A car consists of many parts and components. On modern cars with front-wheel drive, a MacPherson-type linkage suspension is used. It includes levers, as well as an amortization strut. It comes complete with a spring and rotates with the wheel. In order for the rack to move normally, the design uses the front bearing support bearing . VAZ-2110 is also equipped with it. What is this element? Let's consider.
Characteristic
The pillar support bearing is a component of the front shock absorber, which is responsible for the rotation of the pillar around the axis. The mechanism is used on many domestic cars with front-wheel drive layout.
The front pillar support bearing is located at the top of the body. The element is attached to the engine splash guard. Modern MacPherson struts use
rolling bearings. They have high performance, versatile and easy to replace. The operation of this bearing directly affects the accuracy of
setting the wheel angles. Therefore, it is so important to keep it in good condition.
Varieties
The pillar support bearing has cylindrical rollers inside. Each of them is attached perpendicular to the previous one. The rollers are separated by a special separator. Such a device allows to perceive large shock loads. Currently, several types of such mechanisms are used:
- Front pillar support bearing with outer or inner ring. Its design does not include clamping flanges. Instead, there are mounting holes. Also, the design of the bearing with an inner ring includes protective gaskets.
- With detachable ring. In such a bearing, the outer ring is connected to the housing, and the inner ring is separated from it. This design contributes to high precision rotation.
- Single split type. In this case, the outer ring is divided at a single point. This increases the stiffness of the bearing and has a beneficial effect on its resource.
About malfunctions
The pillar bearing of the front strut is the part on which enormous shock loads are imposed. All the irregularities that the shock absorber did not manage to “work out” are transmitted to this mechanism. As a result, it begins to collapse.
Yes, the pillar support bearing has a certain margin of safety. However, with constant use on rough roads, it becomes unusable. So, its resource is about one hundred thousand kilometers.
What affects the resource?
Note that the thrust bearing of the front pillar does not have good protective devices. It is constantly exposed to external factors. These are dust, water, dirt, temperature changes and so on. And as you know, the rack is in the dirtiest place - in the wing, at the front wheels. Even plastic lockers do not save. As the rollers become contaminated, the thrust bearing of the front strut begins to publish a characteristic crunch. "Guelder-rose" this or a foreign car does not matter - the part will be subject to replacement. And the sooner you do this, the better. The serviceability of this mechanism affects the correct angles of rotation of the wheels and the safety of movement. By the way, at first it is very difficult to determine this crunch. But over time, it will increase. If the symptoms of the malfunction are confirmed, do not time out with a replacement. By the way, the photo below shows the spring remover. Thanks to it, it is possible to delay the turns by a couple of centimeters, freeing access to the element.
Also carefully inspect the condition of the rubber mount gasket. She wears out too. If the part has cracks or traces of oil, the soft part of the element needs to be replaced. Otherwise, this will cause interruptions in the operation of the ABS system and excessive vibration in the corners, which will be clearly transmitted to the steering wheel.
Also, the pillar bearing of the front pillar (including the 2110th VAZ) affects the accuracy of setting the alignment angles. With its malfunctions you will "eat up" the rubber. It is already impossible to restore such a tire - just change it. When replacing a bearing, it is required to re-set the camber and toe angles of the front wheels. But there is a way in which it is not necessary to set the corners (we will talk about it in the course of the article).
Price
How much is the new front pillar support bearing? The price of this element is about a thousand rubles for the cars of the Priora and one and a half thousand for the Ford Focus of the third generation. For previous versions, this item costs up to a thousand. Note that there are no difficulties with finding spare parts for either foreign cars or Russian VAZs. The item can be bought at any car shop or market. Below we will look at how to change this element yourself.
Do-it-yourself replacement of the bearings of the front struts
First we need to open the hood and find the cup of the front pillar. It should be unscrewed with a double “22” head. If you have a “spacer” installed, it must also be removed. Why exactly the double head? When the bolt rotates, the shock absorber rod will also scroll. It must be securely fixed. On some cars, this can be done with a hex wrench (installed in the connector, as in the photo below).
The inner head is captured by an ordinary “cloak”. Next, jack the front part, remove the wheel and go to the bottom of the rack. We look at the attachment point of the rotary cam. For the convenience of dismantling, we process it with universal lubricant VD-40. We also spray the composition onto the tie rod bolt.
Unscrew the ball tip. Next, carefully knock it out with a hammer. It is important not to damage the element - use a wooden board as a damper. Now about the secret way. In order not to re-align after replacement, disassemble the mechanism without disconnecting the stand from the cam. After dismantling the fasteners, pull the knot onto ourselves. Disconnect the brake fitting. Do not forget about security measures. Since the upper part of the drains is still in place, we put down a hard stop (for example, a wheel). Now move on to disassembling the top of the item. We unscrew the three fasteners and remove the rack out. It’s better to do it top-down.
Installation
To remove the old and install a new bearing, use a special spring vise.
Squeezing the turns to the desired level, unscrew the lock nut of the rod. Make sure that the latter does not crank. It is better to fix it with a hexagon or ring spanner.
After that we lift the cover and change the bearing. An important point - inspect the condition of the rubber gaskets. If vibration isolators are worn out, also replace them with new ones. On this, the replacement process can be considered completed. The assembly of the element is carried out in the reverse order. Please note that the spring vise is removed only after the complete installation of the upper and lower parts of the rack. After 50 kilometers, re-pull the fasteners.
Conclusion
So, we found out what the front pillar support bearing is and how to replace the element with our own hands. When operating a car, watch not only for its mileage, but also carefully listen to the operation of the mechanisms. If they begin to crunch, knock, or play, visually inspect them and replace damaged items. We hope this instruction will help you replace the front pillar support bearing yourself.