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hub bearing assembly and stabilizer bar


Arash

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Dear all members

I have a 94 STS with 90,000 miles. I've recently noticed that the car makes a harsh sound every time I accelerate from a stop. I've visulally inspected the stabilizer bar bushings and they're in bad shape. I will replace the bushings soon.

My first question is this:

Do I need to replace the stabilizer bar links also? what are the signs of bad stabilizer bar links?

My second question is regarding the hub bearing assembly. when I jack up the left front wheel up and push the wheel in and out it moves.Theoratically it should be solid. Is this a hub bearing assembly failure? also every time I turn the wheel either during driving or stop it makes a noticeable boop. Is this related to hub bearing assembly also?

Thanks in advance for all the responses.

Arash

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A bad bearing will identify itself when you make a series of "S" turns. You will here the bearing growl when you load it and quiet down when you unload it. Your discription sounds more like a tie rod.

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I've recently noticed that the car makes a harsh sound every time I accelerate from a stop

is it a rattling sound? is it more pronounced when you accelerate from a stop moving UP A HILL? do you get the same sound when accelerating from a stop IN REVERSE?

The saddest thing in life is wasted talent

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I recently replaced my stabilizer bar bushings and did not replace the links. New bushings corrected the noticeable thump. I did not replace the links because they were not worn. Are you sure there is a bad hub bearing? Could the lower ball joint be worn? I had the same “boop” symptom as you have and it turned out to be the joints. I replaced them and no more problems. If there is a worn ball joint(s) you may see some indication of uneven tire wear. I say this from experience.

Good Luck

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Mac, the last time I opened the left front wheel I didn't notice any uneven tire wear.

You actually described the problem better. It's a vey noticeable "Thump" sound which repeates every time I go forward or reverse. It's also getting worse;It's now much more noticeable than before.

Regarding the hub bearing assembly issue, I have to say that it's definitely not a ratteling sound.It's a one time sound every time I turn the steering wheel. Also, If a tie rod is bad, can it show the symptom that I described?

Imagine that the left front side of the car is jacked up you hold the left side of the tire in one hand and the right side in the other hand.Now you push in one side and pull out the other side. The tire shouldn't move a bit, but mine moves a little.

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Arash, if you do what you described in a repeated and rapid back and forth motion and notice play, then you might have a worn tie rod or hub bearing. In your first post, you stated that you hear thumping “every time [you] turn the wheel either during driving or stop.” In your latest post you state: “It's a one time sound every time I turn the steering wheel.” From my experience, these symptoms indicate worn ball joint(s). If you hear thumping when you’re not turning, I would tend to believe you have worn stabilizer bar bushings. In my situation, I had both worn bushings and ball joints. As for ball joints, I heard a thump (or metallic pop) when turning the wheel while backing up, and when turning while accelerating forward. As for bushings, I heard a persistent thumping sound while driving mostly when going over bumps. It became so bad that I heard thumping even when going over the normal everyday bumps. If you can hear thumping when going forward and/or reverse and you’re not turning, I tend to lean towards bad bushings. However, you could have more than one problem like I did. Again, from my experience, I tend to believe a thump while turning indicates worn ball joint(s). However, since the bushings need to be replaced, I would go ahead and do that job first. Bushings are cheap and fairly easy to replace. If you’re mechanically inclined, you should be able to do the job. Your local Cadillac dealer will likely have them in stock for about $23 for both. If not, you can order them. When I ordered mine, they referenced the VIN because GM manufactured three different size bushings for my Eldorado.

MAC

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