Hi H-T. This is question is for my fren's 99 lude. Long story short, he was driving home from the naval base in san diego and near home, when making a right turn he heard a horrible noise like metal rubbing against metal. He called me over and i helped him take a look. He gave me a ride and yes i heard the TERRIBLE noise. We took the wheel off and found out this thing is wobbly!!!!





When i wiggled, i also notice the axle wiggled a little bit also....


I still didn't understand y it made that horrible sound until i saw the rotor..... (He got it installed few weeks ago)



The brake caliper basically rub against the rotor when he makes a turn since the whole wheel wiggled a little bit. (Sorrie i can't really describe it)
Felt a little scared when it came across my mind that the wheel might falls off........... (maybe not likely but still.. a wobbly wheel???)
Any ideas how to fix this problem? I have a feeling this isn't going to be easy/cheap to fix since its not like a nut or a bolt that's loose where you can just tighten it. Btw I checked the if the caliper was tighten properly and yes, everything was tighten. THANKS!

 

Probably a wheel bearing as long as everything else was installed properly. You say he had a shop do the work on his rotors? They could easily have f'ed it up...check all the bolts related to the caliper and check for play in the hub also.

 

if your hub is wobbly, the wheel bearing is shot.
they are press fit. the knuckle must be removed to replace the bearing.
I would not drive this car anywhere if it can be avoided.

if you pull the knuckle out and take it to a shop, they should replace the bearing for you for somewhere around $70-$90 + cost of the bearing (probably ~$150)

 

THanks. Well all day 2day i was checking it out. Checked all the bolts, everything is tight and where it's supposed to be. I have the same thinking as tsiah. I think the bearing might be shot. What cause it to be shot? Age of the car? Wreckless driving? BTW how do I take off the knucle, is it by taking off that BIG nut right in the middle?

 

The failure of the bearing is most likely just the result of age, they deteoriate over time, but it takes many years of normal driving.

 

FWIW, wheel bearings are $65 new from honda. If you take a knuckle to a machine shop they should charge no more than $25 or $30 to press one in.

 

i've got an extra wheel bearing lying around actually. new in honda packaging...best offer

 

undo the upper and lower ball joints from their control arms, undo the tie rod end from the knuckle and undo the spindle nut from the axle.

$65 for a bearing? not bad...
I was shooting a little high I'd rather think something was going to be very expensive only to find it costing a lot less than the alternative

 

Thanks. Just updating, my fren was at the naval base these past few days, so we didnt get a chance to work on the car til 2day. We attempted to take off the knuck, but how do we take off that big nut? The one bolt on to the axle.... that thing is TOUGH.... any special ways, or just the plain and simple? Thanks. We gonna order the bearings 2morow from the dealer. BTW any shop will be able to put the bearings in right or does it have to be a special shop? Thanks.

 

get a big breaker bar, take out the center cap for the wheel, put it back on the ground. then do it like you loosen lugnuts, with the wheel still on. if that doesnt work for you, buy an impact gun, that nut will wish it was never stuck

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dohcteg &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">We attempted to take off the knuck, but how do we take off that big nut? The one bolt on to the axle.... that thing is TOUGH.... any special ways, or just the plain and simple? </TD></TR></TABLE>

36mm on a 1/2" drive socket. put a 4' piece of bar on there and have someone pressing on the brake . otherwise, you'll need a pretty strong impact gun to break it loose before it starts spinning the hub.

 

Thats unusal from honda too. They charge you for the "free" coffee and water in their waiting rooms. Oh, and at the typical 400% markup ofcourse (which goes for usually everything else)

 

lol

 

Is a OEM bearing a must? What if I just picked one up for my prelude at the local auto parts store? I thought wheel bearings were like $20 at most there...But should I order OEM?