I removed the whole hub assembly because the damn slide hammer i was using broke. The question that i have is when i took off the tie rod it was really easy/sloppy moving around. It is way sloppier than the lower and upper ball joints. I think they need replaced are they supposed to be this loose? The other question is that when i took off the rotor you could move the hub back and forth a little, should i replace the wheel bearing?? thanks for the help

 

bump for some info???

 

i would replace the tie rod end.... it should not be too easy to move.... as in if you can take one hand and hold it and take your other hands little finger and sort of flick it.... sound stupid i know.... but if it moves that easy, i would get rid of it..... that would just be slop in the stearing.... they are not cheap though... like $45.00..... as far as the wheel bearing goes..... if you could hear it roaring in turns before it was taken out, or if you can slide it in and out at all then ditch it.... better safe than sorry.... it would have been easier to check if it was still on the car, with it jacked up..... could watch the tie rod end to see if it moved when another person tried to gently turn the stearing wheel back and forth... the wheel bearing to check .... pull the tire toward you and push to check for wear..... a wheel bearing locking up in a turn doing 80+ will put you in the ditch upside down.... just my .02

 

thanks for the input, Wheel bearings are supposed to squeal, but i had no squealing, but had some clicking when i would turn going slow. Thought it was the axle, but both axles seem fine, maybe a wheel bearing???

 

If the hub moves at all in and out replaced the wheel bearing, be ready to replace the hub too because sometimes they get damaged by bad wheel bearings. Just because it doesnt squeal doesnt mean its a wheel bearing.

Also if an axle clicks it doesnt have to have a cut or torn boot in order to click. You might want to try to repack them.

The tie rod should be loose where its connected to the steering rack. Its ok if its floppy like that but the actual tir rid end should be stiff.

 

yea dude a little squeal is fine but if you have a roar.... that is different.... had one one time that was great under no load...... go around a left turn... right wheel bearing would sound like a tank was comming down the road....