i would do the wheel bearing if you have the cash


Yeah only thing I can think of now. Alignment maybe?


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## IanH (Feb 11, 2003)

when you were replacing the axle did you feel the wheel bearings ?
it should be smooth with some resistance, if it has noticeable play or if its lose and spins freely then its shot.


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## maroonsentra (Mar 3, 2007)

IanH said:


> when you were replacing the axle did you feel the wheel bearings ?
> it should be smooth with some resistance, if it has noticeable play or if its lose and spins freely then its shot.


That's what is weird. A couple of weeks ago, both wheels had play. After I changed the drivers side axle and checked, no play at all. Still shakes. Might take it to sears for an alignment and see what they say.


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## IanH (Feb 11, 2003)

I gave up on Sears doing my alignments because they figure if its in tolerance it Ok, and dont adjust to the spec !!!
Taguchi would have a fit !!!


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## Jr71vette (Dec 13, 2003)

When you say the car shakes, can u be a little more specific. Does it happen at speed, like when you pass 40mph, or does it happen as soon as you start to take off. if it happens at speed, it could be a bent rim or bad balance of the tires, also the tires may be feathered on the edges. if not, it could be a bearing, but a bearing usuallly makes a loud moaning above 35-40mph depending on how bad the bearing is shot. just letting you know before you blow money on a repair.


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## DjSpeed247 (Apr 13, 2009)

what do you mean by feathered jw


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## maroonsentra (Mar 3, 2007)

Jr71vette said:


> When you say the car shakes, can u be a little more specific. Does it happen at speed, like when you pass 40mph, or does it happen as soon as you start to take off. if it happens at speed, it could be a bent rim or bad balance of the tires, also the tires may be feathered on the edges. if not, it could be a bearing, but a bearing usuallly makes a loud moaning above 35-40mph depending on how bad the bearing is shot. just letting you know before you blow money on a repair.


usually not until I hit 60MPH, but I'm guessing it's related to my axle problem from my other post. Not sure if it's in all the way.


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