IX Questions (Control Arm/Wheel Bearing)...nando?

[DarkWing6]

I have a buddy with an 88 IX. His front wheels have about an inch of play and he took it into a place and they said he needs new CA, wheel bearings, etc. I know that both bad wheel bearings and bad CA can caus play in the wheel, but how can I know if it is one or the other? Would the bearing cause a whine that the CA wouldn't? Also, why do IX CAs cost 2x regular e30 CAs? Is there a difference? Are the IX CAs gonna be harder to replace? I have done control arms on my car a couple times (both sides once then one side again due to a little boo boo :oops:). Anything to help him out. The shop said like $800 and that is making him wanna sell the car.


Thanks,
Derek

[nando]

I've never had a front wheel bearing go bad, so I couldn't tell you what it's like. however, if you jack up the front of the car, and wiggle stuff around, you should be able to tell which is which. when my outer ball joint went bad, it made a pretty obvious rattling sound and my steering was pretty scary on the freeway.

the control arms are indeed different, they are larger and use a much beefier inner ball joint. the outter joint is the same. they cost more, but they seem to last longer - my drivers side went out at 160k, and my passenger is still tightwith 180k.

as far as changing them, I'd say they are easier. you can get to the inner nuts from the top (you will need a deep socket, can't remember which size, like 19 or 22mm), and once you get the nut off you can pop the joints free by knocking on the end of your socket/extensions with a hammer. you have to take out the airbox and move the power steering resivior on the drivers side to get to the inner nut there, but that's pretty easy to do. outer joints and control arm bushings are all the same stuff.

if the inner joints are fine (and they usually are), he could have the outer ball joints pressed out and replaced rather than replacing the entire arm.