150K miles: Bearings? Struts? Knuckles? Problems

[zapp]

guys I really need some experts to weigh-in here.
I'm chasing a problem or problems and trying to get down to the REAL issue. I've already thrown $550 at it, about to spend on 4 tires, but they'll just go bad again if I don't get the issues.

This is a 2003 LE model, auto, abs, alloys [oem/toy]. Has 153,000 miles. I last put 2 EXPENSIVE goodyear assurance tires on the front, but my son [college] let it go too long before rotation and those two, and the two BFG's on the rear are cooked.. the fronts only lasted 27K miles. The rear tires are showing BAD uneven wear, but we can't recall if they did front duty or rear so I"m wondering where to start? The discount tire guy said that somewhere, maybe several somewheres on the cars, is a bad strut, or bad out-of-alignment or something.
I just had all four bearings replaced and the noises did change... got a lot better with two new bearings in the rear. As bad as the rear tires are, and as old as the bearings are, this may be the "whole problem" or it may not be.

what other items re: wheels/tires do I need to look for at this mileage? would you just go ahead and replace all four tires, drive it, and just see what happens in the first thousand miles??

and on the tires... I would rather have QUIET, cushy tires, vs. long tread life and 'sports' handling... What tires have you guys found that meet that criterion? I know on my Camry, the Assurance Fuel Mizer is a reasonably quiet tire, but on the front of the Corolla, they seemed rocky-hard and noisy.... so I'm a bit baffled.

oh, as to alignment, all I can say is that's the one thing that seems ok... at 60mph on a good road, it tracks quite straight... not pulling at all, which is amazing given the condition of the tires.

Thank you for your advice!!

[Yuko]

You did better than me, I spent over $500 on a set of Bridgestone Pole Position and it wore out after 14K miles; Perfect alignment and stocks. End up getting a set of Falken ze912. The biggest killer on tires I believe is driving habit; I was hard on the brakes and corners and that chew up tires quickly. Picking tire is like choosing a pair of shoes; everyone will have their own recommendation. I find Falken are doing just fine which others might disagree.

IMO, I would first check over the suspension for worn bushings, struts, and joints. (On our 2002 Camry after 158K, the inner tie rod crap out and is feathering the right front tire. Will change it soon) When everything checked out fine, find a good brand of tires that is on sale. T-rated tire tend to be softer and quieter than the higher speed rated tires such as H and V. Stick with normal all-season as touring and performance tires tend to wear out faster due to the softer rubber used for better grip.

[zapp]

thanks my friend.
while I was posting this I called my mechanic [the guy is a genius.. and overwhelmed with too much bizness] - asked him whether, while replacing bearings he noted anything else. bottom line is 'no'. he said its unusual to replace strut components on a corolla with this mileage, and that he did not see other issues. the one variable is that his is a major repair clinic... like blown motors, trannies, impossible problems, etc. he doesn't test wheels to see if they are out of round etc. still I'm wondering what will happen, but if nobody else here weighs in with a great revelation, I'll go for "quiet" tires and drive awhile.

[invader]

153000 miles on original struts?! Your control arm rear bushings may also be shot as well by now.

[zapp]

is bushing replace an expensive deal?

[zapp]

what tires will ride pretty quiet on this car?

[Yuko]

Originally Posted by zapp

is bushing replace an expensive deal?

Bushing replacement can be costly because most of the bushing is molded or pressed into the control arms or trailing bar. This means that the entire control must be replaced.

Originally Posted by zapp

what tires will ride pretty quiet on this car?

To play it safe, any Michelin tires will provide the best ride, noise, and life than other manufactures. They are a little on the high side of prices but are worth it. Avoid off-brand like Primewell, BCT, etc.

[ems]

I have to agree with invader on this. My Corolla has 147000 miles and although my control arm bushings seemed good they were not. I replaced both control arms and my car drives and feels new again.

[invader]

I replaced my control arms' rear bushings with Energy Suspension's replaceable urethane bushings. My original rear bushings were ripped on the left and completely unbonded on the right at about 110000 miles. The old ones are removed by setting them on fire, and the new ones can be pressed in using a large table vise... Big improvement over new stock control arm bushings. I only had to replace the rear ones.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Energy-Suspen...item483d66315a

[zapp]

Just wanted to close this loop with excellent news.
Kudos to the guys at Discount Tire down here... they did me a couple of favors making adjustments on tires and picked a winning set - the car rides the quietest it ever has with the four new bearings and good [or lucky] pick on tires.
For those looking for comfortable-ride, and quiet down some of the road noise in the corolla, this is the ticket
These are not high-mileage tires [softer compound] and not sport/performance tires, but super pick:
Yokohama YK520. Not expensive but well worth the cost!

kudos to my mechanic here also... it took 'em awhile but they did great work and super price.

[zapp]

I'm a motorcycle rider also... down to 2 bikes, a big and small dualsport. its well understood that softer compounds grip better, ride quieter, but get sorry life/mileage. same with car tires, except there are an AWFUL lot of car tires on the market that will not balance no matter what. ask me how I know [and currently enduring such on my wife's new Mazda 5].
The previous purchase on the corolla were the quite expensive Goodyear Comfort Assurance Fuel Mizer tire, which is expensive at something around $130 apiece - I run these on a camry SE and am getting up in the 60K+ range, though I will not run them "bald" as I don't like noise.
Those same tires on the Corolla lasted 25K miles and were done...toasted.
So this time I asked the Discount tire guy: give me a tire that RIDES QUIET.... repeeeet.... RIDES QUIET - I don't care how long they last ... cushy tires, softer compound.
My goal is to see if there is anything ELSE left on the car that was causing, or may yet cause, uneven wear, strange noises, bad handling, etc.
I plan to rotate this set hyper-aggressively - everytime we do an oil change the tires are getting switched & rebalanced. We'll see how it goes, but if I only get 15,000 miles but those are happy miles, I'm thrilled. so far, as I said, this is the quietest this car has ever rolled.

Originally Posted by zapp

Just wanted to close this loop with excellent news.
Kudos to the guys at Discount Tire down here... they did me a couple of favors making adjustments on tires and picked a winning set - the car rides the quietest it ever has with the four new bearings and good [or lucky] pick on tires.
For those looking for comfortable-ride, and quiet down some of the road noise in the corolla, this is the ticket
These are not high-mileage tires [softer compound] and not sport/performance tires, but super pick:
Yokohama YK520. Not expensive but well worth the cost!

kudos to my mechanic here also... it took 'em awhile but they did great work and super price.

[zapp]

is there a picture or guide somewhere that will show me how to inspect this? I'd like to crawl under there and have a good look around.
thx for any help

Originally Posted by invader

I replaced my control arms' rear bushings with Energy Suspension's replaceable urethane bushings. My original rear bushings were ripped on the left and completely unbonded on the right at about 110000 miles. The old ones are removed by setting them on fire, and the new ones can be pressed in using a large table vise... Big improvement over new stock control arm bushings. I only had to replace the rear ones.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Energy-Suspen...item483d66315a

[invader]

Jack up the front and remove front wheels. Inspect control arm rear bushing by looking at it to see if it's ripped, and try to pry rear of control arm up and down with a crow bar or something to see if rear bushing is unbonded from control arm.