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[quote=”Kokiboy” post=109712]As far as the condition of the axles thats on my car the only problem with it is the boots are dry cracked so should i just replace the boot or replacing the axles would be better since mileage is fairly up there. By the way its a 2003 hyundai elantra gls manual 5 speed
Quick question when should i worry about front bearings on my vehicle i dont hear any noise seems like there fine but being i have about 109875 on them should i change them or do they last the life of the car so i hear.[/quote]
Like I said, if the boots are torn open far enough to allow dirt and road debris into the joints, replacement is the best option. If the boots are still sealed despite any surface cracks, then it’s your crap shoot whether you want to replace or repair. It’s entirely viable you can get more long life out of the OE shafts if you want to do the work. Barneyb raises a good point about greasy messes though.
I won’t give you an entire repair how to, but keep these things in mind. If you do decide to repair, you will need a band clamping tool to seal the ends of the boots. There’s a good chance you can rent or buy the tool from a local parts store. Clean out all the old grease thoroughly. Then clean out all the old grease thoroughly. (not a misprint…promise!) Look for damage like chunking or galling of the balls, the races, and the cage. Any damage there would pretty much force you to replace them anyway. When installing the new boot, wedge a screw driver between the boot and the joint to keep the boot from holding too much air.
As far as wheel bearings go, their typical life expectancy is 130,000 miles. You don’t ever really need to change them before they’ve actually worn out. If you’re not hearing noises on turns or finding any play in the bearings, leave them be. You’d need to replace the hub and the bearing. Buying both parts combined, are pretty expensive to replace as a maintenance item. You’d also need a press device to press the parts out of the knuckle. There are tool kits available now that let you do this job on the car. Given the effort and the cost to replace the hubs & bearings, I’d let them fail first. When they do fail, you’ll usually hear it on the turn first.
[quote=”Kokiboy” post=109712]As far as the condition of the axles thats on my car the only problem with it is the boots are dry cracked so should i just replace the boot or replacing the axles would be better since mileage is fairly up there. By the way its a 2003 hyundai elantra gls manual 5 speed
Quick question when should i worry about front bearings on my vehicle i dont hear any noise seems like there fine but being i have about 109875 on them should i change them or do they last the life of the car so i hear.[/quote]
Like I said, if the boots are torn open far enough to allow dirt and road debris into the joints, replacement is the best option. If the boots are still sealed despite any surface cracks, then it’s your crap shoot whether you want to replace or repair. It’s entirely viable you can get more long life out of the OE shafts if you want to do the work. Barneyb raises a good point about greasy messes though.
I won’t give you an entire repair how to, but keep these things in mind. If you do decide to repair, you will need a band clamping tool to seal the ends of the boots. There’s a good chance you can rent or buy the tool from a local parts store. Clean out all the old grease thoroughly. Then clean out all the old grease thoroughly. (not a misprint…promise!) Look for damage like chunking or galling of the balls, the races, and the cage. Any damage there would pretty much force you to replace them anyway. When installing the new boot, wedge a screw driver between the boot and the joint to keep the boot from holding too much air.
As far as wheel bearings go, their typical life expectancy is 130,000 miles. You don’t ever really need to change them before they’ve actually worn out. If you’re not hearing noises on turns or finding any play in the bearings, leave them be. You’d need to replace the hub and the bearing. Buying both parts combined, are pretty expensive to replace as a maintenance item. You’d also need a press device to press the parts out of the knuckle. There are tool kits available now that let you do this job on the car. Given the effort and the cost to replace the hubs & bearings, I’d let them fail first. When they do fail, you’ll usually hear it on the turn first.
It’s been a very reliable test for me. When you’re rocking the wheel back and forth, one side of the car lifts while the other side of the car squats. The side that squats is opposite the direction that you’re turning to. You’re shifting more of the weight of the car onto that bearing so it does amplify any groaning or growling side opposite turning direction. Worn bearing = friction. More weight = more friction. Friction = noise. More friction = more noise. In most cases, you can confirm the noise by turning the wheel by hand. Often enough, you’ll feel it just as much as you’ll hear it. The one place I can think of where you’d need to be careful with this is on four wheel drive vehicles in the differentials. The differential bearings can make the same noises and be on the same side as the direction you’re turning to. I learned that lesson on a Ranger.
It’s been a very reliable test for me. When you’re rocking the wheel back and forth, one side of the car lifts while the other side of the car squats. The side that squats is opposite the direction that you’re turning to. You’re shifting more of the weight of the car onto that bearing so it does amplify any groaning or growling side opposite turning direction. Worn bearing = friction. More weight = more friction. Friction = noise. More friction = more noise. In most cases, you can confirm the noise by turning the wheel by hand. Often enough, you’ll feel it just as much as you’ll hear it. The one place I can think of where you’d need to be careful with this is on four wheel drive vehicles in the differentials. The differential bearings can make the same noises and be on the same side as the direction you’re turning to. I learned that lesson on a Ranger.
If those boots are actually torn open to the degree that dirt/water/pick your contaminant is getting into the joint, replacing the shafts is a good idea. In my experience, a remanufactured half shaft will do just fine. I can’t recall ever replacing one on a warranty basis. I have sent a few back because I got the wrong shaft. If your budget is really tight, you can easily do one at a time and let the other ride for a while. CV joints are pretty strong parts. Half shafts would probably get replaced much less frequently if they could build a better boot for the CV joints. If you’re not hearing any clicking on turns, the joints themselves probably aren’t in too bad of a shape yet. Dampener or no dampener on the shaft, it’s something that gets pressed onto the shaft during manufacturing. You won’t be swapping it off any shaft onto the next. I would double check and make sure you’re getting the right half shaft. They might have shown you a shaft for a manual transmission when you’ve got an automatic transmission or vice versa. I’d also be leery of some funky mid-year change. What’s your year, make, and model?
If those boots are actually torn open to the degree that dirt/water/pick your contaminant is getting into the joint, replacing the shafts is a good idea. In my experience, a remanufactured half shaft will do just fine. I can’t recall ever replacing one on a warranty basis. I have sent a few back because I got the wrong shaft. If your budget is really tight, you can easily do one at a time and let the other ride for a while. CV joints are pretty strong parts. Half shafts would probably get replaced much less frequently if they could build a better boot for the CV joints. If you’re not hearing any clicking on turns, the joints themselves probably aren’t in too bad of a shape yet. Dampener or no dampener on the shaft, it’s something that gets pressed onto the shaft during manufacturing. You won’t be swapping it off any shaft onto the next. I would double check and make sure you’re getting the right half shaft. They might have shown you a shaft for a manual transmission when you’ve got an automatic transmission or vice versa. I’d also be leery of some funky mid-year change. What’s your year, make, and model?
Like I said, this was a few moons ago and the car is long gone. I should have wrote the orignal post a little better. I was just reminded of the car and thought I’d ask about it just to try and satisfy my curiosity.
When I was doing the diagnosis, I was pretty sure the P0300 and the EGR were related even though it would be counterintuitive as ShopTech implied. I told my customer that I found a decisive problem but couldn’t promise it would solve the root problem. All I had at the time for shop reference was All-data and I couldn’t find any information to back up my suspicion. I did’t have an idea what to charge for repair labor either so we went with R&R labor for the intake manifold which was in the ball park of four hours. It was too rich of a gamble for the customers and I haven’t seen the car since.
To have a valid question for you Eric, what would you consider fair labor to clean the EGR ports on the 3.5?
Like I said, this was a few moons ago and the car is long gone. I should have wrote the orignal post a little better. I was just reminded of the car and thought I’d ask about it just to try and satisfy my curiosity.
When I was doing the diagnosis, I was pretty sure the P0300 and the EGR were related even though it would be counterintuitive as ShopTech implied. I told my customer that I found a decisive problem but couldn’t promise it would solve the root problem. All I had at the time for shop reference was All-data and I couldn’t find any information to back up my suspicion. I did’t have an idea what to charge for repair labor either so we went with R&R labor for the intake manifold which was in the ball park of four hours. It was too rich of a gamble for the customers and I haven’t seen the car since.
To have a valid question for you Eric, what would you consider fair labor to clean the EGR ports on the 3.5?
It was definitely an RL. I just got my displacement wrong. Calling it an ant farm makes perfect sense. Thanks for all the replies.
It was definitely an RL. I just got my displacement wrong. Calling it an ant farm makes perfect sense. Thanks for all the replies.
Even at a general service shop, you will tend to specialize anyway. At minimum, high production vehicles combined with pattern failures will really afford you the chance to become a specialist whether you intended to be or not. I specialize in Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep suspension repair because they have millions of vehicles out there with control arms, ball joints, and tie rods that are loose in 30K. Everybody specializes GM 3.1 intake gaskets because so many of them failed and then failed again later. Everybody specializes in struts on Ford Taurus because you know their rear springs are going to be sagging practically to a coil bind and at least one of the front struts broke a coil by now. Some have said they specialize out of passion. I specialize because that’s where my best chance of making money is. I’ll steal oil changes from the lube techs so I can try and find those pattern failures. That’s where you become a specialist by default.
Even at a general service shop, you will tend to specialize anyway. At minimum, high production vehicles combined with pattern failures will really afford you the chance to become a specialist whether you intended to be or not. I specialize in Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep suspension repair because they have millions of vehicles out there with control arms, ball joints, and tie rods that are loose in 30K. Everybody specializes GM 3.1 intake gaskets because so many of them failed and then failed again later. Everybody specializes in struts on Ford Taurus because you know their rear springs are going to be sagging practically to a coil bind and at least one of the front struts broke a coil by now. Some have said they specialize out of passion. I specialize because that’s where my best chance of making money is. I’ll steal oil changes from the lube techs so I can try and find those pattern failures. That’s where you become a specialist by default.