Rachael's Wonky Wheel Problem
 

So most of you guys from CEBF know that I had a wonky wheel. No one could really figure out what was wrong just by lookin at it.... but all agreed it was undeniably wonky. So I went to get my oil changed, had the fellas look at it with me while on the lift, and I guess my strut mount is bad. Well phooey. Apparently that's 800 bucks to fix, cause they're tellin me I'm gonna need new tires as well. I have 72 cents to my name after a real crisis that arose today, and that will change soon but... not by 800 bucks though, not nearly.... is this something that a Rachael is capable of doing? Maybe even with help if someone is available and somewhat nearby? :D I do tend to screw things up very quickly when I don't have a coach... and the tread on said wonky wheel is like, wavy... I have pictures but they're on my phone. So I'm afriad if I wait any longer I won't be able to avoid getting new tires.... anyway, yeah. All advice is greatly appreciated. I will get pics up once I figure out how to get them off my phone.

How could they tell a strut mount was bad? Did they Pop off the strut cap and have a look?

Do you have a Vibration or out of balance feeling from the car when you drive?

Also I'd love to see a Pic if you can get it posted..

Strut mounts usually last a long time on the 92-99 Bonnies

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I would help but Im about useless when it comes to fixing cars.
Heres some pictures from the meet i found.

https://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j...hofjuly016.jpg
https://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j...hofjuly007.jpg

It actually looks worse in person, I've seen it.

Todd said the tires aren't too damaged so it indicated that it happened recently.

Hey Rachael! You got a wonky wheel and I ended up with a funky tranny. LOL

Ok... Now that explains a lot.... That tilt tells us the car has some messed up Camber... Either we have a Ball joint issues or the strut mount is bad...

But $800 to fix this issue is Rape...

Me being a Backyard Type of car guy,

Say this was a strut mount issue which it very well could be... This would be a $20-50 Part... and in a matter of minutes we'd have this fixed..

was it just that one wheel?

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yes. just the one. and it is pretty obvious in person, thanks so much for the pics! I guess the mechanic said he saw the strut mount wobble from side to side or something. and I know the tire tread didn't look bad from the ground. but once it was on the lift, the very inside of the tire looked REALLY bad, it was an extremely irregular wear pattern. I'm hoping that since it's on the very inside of the tire I won't have to get new tires. But thanks for the advice, so if I do it myself it should be pretty easy to afford?

Rach, I just replaced the strut mount on the front driver's on my car. He's right, the part at high cost was $59.99 for me new, and I disconnected the strut myself and just took it and the new mount to the local shop (because I am not about to risk my life with trying to compress the suspension spring! :shock: ) and the guy did it for free, but I tipped him for his time. Also, I had to get an alignment afterwards.

All in all, cost me a grand total of about $80 and I learned a lot.

On top of that, add a new tire even at an overpriced $150/tire and that's only about $200 your cost. What the hell is $800 getting you? They gonna install a flatscreen tv in the wheel well so that you can watch the shows you're missing while changin' a flat?! :?

Sounds like a load of crap to me... especially if they said you need all new tires, not just the one tire.

Rach... $800 is absurd for that repair. Basically the part runs $30-$60 at most and takes an hour of labor to fix. Maybe an alignment afterwards. Being on the back..that tire is most likely fine.

C'mon Ohio folks who is in for helping Rach change a strut mount? You'll need basic tools, a jack and jack stands?









Ps..Don meant pics of you...not the car. :lol:

That would be great....LMAO.. :lol:


But yes the part is not expensive... And in reality not hard at all to replace.... If I was in Ohio, we'd have it taken care of in a hurry.. There are 2 bolts on the top of the strut tower that hold the mount, its hidden in the trunk behind the trunk carpet... Might even be able to replace the mount without throwing the alignment... But it would be recommended that you have the alignment checked and possibly reset

On a side note Doing the front struts are not that bad.... You do need to pay attention to where you have the spring compressors, and you need to point that strut away from you as a just in case, also keep the fingers out of the way... after doing these soo many times over the last 10 years, its like clockwork for me...

anything else you need to know, just ask..

Rach, I wish you the best of luck dear

;)

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