Play in front offside wheel?

2011 KIA RIO
100,000 MILES • 1.5L • TURBO • MANUAL • DIESEL
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MYFATHERSSON
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Hi

I took a trip up north approximately 400 mile round trip. It was mostly motorway driving but as I reach the destination I came up to a junction and there was a loud hum from the front wheel.

I continued on cautiously but the noise didn't happen again. On the way back, about 80 miles from home, I could feel that there was definitely something up with the wheel as there was slight vibration through the steering.

I got home and wobbled the wheel and there was slight lateral play (3:00 - 9:00 and 1:30 - 7:30) but there was no play (12:00 - 6:00 or 4:30 - 10:30).

I assumed it was probably the wheel bearing but I have replaced this and still have the same movement. It doesn't make any difference if I rotate the wheel. The hub nuts were not loose as I had to get my breaker bar to take the wheel off.

I would appreciate some pointers as to what else it could be.

Many thanks in advance.

Kevin
May 2, 2026 at 3:31 PM
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AL514
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Hello, I would check for any play/movement in the tie rod end, either at the steering knuckle or the inner end which goes into the steering rack. Sounds like you may have a bad tie rod end. Im not sure the noise you heard, with it not happening again, Id start with checking the steering rack components. With no play at 6 and 12, which could indicate a bad ball joint, but you have some good direction already. You should be able to shake the wheel back and forth at 3 and 9 and be able to see the movement in the outer tie rod end, if not, suspect the inner section. I have a diagram here that shows the setup, I will post it here in a minute.
May 2, 2026 at 7:19 PM
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AL514
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So this is the steering rack diagram. It shows the inner and outer tie rod ends. They do list a part number for both the inner and outer tie rod ends, and we used to replace just the inner tie rod on some makes/models, just depends on what was available and it required a special tool to go inside the rack and tighten the inner. Or in most cases the entire steering rack was replaced. The outer tie rod you can replace by counting the amount of turns it takes to get it off and put the new one the same amount and only a slight adjustment had to be made to the alignment in most cases as well.
Here a guide to help, let us know what you find.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/tie-rod-end-replacement/
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May 2, 2026 at 7:32 PM
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AL514
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These are the oem part numbers for the tie rod ends if needed,
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May 2, 2026 at 7:40 PM