Slight Play In Wheel 12 And 6 O'clock

[lexus400]

'91 LS with 175k. I bought the car with 55k and at that time dealer replaced upper control arms and lower balls joints so those components have 125k on them now. Rack, struts, inner/outer tie rods are new. If I grab the wheel top and bottom, I have some play on the drivers side. Pass seems tight but I'm getting a "popping"

noise from that side when driving.

Would you guess lower ball joints ? Anyone had wheel bearings go at that mileage ?

thanks,

Bob

[ko90ls]

i saw on a website that the "rubber bushings" or "grommet" on the steering rack causes steering wheel issues. i think it was on autoinsider.com or something similar. lexus has stronger parts to correct problem. but the steering wheel should have some freeplay as per the owners manual.

[lexus400]

interesting, anyone else know any more details ? ko90s, do you have a link by any chance ? I couldn't get to autoinsider.

thanks

[AussiLS400]

If your experiencing the steering wheel moving slightly when turning hard then yes it is the rack grommets. The drivers side grommet on mine was half split. Lexus modified these around 92 to stop problems in later models.

[lexus400]

ok, no... rack grommets are new. This is play in the wheel itself, not steering wheel.

[nc211]

ok, no... rack grommets are new. This is play in the wheel itself, not steering wheel.

Does it feel like it is just the wheel and rim alone, or is it the entire assembly with the brake rotor and such? Maybe all of the times of taking on and off the wheel over the years has worn out the wheel studs themselves....Or, did you replace the lower control arm too? I don't think it's anything major, just either the lower control arm bushing is going bad "hear any clunks over bumps?", wheel studs or like you mentioned earlier, the bearing itself. I would start with making sure if it's just the wheel only. If it's the rotors too and such, then I would look at the lower control arm next. If the bushing looks ok, then my guess is you probably do have a worn out bearing. It's not unheard of at that age and mileage.. They're like $60 bucks from the online vendors.

[mehullica]

Buy,or borrow a dial indicator and set it up on the steering knuckle/ wheel hub area. Then try to move it. If you see the indicator move, you need new bearings. If not move it to the lower and upper ball joints and check those. 5 minutes to correctly diag. the problem.