Suspension Passenger Side Steering Rack Has Play

diponyou50

Member
Apr 21, 2005
138
11
19
Ok so I noticed my car started making a loud clicking/knocking noise. it is really noticeable when turning left.

I jacked it up and took a video of the play, the driver side has zero play in it but the passenger side has A LOT of play left and right. No play up and down, the balljoints all look good.

There is absolutely no leaking from the rack

Here is the video


View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvwdENjDVeQ



The first half of the video is the passenger side which has the play, after I show how the driver side is fine.
 
  • Sponsors (?)


Double check your ball joint....mine was just as bad, come to find out, the nut backed off of the ball joint so the spindle was no longer "pressed" onto the ball joint stem...I ended up have to cut it off because I couldn't unscrew the bolt due to the shaft rotating because of how worn out it was....

The way I figured it out was jack up the front, take off the wheel and then jack up the control arm and I could then see how much play/movement it had...
 
Well the balljoint wouldnt allow the inner tie rod to move back and forth an inch just on the passenger side.

I did the whole 3/9 and 12/6 to test for the culprit

You can watch the inner rod on the passenger side move back and forth without the driver side moving.
 
Just make sure you have a zip tie...the factory retaining band/strap has to be broken to remove it and replaced afterwards...

And I highly recommend renting the tool from autozone if it is in fact a loose inner tie rod...and count the rotations of the outter tie rod when taking it off so the alignment won't be completely outta whack...

Im sure you may know these things already, just trying to help out just in case..
 
Got it swapped out. Alignment is off a tad so need to do that on monday.

However there is still a loud clicking/knocking coming from the rear passenger tire. I had the tire off as well as the drum and everything looked ok. spun it by hand and couldnt see or hear anything.
 
Turning left increases the severity of the noise.

I had the drums off yesterday and the car has new drums and shoes. No ridges of any sort.

I did notice the forward facing shoes has a hairline crack in it. About half an inch long.

Considering the noise increases with speed and turning and dorsnt matter if im braking or not id say thats a separate issue.
 
Buy a new rear end and do a 5 lug swap...if you were in houston I could get you one super cheap...

May be an axle bearing or something of that sort....could even be a bushing..
 
Funny you say that, there is a local who has a complete sn95 5 lug swap that I am picking up in a few days. He has the entire rear and everything for the front. Guess I could just wait and get that in, I was just concerned about wheel options with the wider rear end.
 
If you got the money then its a no brainer...wheel options may change, but to me its a much better setup...and if you do the swap, get front brake calipers from and 03/04 GT...with a lil grinding its a direct fit and is much better than the stock calipers...just look up "PBR upgrade"...

And I say get the 03/04 because it has the coarse thread banjo bolt which is better than the 99-02 fine thread bolt....
 
Turning left increases the severity of the noise.

I had the drums off yesterday and the car has new drums and shoes. No ridges of any sort.

I did notice the forward facing shoes has a hairline crack in it. About half an inch long.

Considering the noise increases with speed and turning and dorsnt matter if im braking or not id say thats a separate issue.

If it gets louder when you turn left then it's likely your axle bearing and/or axle is shot on the passenger side. I'm pretty certain you'll see axle damage when you pull it.