6G Celicas Forums

Hi I have a bad wheel bearing in the front passenger steering knuckle so I bought a new wheel bearing to be pressed in and the tech said I need a new spindle cause the bearing was so bad that it grinded down the spindle, since these are expensive I want to just go to a junk yard and pull an entire steering knuckle to replace mine with. The junk yeard doesnt have any 94-99 celica's. Will a previous gen celica 5th gen have the same steering knuckles? Or will one of a 95-99 camry work? Any information will be helpful? Thank you for your time!

Hi rapid36,

I cannot answer your question directly, but a couple of years ago I had a need to get a replacement steering knuckle on the same side when I put new brake rotors and drums all round on my 1994 Celica ST. Turned out, after a whole lot of looking and back and forth, I finally realized that the scraping of the new rotor was due to the steering knuckle getting bent, probably because my wife ran into the curb (fairly easily). People all over the place told me that cast iron didn't bend, therefore my belief in a bent knuckle was invalid. That idea cost me a whole lot of time in trying to PROVE that mine was bent, as slight bending was very hard to detect, except for the fact that the rotor scraped loudly, scraping metal from it. I went on to find 5 cases on the internet with 'bent' knuckles.

Someone got me excited to search local junk yards for a replacement, and I happened to hit the junk yard at the right time, so was able to yank a used knuckle that fit perfectly and then the brakes worked, finally.

I know the 1994-1999 Celicas are getting rare at junkyards, but wonder if you had another vehicle temporarily, maybe you might search a little longer and eventually find a Celica that has the proper knuckle. Just a thought. I know the Camry used many identical parts, but am no expert as to whether it would have the same steering knuckle. If you check ToyoDIY dot com using your Celica's VIN, you might obtain the part number of the steering knuckle and compare it with the steering knuckle part number for the Camry, to possibly determine whether that would be a satisfactory way to go.

Good luck!

Hmm so I looked a steering knuckle from a 95-99 camry and they have speed sensors in it which doesnt bother me that much as i dont see this being in the way, I noticed the brake caliber positioned slightly different on the camry as well so i think this is already not gonna work, the bolts that are in the camry that attach to the strut is larger as well (22mm) oposed to the (19mm) that I use to get my bolts off of my knuckle. Other than that I dont spot any noticable differences. So maybe I will wait till the right knuckle is in a junkyard. If anyone knows of any other knuckles that are a exact match from a different car or the previous gen celica let me know.

Camry knuckle will not work - brake caliper bracket spacing is off by an inch. In theory you could use Camry bracket and brakes, but knowing that they are definitely not the same part number you'd have to check all the dimensions to make sure they are identical otherwise - tie rod end position, ball joint mount, strut mount.

Also, Camry wheel bolt pattern is 5x114.3 whereas Celica is 5x100. You'd need to replace the bearing, as the bearing is nearly impossible to remove off the wheel spindle without destroying (cutting) it.

I'd say you're better off looking for a Celica knuckle. I do have a spare one, but I don't remember which side and I don't know what condition it is in (got it with a truckload of other parts when I got my "project car")

And yes, I do believe knuckles can go bad. Had a friend with a Lexus ES330 (same suspension design) that had noise in front suspension. Replaced everything but the knuckle, noise still there. Ended up replacing it at the dealer - cost him something like $3000 (knuckle itself is $1500 MSRP new). That finally solved the problem.
I myself went through a similar thing where I replaced everything (bearing, tie rod end, wheel & tire, rotor, ball joint) but the knuckle and the noise persisted. But, after few years, it went away on it's own. Go figure.

This post has been edited by slavie: Jul 22, 2017 - 11:15 AM

The bearings in the camry are the same, but I can't tell if the rest is if the geometry needed to make it fit back correctly is the same entirely. i dont know if they sell this kind of part on rockauto but you can also crossreference or toyodiy to check.

Ebay?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/94-99-CELICA-GT-ST...Skq&vxp=mtr
http://www.ebay.com/itm/R-FRONT-SPINDLE-KN...hWH&vxp=mtr
If you search the part number you should find some brand new ones for under $250 as well.

Bro why dont you post a wtb thread. And im sur3 someone can help you out

Cast Iron will bend, Once. But never bend Back.


But if you 've got time, IDK what city you're in, you may not have to wait too long until they bring another one into the yard. I do know that the ST and GT have the same knuckle.
And Bonzai is right, you could post WTB on the forum and there's sureley somebody with one sitting in a pile in their garage. Maybe Several of them.