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    abnormal suspension

    time to change a ball joint...or is it wheel bearing... or control arm bushing... or what? You tell me.

    At this point I am guessing B/joint, here's why:
    I jack the car and with wheel hanging there is alot of movement when I rock the wheel - hands on side to side and top to bottom. I look for where the play is but cant really find it. The sterring knuckle and strut/springs move and the axle moves but I dont see it at the ball joint. Should I?

    I haven't pulled the calipiers to check the bearing for axial play. Dont have a dial indicater yet.

    There is no problem driving, No pull,shaking, ect... just a light "thump" going over small bumps

    ---------------
    I may be dealing with something bent. There is evidence of a collision on this side of the car. Maybe hit a deer or something... The previous owner told me it had been driven with the doughnut tire for awhile. All of the original rims were bent to hell.
    __________________


    Thanks alot for helping the new guys out.
    __________________
    1996 protege Z5 -

    #2
    Just go through the entire side and torque everything to hell first.
    Beater=/= Sleeper

    Originally posted by kozzman555
    kitty, you are a hilarious woman
    Originally posted by HopelessCow
    there is one thing i dunno what is that call,a thing look like a gun, u press the button and stick to the metal and it makes firework, do i need that thing?and what s the philip head screw drivers?
    Using Linux for anything serious besides server or software dev is like using a tin can and a string for telecommunications.

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      #3
      check you front sway bar link.it will clunk over bumps if one of the ball sockets is worn.
      Jack the wheel,get someone to wiggle it at 12 and 6 oclock and 3 and 9 oclock and place the end of your finger in where the axle goes through the hub from the inside of the spindle ,if its the bearing you will feel the play as the axle pivots slightly in the hub.
      Pinch the ball joint with your thumb and finger and you should be able to detect play there while wiggling.
      Wheel bearings dont normally clunk over bumbs as there is load on them.
      Last edited by Beerizfood; 06-21-2008, 09:33 AM. Reason: didnt read it all.
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        #4
        thank you fellers

        I have been checking these mazda boards as time allows, but man it is slow...okay that's a topic for another time...

        I will retell the tale, because there is sure to be something I failed to mention.

        I noticed that the passenger side strut will move slightly when "rocking" the tire. That is pushing at 3 oclock while pulling at at 9 oclock. No movement of the steering wheel, just the hub/steering knuck to strut connection bolts move about 1/4 inch. The whole strut moves.

        "That is pushing at 3 oclock while pulling at at 9 oclock" - I will have to verify this. I might have been the pushing and pulling equally. And, it seemed to be sloppy regardless of the positions !2 and 6, ect...

        I will do your tests and get back to here, Beers'

        I think kitty might be on to something too. I just got this car a month ago, so maybe there is some loose bolts. I didnt look at the top of strut while rocking the tire yet.

        Thanks
        Last edited by grey1; 06-21-2008, 05:35 PM.

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          #5
          Originally posted by Beerizfood View Post
          check you front sway bar link.it will clunk over bumps if one of the ball sockets is worn..
          okay checking again I hear the clunk comes from the disk plate.
          Originally posted by Beerizfood View Post
          Jack the wheel,get someone to wiggle it at 12 and 6 oclock and 3 and 9 oclock and place the end of your finger in where the axle goes through the hub from the inside of the spindle ,if its the bearing you will feel the play as the axle pivots slightly in the hub..
          I dont know how to get my finger there without disassembly

          Originally posted by Beerizfood View Post
          Pinch the ball joint with your thumb and finger and you should be able to detect play there while wiggling.
          There is none to speak of on the passenger side but checking on the drivers side I found alot. Here is what I was doing that seems to show the most play: with the wheel hanging I strike the tire at 2 oclock and the whole assembly moves before the steering wheel does. Maybe this is tie rods ?


          Originally posted by Beerizfood View Post
          Wheel bearings dont normally clunk over bumbs as there is load on them.
          I wish there was some proteges in the wrecker yards... I would pull both sides complete and be done with it. I will go looking for ball joints on other makes and models. Anyone got Hollander cross- reference?
          Right now there is no obvious problem driving it - it's just when I get it on the stands and check.

          I will do some more reading on how to check these things...thanks again
          Last edited by grey1; 06-21-2008, 06:59 PM.

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            #6
            Why get junkyard suspsneion componets?

            they're wear items. You're supose to replace them eventually.
            MSRP on ball joints is $58.26. They last ~75-100k miles.
            Beater=/= Sleeper

            Originally posted by kozzman555
            kitty, you are a hilarious woman
            Originally posted by HopelessCow
            there is one thing i dunno what is that call,a thing look like a gun, u press the button and stick to the metal and it makes firework, do i need that thing?and what s the philip head screw drivers?
            Using Linux for anything serious besides server or software dev is like using a tin can and a string for telecommunications.

            Comment


              #7
              Kitty, kitty, kitty...must I lecture you on the need to recycle? It is our individual duty, each and every one of us........
              On the other hand,the chinaman who makes ball joints will be able to feed his children alttle better, and I am all for that too.

              Really what is better than going to pull parts and "learning" at the junkyards expense how to do stuff? Then there is costs involved. For that 58.00 USD
              you can find the whole assembly with bearings. (if the yards have proteges or you know of a match) Sure there is a chance that
              the bearings are bad, or you break something pulling the parts, ect... But remember the yard has 30 or 90 day garruntee. So what have you lost really?
              (One half of a saturday)

              Now if you kept your cores, you can rebuild those as spares.

              It all works out in the end, kitty. Confucious said, "one mans trash is another mans treasure"

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                #8
                Regardless, brand new OE parts ftw.

                I love getting brand new parts.

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                  #9
                  One thing you shouldn't overlook is the strut mount. When you open the hood, you see it right at the top of the strut tower section. It's the black tar looking round thing-a-ma-jig on both sides. Look for circular cracks. Well, cracks period.

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                    #10
                    strut mount... okey-dokey

                    Call me crazy, but yes I did pull a ball joint at the yard! It was better than the one I had and that's all I can say for it. By the way it, came off a MX-3... a '94 I think. Saw some on earlier proteges (with the grease fittings!) but I dont know if they would fit. I crossed the part numbers found on that Mspeed site...come to think of it, I still dont know if 1st and 2nd generations use the same ones. Brakes are the same. Got the wire clips I needed off a 1st gen.

                    Okay, so how to check the control arm bushings? I still have noises when hittind small bumps. They seem to be coming from the center of the car, but that is hard to determine .

                    I would like to make this little car run smooth... with a suspension as fine as the engine.
                    Thanks

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by grey1 View Post
                      strut mount... okey-dokey
                      The thing about the strut mount, if it's bad, is that you have to remove the entire strut and coil assembly but it's fairly easy. I've only had difficulty once. The mounts cost about $45 a piece if you shop around. Don't risk used ones with that. I had a car with a bad one that I had to replace because there was nothing left to replace. The clunk stopped after replacing it with a new one and it didn't even look bad. Then, I've had cars that have it looking cracked and yet there's no clunk until further cracking develops. It's a waste of money, though, when you replace it and it wasn't the problem. Oh well, it's still cheaper than paying a shop to do it.

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                        #12
                        bump cus i have same problem mechanic checked whole suspension before changing my shocks and still got the problem.
                        1996 Protege LX
                        Mods:
                        K&N Drop in
                        Python 440HP
                        6000K HIDs

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                          #13
                          I been busy with an entirely different vehicle

                          but after yout post, I looked at the mounts. They are cracked. One is worse than the other.

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                            #14
                            Originally posted by xm_sleepR View Post
                            bump cus i have same problem mechanic checked whole suspension before changing my shocks and still got the problem.
                            Yeah, he changed the shocks but didn't change possibly bad strut mounts.


                            Originally posted by grey1 View Post
                            but after yout post, I looked at the mounts. They are cracked. One is worse than the other.
                            It's time to change those. It could be the reason you say the strut moves when rocking the wheel back and forth. Once again, replacing those won't guarantee it's the problem but if they're cracked, you will not have wasted your time or money.

                            Call all the local auto parts stores until you find the cheapest mount and buy both(it's the same part for both side). Monroe brand is probably the one you will get and they are fine. If you have no idea how old your struts are, they are probably old as sin and worn. It would be a good time to get a new set. That's especially true since you will have to take the whole strut/coil assembly out of the car anyway. You car will not stay aligned after alignment if your struts are in bad shape.

                            If you're not going to do the job yourself, don't tell the mechanic you want the strut AND mount changed. Ask how much he would charge to install some struts you already bought. After getting the price, go there and tell him that you have some new strut mounts you want him to put on when installing the new struts. He had BETTER not charge more because to install the new struts, he HAS to take off the old strut mounts ANYWAY! It's exactly the same work to put new ones back on instead of the old ones. Don't be scared to say, in a respectful way "Come on man, it's the same work to put back the old ones as news ones so, why are you going to charge me more for that". He will probably realize you're not a sucker and say he will "do you the favor" and not charge you more.

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