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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 291
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2003 Toyota Celica
Member
2003 Toyota Celica
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 291
Ever since I put on my new ADR wheels, the back of my car seem to be loose. I notice it the most when I'm in the high way switching lanes. The back feels wobbly, like it's not too stable. I already got an alignment. Anyone know what it is and how to fix it? I have the tein ss suspension for a year now but I never had this problem until I put on the new rims. I do have cheap tires! Could that be it?


If you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself.

Joined: Jan 2003
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2003 Toyota Celica
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2003 Toyota Celica
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 291
bump


If you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself.

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Do you have a GTS it's pretty common to say it's the rear bearing but I won't say it yet since the wheels are brand new.

I'm sure you've got them balanced, aligned, and bolted on the car properly correct? Knowing this then I'd the suspect the problem to be the "tires". First if it's not making a noise and you know for sure it just wobbles on merges and is not always wobbling in the rear but just swaying real quick on sudden merges (like you said it feels wobbly) this is why I'd suspect it to be your tires as well.

Reason why it's the tires is because when you say you switched lanes going fast and it wobbles it's pretty common that your tire tread is following the road direction. Example your speeding and their is a crack, crevice, a slightly higher elevated slab, in the highway and you switched lanes real quick at highspeeds you run over the crack, now your tire tread is just following the crack line. It can feel like that car is swaying, wobbly, or as if the wind just suddenly push your rear but it's pretty normal this happens with wider wheels and lower profile tires.

If it sways real hard check the tire inflation it may be over inflated and make sure your camber is correct. If it is only swaying or going a particular direction for example it always sways hard left you have an incorrect camber alignment and you may need a camber kit to fix the error. When the wheels in the rear start to butterfly then the tire tread will wear out inside causing you abnormal tire wear that's a definite sign of bad camber.

Noises...
If it is making weird noises like a constant thumping, clicking, or whirling sound it could be your wheel bearing. You don't want that problem that's when your tires wobble. You can inspect it by jacking up the rear wherever you suspect it coming from. Such as the rear left then try spinning the tire real fast and see if it wobbles. If the wheel doesn't wobble your good but if it does wobble your bearings are shot. You can also try pulling on the wheel if the wheel seems like it's loose or not in place then you definitely have a bearing problem. I have the GTS rear system and went through the right rear with a slight clicking noise that later turned into a clunking whirling noise. It was so bad when I inspected it on a jack stand and pulled on the wheel it seemed like it was barely holding on and the only thing holding it in place was the rear calipers. That was a pain in the ass to fix. Anyway hope you have no noises at high speed and you car goes in a straight line. smile

You should be okay it's just the new tires breaking in happens to me all the time. Always rotate, balance, inflate, and inspect them normally so the life of the tires do wear out to fast. thumbsup

I'll take a picture of my old rear to show you what a screwed up bearing looks like and can be very dangerous if not taken care of.


Originate, Innovate, Never Imitate. Since 2000-04.

Joined: Jan 2003
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2003 Toyota Celica
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2003 Toyota Celica
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 291
eekWow, Thanks man, you really helped me out. I haven't heard any noise from the tires but I'm gonna check my wheels again. And yeah, I hope to see those pics on how a broken bearing looks like. Thanks again. thumbsup


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How to suspects rear noises or strange movement. Movement such as car suddenly swerves a direction, drifts slightly, wobbles at high speeds, or loud strange noise to the rear occur at high speeds read on. Here's are pictures of how to tell when your bearing is shot as well. You'll have to remove the wheels if you want inspect it so you can make sure you can really tell it's the bearing.



Pic 1

Here's how you to inspect. The rotor should be aligned to the dust pan. It should not look like this notice how the rotor is slanted and the only thing holding it in place is the caliper. The rotor should follow the red line where the red arrow is indicating. (Make sure the dust pan doesn't hit the rotor and that it is not bent in anyway or you'll get noises from the rotor grinding against the pan. If you notice the rear dust pan is bent just try your best to make clearance so it is not against your rotor).
1870244268-Pic01.jpg


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Pic 2

Remove the rear calipers by unbolting the two gold bolts on the top & bottom then slide the caliper off.
1870244270-Pic02.jpg


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Pic 3

Remove the rotor off of the spindle.

(Rotors are rusty they've been sitting in the yard forever)
1870244272-Pic03.jpg


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Pic 4

Rotor Removed
1870244274-Pic04.JPG


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Pic 5

Grab the spindle and spin it making sure it spins smoothly. Check if it makes any unusual noises grinding, clicking, or whirling.
1870244275-Pic05.JPG


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Pic 6

Grab the spindle and pull outward. If the spindle moves loosely the bearings are shot.
1870244278-Pic06.JPG


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Pic 7

Notice how the spindle moved and now an 8cm gap suddenly appears this is a terrible bearing problem and will need to get replaced. In a driving situation with this bearing like this you'll notice harsh sways from the rear. This is due to the spindle moving in and out and bearings aren't holding the spindle in place no longer causing the car to drift a certain direction. Now depending how bad the problem is it can happen on and off occasionally or all the time. It should be repaired or serious damage can occur. (A friend of mine had ruined his bearings so bad one day on the streets his wheels just snap right off along with the spindle he never checked the cause of his problem.)
1870244279-Pic07.JPG


Originate, Innovate, Never Imitate. Since 2000-04.

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Pic 8

Another way you can tell... Grab the spindle and wiggle it if the spindle moves left, right, up, or down just by jiggling it around theirs a problem. The spindle should be locked in a stationary position if their is movement with the spindle the bearings are damaged. The spindle is only allowed to rotate no other movement should be going on.



If you want to see the bearing damage more clearly right click and save pic 6 & pic 7. Save them in the same directory folder. If you're running on windows XP like I am just go to the folder you saved the pictures in. Next click on pic 6 and the windows picture viewer should open. Last move the left and right arrow keys on the keyboard this will show you the 8cm gap clearly moving "IN and "OUT" as I described in picture 7.



Hopefully this helps you out and you don't have this problem like I did. thumbsup
1870244281-Pic08.jpg


Originate, Innovate, Never Imitate. Since 2000-04.
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