1998 Cadillac Seville rack and pinion

1998 CADILLAC SEVILLE
150,000 MILES • V8 • FWD • AUTOMATIC
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TMALER
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When changing a rack and pinion on this car, is it possible for a mechanic to damage the wheel bearings?
When I took the car in one morning, it was working great except for the steering. When I picked it up 8 hours later, it had a growl in the front end and sounded like a truck. I'm guessing the mechanic did something to the bearings.
Nov 22, 2009 at 3:33 PM
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FACTORYJACK
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There should have been nothing he could have done. The only interaction with the knuckles is removing the tie rods from them, aside from the wheels. Was the toe set after the gear was replaced, or are you possible hearing tire scrub.
Nov 23, 2009 at 10:46 PM
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TMALER
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It's definitely not tire rub. It sounds like there's a hole in the muffler. From past experience, I know that sound is also the sound bad bearings make.
Nov 24, 2009 at 11:07 AM
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FACTORYJACK
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Typically, with bad wheel bearings on a front wheel drive vehicle, there will be a change in the noise when swerving the vehicle right and left. The noise will either diminish, or become more pronounced in one or the other direction. That is often times the case, not always. There is a possibility that maybe the brake backing plates were disturbed, and now they(it) are contacting the rotors. If the frame was lowered to remove the rack, maybe the flexible joint exhaust joint suffered some trauma. Does this noise only occur while the vehicle is in motion, accelerating or coasting?
Nov 24, 2009 at 9:43 PM