knocking coming from the front right tire

[delguini]

knocking coming from the front right tire (found it, still need a little hand!!!)

So today i noticed some knocking on the front right tire when i turned left. It also happens sometimes when i apply the breaks when i'm driving slowly.

I got out of my car, got to the front right tire, grabbed the treads and shook the tire (and car) back and forth (left-right) and the front right was knocking pretty bad. What could it be??? ball joint? end link? bearing?

Thanks guys!
Joey

 

[aMaff]

lift that corner of the car up, put it on a jack stand. Grab the tire on the top / bottom and push/pull on it (ie, push with top, pull on bottom, then reverse it, repeat rapidly). If you get knocking it's probably the bearing.

 

[delguini]

ya that's what a buddy at work just told me.

do bearings for P5 go for a lot?

and from what i understand i can't do it myself correct?

thanks!

 

[aMaff]

Depends on if you know someone with a press who knows what they're doing. The bearing itself is cheap, but there's the labor of basically doing a full tear down on that corner of the car. you need to take the spindle off to get to the bearing. If you can do it yourself and have a machine shop press the old bearing out / new bearing in, it's next to nothing in parts.

 

[delguini]

would it be dangerous to drive around like that till i get a change to go to the mechanic?

 

[aMaff]

For a short while, no. Let it go long enough and you risk bad bad things.

 

[fishdonotbounce]

yea bud depending on how bad yours is I would say take it in as soon as possible. I have the same exact problem and I'm pretty sure its the bearing. I'm going to get mine to a shop tomorrow morning so I'll keep you updated with what it was and how much it cost me. BTW I dunno how bad yours is, but I've been driving on mine like that for about 3-4 months now and it's still ok but I dont want to risk it anymore. Hope this helps.

 

[2ruSpeed]

don't drive on it too long, like the previous poster said, get it diagnosed and fixed asap. Most likely it's the bearing, also depends if the knocking increases in noise while speeding and such, it'll make it a lot easier on the dealership to diagnose if you tell them what happens at certain speeds.

 

[marsean]

If it is indeed the bearing, it can cost a pretty penny. I had both my front bearings replaced at the dealer about 6 months ago and it set me back about 500 bucks parts and labor (labor also included diagnosing the problem).

 

[aMaff]

again, if you have the shop do all the disassembly, it's going to be expensive because of labor. It just takes a while. The part is dirt cheap (can't remember how much, but <$50 irrc)

 

[delguini]

i found the culprit! it wasn't the bearing, but the top of the shock tower....

how do i fix this? all it needs is tightening i guess but im not sure how to do it. It's not as easy as just tightening the bolt cause i tried that and the whole peice is just turning instead of the bolt tightening up...

help please! Thanks!

 

[delguini]

i think it's the piston rod NUT (from what i get reading the service manual)

or maybe it's the bearing inside the shock tower too!

 

[delguini]

http://www.floptical.net/mazda/service_web/02-13.PDF

there's the PDF of the front suspension...

anyone knows what i would need to change? the bearing? shock tower?

thank you

 

[aMaff]

#10

 

[delguini]

another quick question please (just need to know what tools i'll need)

in order to change out #10 in the diagram (the bearing) do i have to touch the springs in any way?

would i just have to pull out the whole unit replace the bearing and put it back in without having to compress the springs and take them off and such?

Thanks

 

[aMaff]

Look @ the exploded diagram. You have to take the top nut and the strut hat off to get to them. So yes, everything needs to come off. If it's just 1 strut, that's an hour job if you really take your time.

 

[delguini]

So I pulled out the whole shock this weekend, opened her up and replaced the bearing. Thing is, the bearing didn’t look broken at all. I replaced it anyway, and no more problemo since.

Odd!

 

[delguini]

so ya, it's still knocking pretty bad when i turn to the left mostly...

when i had removed the bearing (#10 in the diagram) it still seemed A-Okay... so ya, initially things were okay, and now its knocking again...

what else could it be???

 

[delguini]

anyone?

 

[aMaff]

lug nuts not tight, the bearing between the front top hat and the spring seat, endlinks, CV axle.... I could go on.