When I put my hands at 9 and 3 o'clock on my front left tire while the car in on jack stands the tire and rim shake. When I do it on the right side there is no movement at all. Also there are odd noises coming from the area while the car is being driven.

I suspect its the lower control arm ball joint. Any ideas?

 

Thanks guys. fing02.gif

 

haha... shaking it side to side is normally tie rod play (prolly outter, but possibly the inner).. ball joints you'll notice it while shaking it up and down (12 & 6)

side to side play could also be wheel bearing. but, i dont' think its the ball joint. thats just my guess.

 

Thanks, Ill take a closer look.

 

Did you find out in the end what was the problem? I've been hearing some clunking noises from the front right strut, and my right front wheel also shakes side-ways. It does not shake vertically.. I was sure that the clunking noise was coming from the top strut mount, but I just changed that and I can still hear the sound.. my next guess would be the ball joint..

 

I have that same sound on my 97 Tib where i make a right turn or go over a bump and hear a clunking sound.Even when i pull out of the driveway i hear this clunking sound.I think its the bearing inside the drive shafts thats causing this noise ...

 

a "whirring" sound while turning right is probably your driver side wheel bearing. To test a wheel bearing jack up the side you suspect and put your hands and 12 and 6 and push and pull the tire. If you feel play then you need a wheel bearing.

Ball joint- jack up the tire and put a pry bar underneath it and put pressure upwards. if there is play then its a bad ball joint.
Tie rod- do as stated above.

 

Is there any info on tie rods? Can they be easily replaced?

 

outer tie rods are easy as hell to change, the inner ones require a special tool i believe. either way you're going to need an alignment afterwards.

 

I know it's not my thread but since I have the same problem I'm going to post this here.
So I took a closer look at my wheel (which has only side-to-side play), and it does not feel that the tie rod is the problem. The thing is that even though there is side-to-side play, there seems to be no movement at the tie rod end of the knuckle. In fact, If I grab the wheel with only one hand at 3 o'clock - towards front of vehicle (it's the passenger side wheel) - there is a lot of play. If I grab the wheel with only one hand at 9 o'clock (tie rod side), there is absolutely no play. It seems to me that it could only be because of play in the ball joint (and the tie rod actually acts as the pivot of the play movement).. can this be the case? There is absolutely no upward play though.. which kinda confuses me..
I don't think the wheel bearing can be the problem, as I *think* that the caliper bracket moves with the wheel when I push/pull to test for play. And since the bearings rotate with the wheel, the play would not always be at 3 o'clock right?
Any ideas?