Brantley

I've had a "creak" coming from my front driver side wheel. Pushing / pulling the top of the wheel causes the creak to happen and can tell there is presence of an ever so slight amount of slack. But, it at least reproduces the same sound that happens when cornering / turning.

I figured the issue was possibly a failing ball joint so have a spare control arm with rebuilt ball joint ready to go in.

I currently have it all apart as I am also doing rotors, pads and brake lines.

Now that I have it all apart, there seems to be a bit of play in the steering knuckle. Is this a sign of a failing wheel bearing?

I guess I should probably replace these as well?

Thanks,
Mike B.

Droops83

Does the ever-so-slight amount of play occur when you grasp the wheel at the top and bottom and rock it back and forth? A small amount of radial play is normal in the tapered roller wheel bearing setup as installed in the 944 when properly adjusted. It takes a bit of experience to know how much is acceptable, but the play should be very slight, as in felt but not seen.

However, even excessive wheel bearing play will not normally cause a creak. You could be on to something with the ball joint (though even that won't cause a creak but a large and scary "clunk."). In my mind, a "creak" is more likely to emanate from a rubber bushing, though a dry ball joint can do the same thing . . . .

Suspension noises are even more difficult to diagnose over the internet than on the phone, so more description would be helpful.

Brantley

Yes, exactly the scenario. Slight amount of play with the corresponding "creak". It is difficult to see the play though...

I've driven a 951 with a failed ball joint - massive shudder at 45+ mph. Major creaking / wobble when cornering. Rocking back and forth from top can see play.

I don't have any shuddering at speed. Had it aligned recently with no problems. I've replaced all of the sway bar bushing with OEM rubber ones recently so don't have any dry ones.

I'm going to skip replacing the bearings for now. I don't want to change to many things all at once (especially if not needed).

The rubber boot on the ball joint is torn and dirty so... I'll replace the control arm for now and see if the problem goes away. It isn't that difficult of a job to go back in and do the wheel bearings if the problem continues.

Thanks!

aglaes

wheel bearing replacement is pretty simple and inexpensive. Not sure what kind of mileage you have on the car, but if you don't think it's ever been done, you should probably go ahead and do it now while you've got it apart. Van has a great youtube video on how to do it.

I felt a very slight wobble in my front left wheel too (no creaking noise though). Did not have the same feel on the right side. I went ahead and replaced the bearings and made sure I got the proper tightening of the nut. Don't feel any movement now.

I would recommend taking the hubs to a shop to have the bearing races pressed in (if you don't have a press) instead of using Van's method of heating the hub and freezing the race. I tried his way and couldn't get it to go in. ended up taking them to a shop and pressed in.

Brantley

Found the cause of the creaking... turned out that the bearing clamping nut was slightly loose. Was able to rotate it another 180 degrees, and tightened it down. Got everything back together and no more play / noise.

Thanks all for the assistance.

jmj951

Just make sure it's not actually tight. You should still be able to rotate the washer behind the nut with a little force using a screwdriver. If you can't, it's too tight.

aglaes

You can also watch Van's video for how he tightens the nut. Link is part 3 of his 3 part video on changing wheel berarings. Go to 1:50 mark for his method of tightening the nut.