My festy is trying to lose a limb !

[Fester's Quest]

Hi all, this is my first thread and i'm a proud new owner of a festy that i bought for a sweet deal on craigslist last week. These cars are such a blast to drive ! The door is so close to me that it makes it really comfortable to put my arm out the window, like driving an old jeep, only peppy as hell. Thats probably what i was most surprised about when i drove it is how fast these things are when they're running smooth. 63 horsepower just shouldn't pull like that. Not even my 91 civic could beat it in a drag.

So anyways, there's an issue with the front wheel hub / wheel bearing and axle nut. When the axle nut is tight, the hub wont roll, so i have to back out the nut a little and tighten it to a very low torque in order to let the hub roll. After the axle nut is re-tightened to the low torque, the car drives fine for a day or so and then something jars the rotor and cv axle loose and they begin to make the wheel wobble on the hub. The axle nut doesn't appear to be coming loose because it's always in the crimp spot when i go to re-tighten it. After the nut is re-tightened, the rotor, cv axle and hub are tight in place until i drive it for a day and then something causes the rotor, cv, and hub to become loose and make the wheel wobbley where it mounts to the hub. I'm really stumped but i'm assuming it's a wheel bearing spacer issue. I've heard many people say that buying wheel bearing spacers for these cars is kind of a crap shoot, if this is my problem, could someone point me in the right direction as to where to find the right wheel bearing spacers ?

[2ghetto]

When I have wheel bearing work that needs to be done (pressed/measured and done correctly) I have a machine shop here I go to. The man who runs the shop has done these for me a half dozen times or more. It cost $25 and I have never had a problem with the work. Everything else- I do. I take in the front hub/spindle assy.

[georgeb]

Sounds like it was rebuilt by a doofus. The spacer must be incorrect or missing. I would swap it for a known good one and investigate. Plenty of good ones available on this site.

[Fester's Quest]

I'm thinking it was rebuild poorly too. Does anybody know the measurements for the right wheel bearing spacer that i need ?

[Nerd Racing]

I have a couple good front knuckle assemblies, where are you located could meet up if you are interested and close.

[Fester's Quest]

I have a couple good front knuckle assemblies, where are you located could meet up if you are interested and close.

I wish i could buy from you, but i live in Missouri and i've gotta get the car fixed tonight. Thanks for the offer !

[FestYboy]

you need a good machine shop to do this... they could make you the appropriate spacer in a day instead of having Kia track one down for you (though that's an option: if there's a locak Kia dealer, they can rebuild the hub correctly).

[WmWatt]

Sounds like the spacer which holds the bearings apart is missing. If you search the forum you will find lots of info on the bearings and spacers. If you'd like to see photos of my front wheel project look here

http://www.photobucket.com/Festiva-frontwheel

[Fester's Quest]

Thanks so much for the replies everybody !

Me and my brother got it fixed. The spacer was missing and the wheel bearing was bad.

We fabricated a spacer from the old wheel bearing race by cutting it to 0.2666 inches thick and the festiva drives like a dream now. Zero noise comes from the front, no creaks, no pops, no grinding... I'm psyched !

[georgeb]

How did you know how thick to make it?

[Nerd Racing]

How did you know how thick to make it?

This is a big question, I would drive it straight to a KIA dealer and have them do a bearing preload test on it. The specs should be the same as an 02 RIO. If the preload is wrong you will still eat bearings.

[Fester's Quest]

How did you know how thick to make it?

I got the numbers from a wheel spacer size chart i found on this forum.

The car is still driving great and i've put 300 miles on it since the fix. It almost completely eliminated it's horrible torque steer.

The only complaints i have on the car now is that it still handles pretty bad at 45+ speeds. The wind hits the car so hard that it blows it all over the road and the steering seems way way way too sensitive when i correct the wheel after a big gust of wind. The festy had 13's on it with stock suspension so it's sitting pretty high. Does anybody know the absolute easiest and cheapest way to lower a festiva ? I think that might fix the bad highway handling.

As strange as it sounds, the car is noticeably slower with the new wheel bearing and spacer. The wheel i fixed seems to spin fine though.

[georgeb]

How do know from that useless chart how to fab a spacer?

[Fester's Quest]

How do know from that useless chart how to fab a spacer?

Cut the old inner race to the aforementioned thickness + .1 inches with a cutting wheel air tool. Then use an electric grinder to make up for the .1 inches and to smooth any imperfections caused by the cutting wheel. Use a digital ruler to measure 0.2666 inches on the final product.

It's not an exact fabrication to the original spacer of course but from my experience, this method seems to work just fine.

[Fester's Quest]

This is a big question, I would drive it straight to a KIA dealer and have them do a bearing preload test on it. The specs should be the same as an 02 RIO. If the preload is wrong you will still eat bearings.

I've never really had any problems with wheel bearings i've replaced at home. I'm not sure preload is really that important. You've worn out bearings too fast that way?