Boy am I embarassed...Strut Bearings
03-10-2003, 01:36 PM
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Boy am I embarassed...Strut Bearings
Or maybe better, "Make sure you reinstall it like it is supposed to go in, not like the last person put it in."
So here is the deal, some of you may remember I was experiencing some issues with clunking in the front end of my car. Well, I am used to clunking since the rear sway bar hits my SFR exhaust (nice welds, crappy fit) and the front Weltmeister bar hits the under tray, but this was loud and getting worse. I dismissed those who suggested it may be the strut bearing because I had just replaced them as well as the wheel bearings. Bad idea...
Anyway, the clunking had progressively gotten worse and I started to notice handling was getting funky. Since I don't drive this car much in the winter it has taken a while to get to this point. I start to think it is time to figure out once and for all what gives.
I grab the front wheels and rock them and I can hear a clunking, like from the springs knocking back and forth. Since the factory manual doesn't really show too much about installing the bearing plates, as in what order piece go together, I look at the exploded parts view from the PET. Aha, I think I put the bearing into the bushing upside down. So I ordered a replacement set and took the struts out and low and behold the bearings were indeed upside down (on both sides of the car). I had the big opening up toward the bushing instead of down toward the strut shaft. Not only does the bearing fit funny in the bushing this way but it screws up the spacing so that the assembly doesn't snug up properly.
In my defense however, I merely installed the last set of bearings exactly how the previous set had come out. Not to say I don't feel like a dumbass, but at least I wasn't the first dumbass to install the bearings upside down.
My apologies to those who had diagnosed this correctly in the first place <img border="0" alt="[ouch]" title="" src="graemlins/c.gif" />
So here is the deal, some of you may remember I was experiencing some issues with clunking in the front end of my car. Well, I am used to clunking since the rear sway bar hits my SFR exhaust (nice welds, crappy fit) and the front Weltmeister bar hits the under tray, but this was loud and getting worse. I dismissed those who suggested it may be the strut bearing because I had just replaced them as well as the wheel bearings. Bad idea...
Anyway, the clunking had progressively gotten worse and I started to notice handling was getting funky. Since I don't drive this car much in the winter it has taken a while to get to this point. I start to think it is time to figure out once and for all what gives.
I grab the front wheels and rock them and I can hear a clunking, like from the springs knocking back and forth. Since the factory manual doesn't really show too much about installing the bearing plates, as in what order piece go together, I look at the exploded parts view from the PET. Aha, I think I put the bearing into the bushing upside down. So I ordered a replacement set and took the struts out and low and behold the bearings were indeed upside down (on both sides of the car). I had the big opening up toward the bushing instead of down toward the strut shaft. Not only does the bearing fit funny in the bushing this way but it screws up the spacing so that the assembly doesn't snug up properly.
In my defense however, I merely installed the last set of bearings exactly how the previous set had come out. Not to say I don't feel like a dumbass, but at least I wasn't the first dumbass to install the bearings upside down.
My apologies to those who had diagnosed this correctly in the first place <img border="0" alt="[ouch]" title="" src="graemlins/c.gif" />
03-10-2003, 06:21 PM
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Manning, What do you mean by funky handling? I'd almost be willing to bet I did the same thing, only I think I screwed up only the passenger side. When I did it, I remember a tremendous brain fart, and couldn't recollect just how I put it back together.
Guess I need to look at this also. I have some funky handling, wanting to jinx around when I'm driving it. Steering is tight with no apparent slop.
Guess I need to look at this also. I have some funky handling, wanting to jinx around when I'm driving it. Steering is tight with no apparent slop.
03-11-2003, 10:37 AM
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Hey Sam,
Yeah, the steering didn't seem to have any slop, except when I was actually driving at anything over a few miles an hour. I wouldn't actually say it felt like slop, as in excess play at the steering wheel though. What it felt like was that the car would suddenly fall over when I was driving around a corner at speed. Nothing drastic, but you could suddenly tell that the steering effect at the front wheels had change. This was obviously due to the fact that the camber could (radically?) change under load. I think this contributed to my spin into a ditch earlier this winter. Well, that and the fact that there was black ice on the road.
Take a look at the parts diagram from the PET if you can. This lays it out perfectly.
Yeah, the steering didn't seem to have any slop, except when I was actually driving at anything over a few miles an hour. I wouldn't actually say it felt like slop, as in excess play at the steering wheel though. What it felt like was that the car would suddenly fall over when I was driving around a corner at speed. Nothing drastic, but you could suddenly tell that the steering effect at the front wheels had change. This was obviously due to the fact that the camber could (radically?) change under load. I think this contributed to my spin into a ditch earlier this winter. Well, that and the fact that there was black ice on the road.
Take a look at the parts diagram from the PET if you can. This lays it out perfectly.