My Daughter's '01 SE has slight wiggle if you grab the tire and rock it. Not so much up & down, but side to side if that makes ant sense. This is the front, driver's side. The front passenger side seems to have little if no wiggle. I started to investigate when she complained of the hubcap falling off all the time when the other 3 stay put.

Can this be the CV joint? Any suggestions before I take it to the garage?
Thanks

Mo

 

Is the car and wheel on the ground or is the front left tire in the air with no weight on it?

My '146,000 mile 98 DOHC as extremely small movement when (with the car on the ground) I pull and push in and out at the top of the tire, for all corners. Assuming the wheel is correct (factory issue) , there is no FOD between the wheel and the hub and the lug nuts are both the correct style and torque, it might be the wheel bearing itself or the bearing fit into the steering knuckle.

My son's 103,000 mile '04 SRT-4 has no movement at any of thel four corners.

Need someone more knowledgeable than I. But there should be procedures and more detailed inspection methods that should be performed to confirm before anyone should think of changing parts.

 

I can feel the movement when the car is on the ground. I am "assuming" it might be either the C/V joint or wheel bearing. I will take it to the garage on Friday and see what they think.

If it's the bearing, I would think I could change it myself.

 

if its a bearing, say passenger side, at a decent speed (35-45) swerve to the right, not hard jerk the wheel but an exaggerated lane change to the right and see if you can hear a humming noise increase on the right side, or the other way, which ever direction makes a howl with the weight on the wheel is probably a bad bearing, if the play is too significant it should make a howling type noise too. same with turning a tight corner should make a noise. or with the wheels off the ground (dangerous without a lift) run the motor in gear and let the wheels spin, watch if one side looks to be limping slower.

 

Turns out that the control arm bushings and a tie rod are wore out. The first garage quoted me $421 with an alignment so I asked the dealer I bought it from (3 weeks a go) for some help. He was a bit reluctant and said it was fine when he sold it. Of course he knew these items didn't wear out in 3 weeks and referred us to a garage he trusts and they concurred with the first, but said they will give us the dealer price at $225. Not too bad I think so I'll have it done.

 

My 1998 Neon I use to autocross with almost failed tech inspection last year when the grabbed both front wheels and rocked them. The right moved more than the left. I found later that weekend that the right out-board tie-rod was loose (worn ball joint). Picked up a replacement one and when I removed the original one (136,000 miles) the stud moved around without resistance while the new one was tight.

I passed tech inspection this past weekend without a problem.

Good luck with the new tie-rod and control arm/bushings - they don't wear that fast in three weeks. :-)

 

trust me you will know if its the wheel bearing, when mine went it sounded like a ****ing plane inside and a howling on the highway and wonderd on the bad side. Cvs are done if they click when you turn really sharp take it for a drive and see, also check the cv boots becuase if they are cracked it should be serviced. BTW front wheel drive cars cost ALLOT to work on, one cv replacement was $500

 

Damn dude! You got hosed! I can buy BOTH cv halfshaft kits (from transaxle to wheel - left and right) for under $150! How much labor did they charge you and at what rate? Two hours of labor at $80 per is $160 and a 2 wheel alignment should not cost that much! Of course, you may live in a place where they hump you just because they can.....

 

Yeah I'm from canada so...the cvs were about 160 each and the rest went to the 100 per hour shop rate everywhere charges about the same.

 

wow it'd be nice to own a shop in canada