Inner tie rod question on a '94 Miata

[Mike Mackaman]

I am thinking that the junk tires that are on the car may be the culprit. I have noticed that the roar gets louder if I turn right, loading the left side wheels. But the bearings seem ok by every check I have made, even the drive it for a while and shoot the hub temps with the IR gun. May swap tires side to side and see what it does.

Thanks for the input!
Mike

[Marcus Miller]

Did it hit both front and rear? Could be a rear cv joint/ diff bearing as well.

[Mike Mackaman]

Checked the wheel bearings at 12 and 6 and there is some play.

On the upper front control arm, the ball joint had slid up some. Trying to change it, how the heck do I get the bolt out of the control arm. I have it slid up to the point that it is hitting the weld nut on the sway bar arm. What am i missing? I can't use the hot wrench as I need to reuse it.

Thanks for the help!
Mike

[Wreckerboy]

To take the upper bolt out you need to drop the front sway bar out of the car, which is really simple - four bolts, ten minutes of work. Drop the splash panel first.

Sorry I didn't see this message right away, but I'm not here that often. Email me directly at wreckerboy at g mail dot com

Rob

[Mike Mackaman]

Figured it out, what a PITA! Most of the stuff I see on the Miata makes me admire the engineers. A couple things, like the upper control arm bolt, not so much!

Changed the LF hub last night and it is a little better. I am going to swap some tires around and see what happens.
Mike

[Mike Mackaman]

As the noise got worse, it became obvious that the left rear wheelbearing was also toast. Trying to take it apart was one of those video camera moments. Axle refused to come out, no problem, I will just take the upright out and put it in the press. Lower spindle bolt won't come out, turns out it was bent. Get the axle pressed partway out, try to take the axle nut the rest of the way off, it is stripped now and has to be cut off. Replace the axle and the hub, with the new bearing, and now it is quieter. The junk tires are loud, but I can hear the radio now!

Still a great car and way better milage than my truck! More fun to drive too.