As the title says. I am replacing my driver side spindle. What are somethings I should consider changing while I am in there? Ball Joints? Tie Rod ends? Any suggestions are appreciated. This is on a 95 GXE with 160k on the clock.

 

check the ball-joints, swaybar endlinks, wheel bearing, swaybar bushings, and tie-rod ends...

Most of that stuff is relatively cheap (in the scheme of things).

 

thanks for the advice. This is one of the few parts I have never replaced on one of my maxima's. What are the signs that each one of those parts is bad? Or is it obvious? As for the wheel bearing I just bought a used spindle so I am assuming the wheel bearing/hub are fine. What about the other parts you listed? Thanks.

 

Mainly look for torn or busted boots. Other than that they should be pretty stiff. If they are loose and flop around then its time to replace them.

Also you may want to take a look at your Rac & Pinnion Boots. If you are going to do the tie rod ends it would be a good time to do those too if they need to be replaced.

 

This turned out to be quite the job and I am still not finished. If you guys did not know, our ball joints have to be pressed out and in. I replaced the ball joints and tie rod ends on each side of the car. Everything was going a long fine other than taking a while, when I realize that advanced auto sold me the wrong right side tie rod end. It was way too short. Also another great discovery was that the dummy that I bought the car from did not put the retainer springs back on the rear of the pads. So I just ordered a brake hardware kit from the dealership. Oh well.

For those that have put tie rod ends in before how did you do it? After you tighten up the jam nut and put the bolt thru the spindle does the tie rod end need to be pressed into the spindle? Or do you just tighten the nut to spec? The reason I ask is because I had to use a seperator to remove it, but I see no notes about it needing to be pressed but it is beveled/tapered after the bolt.

 

Just tighten it - the bevel will get pulled into the spindle as you tighten.

 

ok, that's what I was hoping