failed inspection for.... wheel bearings? can't be.

jT · Post by jT » Fri Apr 17, 2009 10:50 am

yeah so i just failed.. lovely. good timing too since i just booked a vacation.

the guy said both front wheel bearings... but i just did the drivers side again a couple months ago (for the 3rd time i think it was [symptom of other problem anyone? heh]), and the passenger side was a year ago or so... i find it unlikely that the bearings are shot.

what else should i look at? is the hub itself a wearing part? or the part of the knuckle where it all presses into? or even if its not a wear part, damaged?

how can i determine if the bearing is gone or if its some other damaged part?

as i recall, the last time i did the driver side bearing the whole hub piece sort of had some play in it that didnt seem normal, but i could have been wrong.. but i imagine that there shouldnt be any movement other than turning in circles, right?

for the knuckles, part numbers 4656090AD and 4656091AD are $87.36 each (i think the last time i looked up the knuckles they were >$300 each??) does that include the hub and bearing? or at least the hub? the parts list doesnt break down the knuckle anymore so i dont see a separate hub piece. i dont want to keep throwing bearings in if there is some other problem...

Post by **occasional demons** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 9:33 pm

Do you have the ground straps still intact?

Usually if they are bad, you will have a growling noise comming from them.

The hubs shouldn't wear, as they are pressed into the bearing. and the bearing is/should be pressed into the knuckle, so there shouldn't be any slop there.
Lift the tire off the ground, support car, and grab the top and bottom of the tire. See if you can feel it move by pushing top - pulling bottom/reversing.

hansken_yo · Post by **hansken_yo** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 9:44 pm

If the original bearings went bad they could have spun in the knuckle itself causing wear to the knuckle hub. This is the problem that I had with my first set of SRT knuckles. Pretty much 3 months after putting in new wheel bearings they were shot again.

So it does happen. If this is the case for you you'll need new knuckles, bearings, spindles and the cover plate.

fixitmattman · Post by **fixitmattman** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 10:17 pm

occasional demons wrote:Do you have the ground straps still intact?

Usually if they are bad, you will have a growling noise comming from them.

OMFG where do you get this shit

jT · Post by jT » Sat Apr 18, 2009 12:03 am

there are no noises and everything is basically fine.. as far as i'm concerned anyways.. heh

last week i did check my wheel just out of curiosity and there was a little bit of play in it but not that much.. did not check the passenger side so i dont know how much play might be there. but either way these bearings are new..

and the drivers side has been done 3 times within a year or so... theres got to be an underlying problem...

i just found a part number for the front hub.. damn.. $151... + $87 for the knuckle, then $40 or so for another bearing... times two for both sides, and whatever else i need.. might try junk yard knuckles first..

i dont see any parts for a spindle or cover plate

hansken_yo · Post by **hansken_yo** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 2:16 am

jT wrote:there are no noises and everything is basically fine.. as far as i'm concerned anyways.. heh

last week i did check my wheel just out of curiosity and there was a little bit of play in it but not that much..

There should be no play at all.

jT wrote: and the drivers side has been done 3 times within a year or so... theres got to be an underlying problem...

Probably a worn out knuckle or spindle... or both.

jT wrote: i just found a part number for the front hub.. damn.. $151... + $87 for the knuckle, then $40 or so for another bearing... times two for both sides, and whatever else i need.. might try junk yard knuckles first..

I wouldn't suggest that at all, since these are a wear item your only looking to replace them again in the near future.

jT wrote:i dont see any parts for a spindle or cover plate

there is a plate that hold the bearing in the knuckle which is behind the spindle itself.

Are you looking at OEMdodgeparts.com?
i got everything there but the plate since they didn't have a part number for it, but my local dealership got the part for a pretty good price overall.

Here is my blip on why you should buy new. You are investing in peace of mind that you know that there should be nothing wrong with the product and that you shouldn't have to fix it again for a long time. The couple of hundred dollars you would spend over a junk yard is worth this peace of mind in my opinion.

Either way good luck!

jT · Post by jT » Sat Apr 18, 2009 3:00 am

actually i was just looking at the parts diagram from "neon2000partsmanual.pdf" ... parts catalog.

this is what ive found
KNUCKLE, Front
#4656 090AC Right
#4656 091AC Left
#4670 292AC HUB, Wheel

but no spindles or plates

do you have the part numbers for the stuff you got? maybe i can start with those and work backwards to my year..

as for the junk yard .. theres one a little drive from me that has the whole knuckles for $15.. id rather see where $30 gets me to than shelling out the big bucks right off the bat..

Post by **occasional demons** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 10:14 am

The hub is the spinde in this case. A spindle is normally mounted to the knucle. it is what the bearings ride on in RWD/older 4WD apps.

4668 361AB retainer

thttxboy · Post by **thttxboy** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 11:15 am

Man I just had to replace mine and I needed a new hub also, It is possible to wear the hub inside the bearing. What happen is the hub wears a grove on the end and make a small lip and a good hub is smooth all the way through. And I would definitely buy new since these are wear items like Hansken_yo said "You are investing in peace of mind"

jT · Post by jT » Sat Apr 18, 2009 11:19 am

ok thanks

i saw that plate in the diagram but wasnt sure if that was related to anything i would need...

damn.. $503 for parts from oemdodgeparts.. little lower getting the bearings elsewhere... i really dont want to spend that much money on this stupid car!!

Post by **occasional demons** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 4:50 pm

If at all possible, I would take it back to the inspection place and have them show you exactly what is wrong.

jT · Post by jT » Fri Apr 24, 2009 11:53 am

so i looked at it today.... there was movement in the wheel but to me it looked more like the whole strut was moving around with the wheel.. not just the sheel shaking... thats probably normal but its the only thing i could figure out...

i even ripped down the passenger side and took the knuckle off and everything seemed fine... although the drivers side was worse i should probably have done that one

im probably going to have to get it checked out by a "pro" because i cant figure anything out... it all seems fine to me..

jT · Post by jT » Fri May 01, 2009 9:04 pm

well.. went by the garage today where i had my last wheel bearing pressed in.......... he seems to think my tie rod ends are bad and not the bearings.. so i've got 2 different diagnosis..

and the drivers side tie rod end was done a couple months ago with the $6 Meevotech tie rod end that i posted about.. so who knows.. will update that thread.. heh

hansken_yo · Post by **hansken_yo** » Fri May 01, 2009 9:08 pm

jT wrote:so i looked at it today.... there was movement in the wheel but to me it looked more like the whole strut was moving around with the wheel.. not just the sheel shaking... thats probably normal but its the only thing i could figure out...

i even ripped down the passenger side and took the knuckle off and everything seemed fine... although the drivers side was worse i should probably have done that one

im probably going to have to get it checked out by a "pro" because i cant figure anything out... it all seems fine to me..

Strut top hat barrings?

bone-yard-racing · Post by **bone-yard-racing** » Fri May 01, 2009 9:29 pm

^We have a winner or perhaps the lower ball joint.