Valkyrie

I pulled my front upright off to find where my the freeplay in my hub was coming from (to make sure whether it was my bearings or something else).

The FSM says to use a pull scale to measure the force it takes to pull them.

Is this a reliable way of seeing whether there is any freeplay without using calipers and jacking the car up and down?


My upper and lower ball joints aren't super tight, but they aren't really floppy, either. Are the probably fine? I can't feel any up and down free play by hand.


Also, I was told that inner tie rods should generally stay in whatever position they're put in (without sagging). Mine don't. They sag slightly.

quichedem

iTrader: (4)

What shape are your ball joint boots in? Are they cracked? If so, moisture will get in and degrade the grease they are packed in. If you can catch it before dirty water completely contaminates the packing, then new grease and a new boot should be sufficient. I think it's pretty hard to completely ruin the control arm ball joints. In your case, it sounds like your control arm ball joints are alright. I suggest you re-pack and install new boots either way, while you have everything apart.

I just completely rebuilt my steering rack, and my ITRs "sagged." Again, as long as there's no (see: zero) "play" in the ball joint, and the dust boots are good (no cracks or tears), then I'd say you're in good shape.

Valkyrie

No, the boots look fine, more or less.

I guess the play is either in my hub bearings or my aftermarket pillowball lower arm bushings.

gracer7-rx7

iTrader: (16)

The easy way to check is with the suspension fully assembled and the wheel on the car.
Jack up the front so the tire is the air.

Grab the wheel at 9 and 3 o'clock. Push and pull to feel and see if there is any movement. This is a good check for the tie rod but the play can also be attributed to wheel hub/bearing looseness and/or ball joints if no play in the tie rod is observed. Since the tie rod is in front of the wheel, if you feel more play from the back of the wheel, then the tie rod is probably ok but hub or ball joints could have play / wear.
If you are limber, you can twist around and watch the tie rod for play as you do this.


Grab the wheel at 12 and 6 o'clock. Push pull to feel and see if there is any movement. This is a good check for wheel hub looseness and ball joints but hard to differentiate unless you investigate further.
For Spec Miatas, play observed in this test is generally attributed to hubs since they wear more than ball joints.

I'm forgetting what the specific test for ball joints is but they can be visually inspected. I'll get back to you if I remember. Otherwise, hopefully others will chime in.

Valkyrie

I didn't feel any play with it assembled except for 12 and 6, and it was minute.

Valkyrie

For the record, the free play was in the bearings. You could actually hear a sort of a clicking noise coming from them if you turned them (they also weren't very smooth).

Gonna hold off on replacement for now since the free play is so small.

Valkyrie

Also, I misconstrued what I was told about tie rod droop. Inner tie rods don't need to stay in place, they simply need to not flop straight down.

quichedem

iTrader: (4)

My steering rack was a mess. From sitting in some field in Texas for however long with slashed and rotten boots, I found that the inner tie rods were still in surprisingly good shape. I cleaned them as best as I could, and made sure to use a generous amount of grease. There was no play, and the ball ends weren't scored or anything. Basically, it takes a lot of neglect to ruin the inners. The outer tie rods were probably salvageable, but OEM replacements were not that expensive.

Valkyrie

I think one of my steering rack bushings has popped out of place.