Okay so i need a few parts for my 03 Tl s and i know what they are mostly and i want to know what is the best and what kind of prices i can get. I'm pretty broke as I'm a college student.

Parts i know i need:

1. wheel bearing
2. sway bar endlinks (moogs are a good choice?)
3. inner tire guards, the roads up here in the winter are so sandy and it all goes up there so i want to get those.
4. drivers side mirror ( the glass is cracked but everything works)

I also think I'm in need of a ball joint.... i hear a creaking on wide turns. I believe its on the drivers side, could it be the upper ball joint?

I'm also going to probably need tires soon, what should i get that will be good all year round (it snows a lot in my area). I got around all last year with pretty bald tires but it was a nightmare as it often snows A LOT up here.

Also since I'm getting the inner tire guards i'd like to clean out the inner tire area and around the engine as a lot of dirt has built up around these areas, any recommendations on cleaning this up?

Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

 

1.- Get National or Timken for Bearings
2.- Get Moog or MEVOTECH < Both are Beefier Design with Lubed joints
3.- Get them from NAP (National Auto Parts) they sold them for like 30 bucks each or fetch them from Ebay for cheap
4.- OK

Creaking while turning can mean AXLE in almost all situations.. If your ball joint where going it would creak in any bump..
(Check it ASAP as a Lower Ball Joint failure can be Fatal).

 

the creaking only happens when i make really wide turns.

 

^ Still ball joints don't make sound when turning, ball joints make clunk noises when you hit bumps on the road. Axles on the other hand do make noises when turning specially if they are worn and you make full clock turns.

 

Ill climb under my car and look tomorrow in the light. How much would that be to replace?

 

If you are not into "DIY", then take the car to an alignment shop to give you an evaluation and estimate for any repairs necessary. Most times, these "safety" checks are free. Once ya have a better idea what all is possibly bad, then buy quality parts from a place like Rock auto and then have a local independent shop give you a price on labor for installing the parts. There is normally a savings in labor expense when replacing parts like a wheel bearing and lower ball joint together when things are opened up.

 

First of all check your Ball Joints as those can be dangerous if they fail.

An axle ain't expensive a good replacement will be 60-80 bucks and replace it should cost around 35-65 bucks depending on the labor fee rates of your nearby shops..

 

~Does the creaking only happen when making wide turns ?
~Does it seem to creak going either direction ?
~Does it creak while turning slowly ?

How many miles are on your car, is the suspension still on original stock OEM or has it been lowered ? Things like mounts, bushings and struts could possibly creak. If ya already know for sure that the wheel bearing and endlinks are shot, they could be contributing to the creaking also ? What are the other signs of tire wear ?

Try safely supporting the front end of the car and then have someone slowly turn the steering wheel.....while you safely observe and listen for creaking. Check the CV axle boots. Inspect the rack. Spray some WD40 on the various suspension rubber bushings and then take the car for another test drive.

 

normally I would agree on diy inspection, but the OP seems to need professional help in this case
Axle bearing/cv joint noises are usually clicking type,,open windows and do slow speed starts from stop with wheels turned to full lock
A long turn as OP described would put a longer constant load on a bad cv = bad news

a `non corporate` alignment shop will look at everything and advise,,
big name places are not your friend for this! they want to replace everything!!

Tires: ck CL, Craigs List for tire shop that carries numerous `off brands` where the tire tread pics look very similar to major names = good tires at low prices, I paid 80 each for 225-45-18s out the door
its 10 bucks less for 235/40s which are more popular, but don't clear the fender to bumper connection without modding
prices at regular tire places were twice that!! 140-150-200$$!! each!! plus mount bal tax etc

Installer -not sales staff- was showing me the details of tread design and said- these are made by K##HO under a different name
They work fine- wear fine- ride well and corner as hard as I want without protest, braking excellent- wet braking AA!

 

if you need a cv/axle bearing its wise to get a brand new one- NAPA auto parts caries them for about 100$ made from all new parts

some rebuilds are fine while many others end up going back due to defect
maybe shaft is bad or bearing surface wasn't perfect
I say go with a known supplier of quality part- in this case its napa

a quick visual of the rubber boot at each end of axle for torn rubber- grease sprayed in area- dirt stuck to rubber boot
grease gets out and grit gets in,,happens all the time

 

tires are new on the front, with a bubble in one though...
it creaks going both ways.
and the car has its original suspension it hasn't been lowered.

 

Sway bar links are an easy DIY, start with replacing them and go from there.

 

I'm parting out a 2002 Acura TL that I have a drivers side mirror off of, as well as many other parts.

Can't help you on the suspensions stuff, as I need to be able to move the car around.

 

if the glass fits for the mirror i may buy it off you as mines cracked on the drivers side.
I put in the sway bar endlinks (moogs) as well as bushings (also moogs) and now i no longer hear a clunking noise on bumps. It also seems to have reduce a lot of the creaking as now it only happens every now and then, where before it would happen every time i turned the wheel all the way it only rarely happens now.

I also ordered the inner tire guards ( a garage near me wanted $100 each + $20 labor each) but i got them both for like $30 and i can get the clips from autozone for like $9 or so.

 

Buddy please use the special section called The Black Market, then subsection Private Sales for offering your parts to fellow ziners
the posting rules are there, read and follow or Ron A will have words with you!
you do get to add a link to your signature to drive traffic that way! good luck!