oldsguybry

Well , I actually am lucky for BUYING this Buick ! Me and the family left on sunday to go to the Wisconsin Dells Mt. Olympus Waterpark , and about 30 minutes into the trip I started hearing the wheel bearing on the 01 Cavalier . I know there was a bit of play in it , but it was not making any noise ( if you remember I had to tighten the axle nut , because of a knocking sound ) . The minute I could hear it grinding , I got off the freeway and headed back on the side roads . It was sounding pretty bad by the time I got home , so we unloaded everything into the Buick , and away we went . I don't know about you , but I never had a wheel bearing go that fast before , usually they make a whirring sound , followed by a grinding sound that gets louder and louder as you continue to drive it . The Buick drove great though .... There was a slight shake on the back end at freeway speeds , but the shocks are getting pretty bad , and the back tires need to be replaced , other then that it was a nice ride there and back .

Allan R

Glad everything worked out. You going to fix the Cavalier or just keep running the Buick? My money would be on the buick.

oldsguybry

By all means , yes i'm going to fix the Cavalier. I't cost about $80 or so for the Bearing and 0% for labor ... besides , it's been a good car aside from this being the third bearing I had to buy for this car since we bought it new , but with 84,000 on the ticker , that's not too horribly bad . It's my wifes car , and we need two cars , ( one to take the kids to school , and one to get me to work ) so I must fix . It only takes a few hours to do , unless you hurry up . The question is ....... Should I get the cheap bearing ? or go for the more expensive one ? I have now had 2 fail sooner then they should through the years , out of the 5 total that I had to do in my lifetime . I may go for the better one this time . I think just maybe like Rob said above .... You need to torque the axle nut which could have been a contribution to it failing the last time . I would really like to know what that specification is for torqueing the axle nut , so I can do it right if that is the problem . I don't ever remember seeing any instructions with these bearings for torque specs , but i'll be looking this time .

oldsguybry

Like usual , no instructions in the new bearing box , so the guy at the parts store had to look in the cheaper bearing box they had on the shelf , and there was instructions with that one that said ..... 185FT LBS of Torque ..... I guess I should of questioned it , because it's a nut .... most nuts & bolts that hold any kind of machinery together usually have torque specs .... so poo on me for not doing it right the first time .... anyhow , I bought a new bearing and rented a torque wrench . Will take pics .

oldsguybry

Well , it turns out the bearing was toast , but the real problem was the loose lug nuts on the other wheel .... out of the hundreds of wheels I took off in my life , I never forgot to tighten lugs before . It got to the point that one lug came off completely and two others were just a little loose , and one was like hand tight . I don't know what to think about that to be honest with you . I never had this happen before .... There was no damage to the rim or studs , but I noticed the balljoint with the ripped boot is done . I can move the ball joint stud with my fingers . I will have to replace that this weekend . The fun never ends !

Allan R

Hmmm, call it a lesson learned. Good thing you didn't lose the wheel while you were driving. Wouldn't you feel that wobble through the steering wheel though?

oldsguybry

no , just an awful noise ! I have to replace the balljoint , find a lug nut , and that car is done ... Then the couple of lingering problems with the buick , and then on to the fender repair I think i'll take a vacation after i'm done with the buick .

oldsguybry

Here's the picture that did not turn out from above .....

oldsguybry

Well , the balljoint is about half wore out , and the rivets are harder to grind then I thought . I'm going to have to use something more aggresive then the dremel , if I want to get this done in my lifetime . I tightened the balljoint nut to the next spot that I could get the cotter pin through , and the car drives , handles , and sounds great ! .... for now . I will have to work on this once I find a better idea for grinding the rivet heads .... any ideas ?

Ancient Iron

Air chisel

oldsguybry

Thanks , I was going to go that route , but I decided I will take the control arm off and drill them out .

oldsguybry

What a joke those repo parts are ..... Once I drilled and pounded the rivets out , the bolts on the new balljoint would not fit through the holes in the control arm ! You have to drill the holes bigger in the control arm itself ! So I took back the balljoint and bought the entire control arm ! If that isn't bad enough , the castle nut is not as tall as the one on the old balljoint , so when tightened down , it left the cotter pin hole above the castle nut , and not between the castles . I was going to use the old nut , but it's a different thread also ! I could not find a washer with a hole big enough to fit over the bolt , so I had to drill out the washer to take up enough space so the castle nut was sitting where it should ! In the end the repair turned out good . The car drives great , and there is no more clunk sound.

on to the Buick now.... again.

Allan R

That sucks! Glad you got it fixed tho.

I just found out I either have to replace the sub frame on my wife's saturn or have a fish plate weld done to beef up a badly rusted zone on the drivers side. Prolly do the latter if the price is right. The sub assembly is universal for most 90's gm smaller cars so getting one isn't an issue.

Lady72nRob71

What a mess...
Makes me wonder what those repoppers were thinking. Quality of replacement parts seems to be worsening more and more and this is what can easily cause more problems later.
And I also wonder why that bearing had ball bearings and not the traditional roller bearings?? Those look like bicycle bearings...
Glad you got it back together and it drives better.

--Did you replace the bushings as a MAW?

oldsguybry

kinda , but for 50 more bucks I got the whole control arm with the bushings and balljoint installed already , so I did that instead of drilling the holes on the old one out . If you look at the pic of the old control arm , there is not enough meat to drill new holes . The new control arm seems to have plenty of metal in front of those holes , so that's why I did it .

Lady72nRob71

Okay, you MAW'ed all the way then!

oldsguybry

Yea , as far as the bearings go , i'm surprised to . I use to work for a bearing distributor ( Wisconsin Bearing Co. ) , and I figured the car wheel bearing would be a angular contact bearing , so it would take a radial and a thrust load ... but not the case here , so it does not surprise me that they may not last very long . ( especially if they are not torqued right )

I'm gonna try and save whats left of my MAWS for the 72 CS

oldsguybry

That's a great way to open a bag of MAWS

oldsguybry

Well , today is going to be 94 degrees , and tomorrow is suppose to be 104 degrees ... I have a lot of projects now around the house , and with the cars of course . I really want to get the Buick ready so I can get back to the 72 CS .

The sad part ...... My health is taking a turn for the worst I quit drinking a couple of years ago , and now i'm working on ridding myself of cigs . I have anxiety along with ADHD and a heart murmer , and according to the health site I was reviewing online , my days are numbered . I'm deathly affraid to let them cut me open and add a new heart valve , and it's not neccesarily needed yet according to my doctor a year ago or so , but I sure feel like crap lately . I read that the surgury is NOT needed on another site , and that doctors are to quick to jump into that decision . It seems that every site says something different , leaving me confused . I really don't want to die ! anyone with any exp in this , I welcome their opinions

Allan R

Well, you're on the right track with losing the addictions. Prolly that will cause a lot of anxiety in itself when you're deprived of a 'fix' that you're really used to. Don't believe all you read on the web. Your own Doctor says that you're not in danger over a year ago, so a follow up checkup (well visit) would logically be a good thing to do.

FWIW, a lot of fears and anxieties are psychosomatic - born out of mental imaginings. Keep a positive physical and mental attitude. Don't let your mind go to the dark side of 'what if'.

Heart murmurs occur in lots of people - I have one. In my case it's a weak heart muscle. I don't worry boudit, and it's not hurting me. It was caused back in 2000 when I developed hyperthyroidism. My thyroid was nuked and I'm on Synthroid for life. Side effect was damage to a heart muscle.

Don't overthink stuff Bryan. You're not dying, and you're not going to die anytime soon. Just that there's been a lot of nasty stuff happening in your life lately - it's completely normal to feel the pressure of all that.

IMO your ability to focus and git'r done certainly doesn't sound like you have ADHD.

oldsguybry

Thanks Allen.... I'm positive about the ADD though .... long story short my kid has it , and we have the typical issues/problems that comes with ADD

sorry to hear about your dilema that messed your heart up a bit , that sucks !

Allan R

Sometimes I wonder if I have ADHD.
Last night my wife came up and saw me watching TV. She said "would you like a nice snack - some natchos with salsa / sour cream and guacamole?" "Sure" I said.
Then she disappeared for a long time - didn't matter to me. She comes upstairs about 1/2 later and says, "oh, there you are". "Where's that snack?" I asked?
She goes downstairs and comes back up with some toast. I just looked at her and said " You forgot the peanut butter".


Another time I was sitting in the staff lounge talking with some buds. Right in mid sentence I stopped and said, "hey there's a clock above the door" and then kept right on going with the other conversation. God's truth - it happened. Everyone just stopped and looked at me, then started laughing. Better to go through life making people smile than angry I always say. So I must have some of that ADHD too. Lots of times I can't remember what I just said. Sometimes I forget what I just said. Still waiting for Alzhiemer's to kick in

oldsguybry

That does sound a bit like Alzhiemers , but i'm no doctor . Keep reading ( stimulates the mind ) ....... ADHD or ADD is a comprehension issue or like you said , hard to stay focused which I do have problems with , sometimes followed by a defiant dissorder ..... anyways enough of that . Hopefully I can get to the Buick and get it done this weekend .... BTW I went one whole day so far without a cig

Allan R

Congrats! Keep it up. Should start a thread on this to see how many others are in your situation and maybe start up a C.O. support group to get through the pangs of craving.

oldsguybry

It was a sweat-a-thon let me tell you ! About 90 degrees and the dew point was and still is in the 70's . I replaced the sway bar bushing links ( one side was missing and the other was ready to break ) I also replaced the rotors , and the brake pads , and I put a half a can of Seafoam in the gas tank . I'm going to have to replace a tie rod real soon along with one on the 01 Cav . I also found the bad rear mount on the transmission that's making the motor jump if I hit the gas to hard from a stop which is not a hard repair , but the mount costs $50 .... other then a oil change , the car is done for now . Here's a pic of the mount ....

oldsguybry

I got this info below from a fix-it web site , but I'm not seeing the bolt that they are talking about that gets torqed to the transmission . The three in the photo bolt to the cross member , and there are holes in the cross member to get at the nuts to remove mount . Notice how they only mention removing that bolt and the whole thing is suppose to come off . I looked at the mount on my car and that definitely is the correct mount ..... anyways here's the instructions .....

Instructions

1.  
   • 1Lift the front end of the Buick LeSabre with a jack and support the weight of the front end of the Buick LeSabre on a pair of jack stands.
     
     
   • 2Place the jack under the transmission and raise the transmission up slightly to remove the weight of the transmission from the mount. Remove the metal securing bolt from the cross member using the ratchet set. Pull the transmission mount from between the cross member and the transmission.
     
     
   • 
     
   • 3Slide the new transmission mount between the cross member and the transmission. Replace the metal securing bolt and torque the securing bolt to the specifications for that specific Buick LeSabre.
     
   • The transmission mount on a Buick LeSabre is located on the bottom of the transmission in the center of the cross member. In the center of the cross member and the transmission mount is a metal securing bolt. The metal securing bolt runs through the bottom of the cross member through the transmission mount and into the frame of the transmission. Once the new transmission mount is mounted into place on the cross member the securing bolt must be torqued to the specifications from that model .

oldsguybry

There are only two other mounts left on that car and they look nothing like one another , so I know i'm looking at the right one . I'll have to go to the store that has one in stock and take a closer look at it .

Allan R

There ya go! Little by little you're solving the problems and learning more about your car. Nice going Bryan!

oldsguybry

yea , but I still have the security issue that will eventually come back to haunt me . I still have to turn the key , release , and then turn it again to start it , but other then that the car drives very nice now .

oldsguybry

Well besides getting called back to work yesterday ... Twice ! $$$$ I had to tend to other items , such as these 4 tomato plants . They battled the heat for the last couple of weeks and seem to be doing ok . It's been so dry and hot ( until today ) that the brown grass crunches when you walk on it !

oldsguybry

I'm going to attempt to change the oil on the Buick , and change out the bad outer tie rod on the 01 today , so I can get back to the 72 .

Allan R

Oil change should be a piece of cake for a pro like you. IIRC the Buick doesn't need an ADV filter. Did you buy the tie rod yet?

Wow! Your area looks drier than a popcorn phart! I've been watering the heck out of our yard to keep it green. Nice and soft green grass to walk bare foot on beats dry crackly stab though your skin spears every time. You guys need some rain really bad.

oldsguybry

I can't seem to twist the outer tie rod from the shaft it threads into on the 01 Cav . I have a big pipe wrench for turning the tie rod itself , and 2 large vise grips on the shaft where it's squared . I also heated it up with a propane torch , but not sure if it would be better to heat the shaft or the tie rod itself .... anyways it's not budging , just making the vise grips spin . I was thinking about letting a garage muscle it loose for me .

Allan R

Bryan, I found this DIY vid on the web for replacing an inner tie rod. Should be pretty similar for your car?? See if autozone has that loaner tool for you. Looks like it would make the job finished in less than 15 minutes. Course they prolly pre-staged some of that...

Have a look

oldsguybry

The link you have is for the inner tie rod which I have not watched in it's entirety yet . Either way , I borrowed a slightly smaller pipe wrench for the side where the vise grips was slipping , and i'll use the bigger pipe wrench on the tie rod itself to crank it off . That should do it

lol , the tie rod just twisted right off in the video .... Not the case here , but I know the pipe wrenches will come through . I really did not think I would have to go through all of this . The tie rod along with the shaft that it screws into looks pretty clean .

The car will need an alignment when i'm done . I counted 15 threads if the replacement tie rod is the same length as the one I take off . If the other side looks ok , then i'll take it somewhere for an alignment .

oldsguybry

Well , the reason it would not come loose so easily was a nut at the end of the tie rod that should of been moved first ... of course I did not realize that till I finally broke it loose ! It took both pipe wrenches and both vise grips before it came loose this way . The camera was acting up so I could only save a few pics , the rest were blurry .....er

oldsguybry

I have to inspect the other side , and then take it in for an alignment so the steering wheel is straight again .

Allan R

Glad you were able to get it Bryan. The nut on the end of the outer tie rod is to make sure it doesn't move after alignment. I didn't know what stage of wrestling with the car you were at so I just threw in that whole video link. If you went the same number of turns on the new outer, it should get you go the alignment shop without much trouble.

BTW, how much is an alignment down there? I just had one done on my Sonata about a month ago and the cheapest price was 104.00

oldsguybry

I almost got the alignment perfect . The steering wheel center after the repair was at about 10 oclock and not driving so good . I could see the wheel I just did was pointing in a bit compared to the other side , so I turned the tie rod in two cranks and it's real good . It drives pretty well , and the steering wheel is straight now . I took it on the freeway and it goes pretty straight so that car is done finally ! I may just skip to the fender repair now , because the Buick is driving well , except for the mount replacement I need to do down the road .

Oh , and a alignment down here is about $60-$80 if you dont need anything replaced .

Allan R

Nicely done. Wonder why there's such a difference in pricing. My quote of 104 was the CHEAP one. They go all the way up to 130.00 for the same thing. Sounds like when I need stuff done on my car it will be cheaper to pack my tools in the trunk (declare them at the border) and fix my car in the USA. I would count the gas as part of a pleasure trip to see America!