Front suspension question

Tin-Knocker105

Registered User
I jacked my car up and grabbed the front wheel at 12 & 6 and tried to shake it. It was tight
Grabbed it at 9 & 3 and it was wobbly.

Thats tie rod ends right?

Thanks
tony
 
struttin it

I'd say your strut rod busings are shot - at least the rear ones. If the wheel bearing was shot it would move at 12 and 6 too.
You might consider replacing the entire lower control arm (about 70 bucks each) when yo do the strut rod busings.
Your car will handle much better and make much less front end noise when you are done.
I'ts a fun job.

Bob
 
Tin-Knocker105 said:
I jacked my car up and grabbed the front wheel at 12 & 6 and tried to shake it. It was tight
Grabbed it at 9 & 3 and it was wobbly.

Thats tie rod ends right?

Thanks
tony
sure sounds like it. however dont over look the inner tie rods, if the outer is bad, then more than likely the inner will have some play as well. if you do them your self you will need an alignment ASAP.
 
I checked them with one wheel off the ground at a time.

If i replace the tie-rod ends if you count the revolutions when you remove it and install the new one the same amount of turns your pretty close.
 
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Tin-Knocker105 said:
I checked them with one wheel off the ground at a time.

If i replace the tie-rod ends if you count the revolutions when you remove it and install the new one the same amount of turns your pretty close.
yes that should get you close enough so you can safely drive to the alignment shop and have it aligned
 
Mine has the same wobble side to side and my tie rods are all good. Mine is the strut rod bushings. If its more of a front to back movement, then its strut rods for sure, If they have that much play, you should be able to see it while moving the wheel front to back.
 
Def get an alignment after replacing the tie rods. It will get you close to count the threads but you still need to have it aligned or you will eat your tires.
 
Also, if you're able to move the wheel like that, you should probably be able to move it while looking for whatever sloppy part has the play in it - just to confirm the bad part.
 
Grab the outer tie rod end and try to twist it. If you can twist it with one hand, that's definitely worn out. Unless you are Hulk Hogan-sized, in which case you may need further analysis. :)
 
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