Strange Vibration On The Passenger Side Wheel,when Steering Left

[Bronto]

After $3k in repairs, my 94 LS runs good...Now there's a vibration on the passenger side-it intensifies when steering to the left at about 50mph+...

whats going on?? (its not the tires)

[landar]

Brian, it is almost impossible to diagnose this issue over the forum but we can give you some ideas of things to check.

Do not be so quick to dismiss tires unless you state WHY you have eliminated the tires. Tires are a really big part of most vibration issues.

It could be tires, rims, wheel bearing, ball joint, worn bushings, loose suspension member. And if the vibration gets worse under braking, it could be the rotor. You can even get a quick idea by rotating tires/rims from front to back to see if there is any change.

Was the front-end of the car recently checked and aligned? Most good tire shops can pinpoint this vibration pretty quickly and for very reasonable rates.

[Bronto]

Landar,

Just had the 94 LS vibration checked out.. The vibration was the wheel bearing. I just picked one up from AZn up, however is there an outer and inner wheel bearing or just one?

[landar]

Yeah that makes sense to be a wheel bearing because it intensifies when turning. You can also confirm a bad bearing by going around a corner and accelerating then decelerating(let off the gas). If the vibration changes considerable at approx. the same speed then it is a bearing. This because the weight of the car rides on a slightly different portion of the bearing during accel and decel. And I am presuming it is front and not rear?

In any case, there is only one bearing per hub but you have to remove the hub and have it pressed out and new one pressed in. It is not an "in situ" type of surgery.

Since this is going to be considerable labor involved here, I would recommend against an Az part. Go with a high quality OEM. Yes, it initially costs more but less in the long term. You will need an alignment when done. I would also recommend doing both sides while at it.

[Bronto]

Thanks so much Landar! By the way, why do you say its not an on site type of job??

[landar]

Oh, I just meant you are probably going to have to take the hub into a shop to have the old bearing pressed out and new one pressed in. I do not think you will be able to do the entire job in your garage unless you have a means of getting the bearing out/in.

[Bronto]

Hi Landar,

We couldn't seem to get the hub assembly off (see photo) so Im going to purchase an OEM steering knuckle that contains the bearing! Any thoughts on this?

[landar]

To get the knuckle removed, I think you will need to remove ball joint connections among other components. I do not know how much this OEM knuckle costs but bet it is not cheap. The cost is however offset with the fact that you do not need to get a shop to press out/in the bearing.

Take a look at the lexls tutorial site on suspension component removal and look at the various tutorials. Although it does not specifically have one for the knuckle, I will bet you can glean enough info to figure how to get it off. http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/suspension/

[Bronto]

Hi Landar,

Im planning on purchasing a used OEM spindle knuckle for my 94 LS400s' bad wheel bearing problem, however I'm only seeing parts for 95-98 models; how do I know if these are compatible?

[landar]

Based upon the ToyoDIY site, the part numbers look the same for the 94-98 (43211 for LH and 43212 for RH) and the pics look the same.

[Bronto]

Ok gents, I purchased the right steering knuckle from a 93 for my 94LS4-any land mines I should know about when installing this? Seems pretty formidable.

Also,I figured the 93 & 94 part numbers were the same since its first gen.. any comments??

[landar]

yeah, are you going to install a new bearing in the used knuckle? It may be worn out too. Or you can take your chances. But after all of that work, do you really want to?

[Bronto]

Honestly, at this point its less expensive to install & see. If its in poor shape too, I do have a new ball bearing in hand and will just have NAPA press the new one in...crossing fingers and toes

[Bronto]

Had the new (salvage) steering knuckle installed, working well! Now for the instrument cluster...-__-