axle nut size?

[maydog]

Howdy,

My wife's 2000 SLS has a "wub, wub, wub ..." noise that varies with speed. I had figured that it was the tires, but tonight I grabbed the front tires and torqued them in and out. The driver side seems tight, but the passenger side has noticeable play.

I am going to jack the car up for an oil and crankshaft postion sensor change tomorrow, so I will be spend a bit more time playing with the tire.

Anyway, I figure the play must be due to either a bad wheel hub or balljoint. I have read the procedures on how to replace both, but I do have a few questions.

What size is the axle/spindle nut?

Does the whole lower control arm need replacing if the balljoint is bad? Do I need any special tools to replace the joint?

Thanks in advance,

maydog

[Phillip]

On the 96 STS, the axle nut is 32 mm. I just had mine off yesterday. I used a deep, impact socket.

[Scotty]

I think my Deville is 33 or 34, its definately not 32, my 91 Seville was 32...I have a 32 in my garage and it does not fit my Deville. I do not know how the Deville differs in size from the Seville and Eldo.

I actually bought a 34 for my Deville and it was a tiny bit loose, then I found out that 33 existed, at some point I will buy a 33

[maydog]

I torqued on the wheel some more after it was jacked up. It seems that the play is in the steering, the whole knuckle moves a bit in the axis of steering.

I guess I may be looking at tie rod ends ( the outer does not seem to move, inner maybe)? Is this an easy DIY, or what would a shop charge? Would this cause the wheel to be noisy?

Thanks for the responses on the socket size - I am sure that this will be useful to somebody down the road.

[danbuc]

If the inner part of the tie rod move's, I would think that you have a problem with your steering rack then. When you move the wheel back and forth, look at the rubber boot on the steering rack, and see if it moves. I would suggest having someone else on the other side of the car, to see if mboth side's move together. If only the right rubber boot moves, then the connection between the tie rod, and steering rack is loose. I'm not entirely sure if just the tie rod connection is servicable. You might have to remove, and replace the entire steering rack. Have you noticed any excessive play in the wheel at all? That could be another indication of an internal problem within the steering rack, especially if all the outer connections (ball joints, hub bearing,..ect) are fine. AS far as DIY, I'm sure it's possible, but it will be very time consuming, and difficult to say the least.