DarkMastyr

I was checking over my car and my LF wheel seems to have a VERY slight amount of play in it if I grab the wheel at 9 and 3 (no play if I grab it 12 and 6). It's hard to see any movement, but I hear a small knocking sound. I notice the same play if I just take the wheel off and grab the rotor (held tight with some lug nuts of course). If I take the rotor off, I can't visibly see any cracks at the flange or other damage, but grabbing the flange and wiggling it at 9 and 3 does seem to produce a very small knocking sound consistent with the sound I hear when grabbing the wheel/rotor.

Is this a bad hub? Any other way to go about checking? Car drives fine with no noise, at least on the street. I want to emphasize that the play is very slight, but noticeable. I don't notice this play with any of the other 3 wheels. It's an '05 that's only ever seen street tires and HPDEs.

DarkMastyr

Upon further analysis, it looks like grabbing the entire spindle itself is producing the noise. I am thinking the tie rod end? What is the torque that is supposed to be on that nut above the torn boot I have?

hklvette

I'm no expert but my '00 had the same problem, and the rod-end was to blame. A new Moog greasable later, problem solved.

sperkins

12 and 6 tight rules out hub. It's a tie rod.

taken19

Look at the picture, the tie rod boot is cracked. Once that happens, its a matter of time before things go south...

Van Steel

Good morning,
Take your brake rotor and reverse mount it with 2 lug nuts (this will give you more leverage) and rock it...now you can better see where the actual movement is coming from,,,,

The earlier point of the tie rod boot is spot on..once replaced, a couple of plies of a header wrap material to cover the dust boot will reduce this happening again. wrapping the ball joint boot will add a layer of protection there as well.

Since it appears you track the car you should consider SKF racing hubs when that time comes..

Good luck,
PL
Van Steel

Cobra4B

Checking at 9/3 on the front can be difficult because there is usually a tiny amount of play in the steering rack. That said, with the torn boot your tie-rod end is suspect. Replace the rod-end and wrap your boots in some reflective tape like DEI Cool Tape; they'll never burn/degrade again.

DarkMastyr

Great. Thanks a lot everyone. Ordered a Moog replacement off Rockauto and will be wrapping the heck out of everything!

froggy47

If you get the car up on a ramp & move the wheel with one hand and put your other hand on the rod end, you can usually feel it when you wiggle the wheel.

Bill Dearborn

The quantum spindle ducts come with shields for the tie rod and ball joint boots. I also wrap mine with header wrap but the shields help immensely. Have shields made from soup cans on the rear tie rods.

Bill

sperkins

Next time order the heavy duty replacements from Ecklers.
They're beefy.

DarkMastyr

Thanks for the heads up. Didn't know they had them. Cheaper than the Moogs too.

DarkMastyr

Replacement came in. Excuse my total lack of wrenching skill, but does anyone have tips on how to unscrew the stock tie rod? It really doesn't seem to want to budge.

edit: never mind, I was an idiot and didn't realize the flats on the end were actually a separate jam nut.

crease-guard

You can also use a Koolmat kit to insulate all the ball joints. A little pricey but the quality is top notch.

Jay