Nobody

Disclaimer: The information in this post should only be used a supplement to the procedure outlined in a service manual. Screwing this up could lead to very serious and unfortunate consequences. Consult an experienced mechanic if you are unsure about any of the content below.

Symptom of wheel bearing/hub issue: intermittent grinding/squeaking sound from wheel at low speeds when off throttle Sound increases proportional to speed until about 35mph when the sound goes away. Sounds almost like a warped rotor rubbing, but applying brakes does not affect the sound at all. The hub issue appeared at the same time I noticed a broken wheel stud. Not sure which caused which to fail or if it was just a coincidence. While I waited for all the parts to come in, another wheel stud failed. The other three, I

jlucas

You definately want to have a nut on that ball joint when you go to break it with the tool. You can't use the castle nut (unless there's room to turn it upside down). If you don't use a nut you risk distorting the ball joint (because it's hollowed out where the cotter pin goes) and then you'll be replacing more expensive parts. Been there, done that. Use a nut.

alexf20c

ALWAYS "nut the bolt" if it needs some persuasion.

Great write-up, Nobody.

Chazmo

Nobody,

Stupid question: what happened to those wheel studs/bolts??? Did you overtorque your lug nuts or something? I've heard of warpage as a result of overtorque, but not this!

Do you think the lugs maybe loosened up and caused the wheel to bang against the nuts and crack the bolt?

RACER

DUDE.....Fabulous write up

"Do not use a pickle fork to remove the ball joints unless you want to learn all about replacing the Ball Joint Boots, too. " I once used a pickle fork to remove a lower ball joint on an 86 Honda CRX. About two to three weeks later, I noticed the steering felt a little funny and it made a little noise. A week later I was driving down Arnold Drive in Sonoma and the car started to shake. I got out of the car and shook the right front tire with my hands, and it did not look good. I proceeded to turn around to go back home, and the right front corner of the car collapsed

I will always use the proper tools after that episode. Hey, does anyone know if the same ball joint removal tool for a Del Sol would works on the S?

Nobody

I ALWAYS use a torque wrench and based on recommendations from others on the board, torque the lugs to just under 90lbs. I may crank it down a notch now.

The first one went not too long after a track day.

The second one went because of the play in the bearing--that and, of course, having only 4 lugs didn't help. I got all this fixed JUST in time. Hopefully my experience may make it a bit easier for the next owner who has this problem. I've never had an issue with a wheel bearing on any car or bike I've owned....I am having difficulty believing that one would go on the S with only 36K miles on the odometer.

RACER

I hate to say it, but I think there is a possibility that the lugs were OVER tightened. I came off of the track at Sears Point back in April. After letting the car sit for about 10-15 minutes, I proceeded to re-torque the lugs. As I was tightening one of the front wheels, one of the lug nuts was turning, but not getting any tighter

I stopped immediately, then backed it off 1/2 to 3/4 of a turn with a breaker bar. I lowered the torque wrench by 3-4 lbs and re-torqued the lug nuts. This time I felt the nuts tighten right away, the wrench clicked. Because of the heat generated by braking, the lugs can get very hot.

What puzzle's me is that the lugs that snapped on your car were on the rear

xviper

Nobody, I invite you to make a post and include a link to this thread here:
https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=108435

Av8ing1

Totally excellent right up! Thanks Nobody.

JeffA

Chazmo

Not to take this awesome write-up off track, but I think 90 may be too high for our lugs. Something on the order of 75 ft-lb. Anyway, best wishes.