Couple O' questions...

I've got a 99 saturn..its been good, but lately i've got a couple of
noises going on...

The first seems to come from the passenger side front tire area, and
sounds like a quiet thump thump thump, almost like a broken belt in the
tire, but the tires are new, and it doesn't sound quite as loud as a
broken belt...what else could be making that noise? Tie rod? A
bearing? The noise is not too apparent at slow speeds, but begins to
be noticeably audible around 30-40mph...thought it might be the CV
shaft, but it doesn't click or anything when turning...

Also, how hard would you say it is to change the tie rods on a SL1?
I've worked on my own cars for a long time, but i'm not a professional
or anything...is it worth the money that I cold save if I just take it
in for an alignment afterwards?


And one more: My driver window won't roll down; its a manual not
power. I tore the door apart, checked it out, and I assume the problem
lies in what appears to be a pressed gear box type thing. Called
Autozone for a replacement, they don't sell it, so probably gonna have
to go to the salvage yard...or, I thought, (cause i'm short on cash)
does the rear seat driver side window have the same set up as the front
driver window? could I swap them out...seems kind of dumb, i know, but
i need a window. Too cheap to run the AC all the time....THANKS

 

Is the thump speed related (gets faster/slower)? Do you feel it? Tires
can become defective at anytime or you could of lost a wheel weight.
Feel all around your tire for defects. Spin the tire and watch the
grooves in the tread for anything that jumps out of line.

Not hard, I take a precise measurment from the center of the tie rod
(where the grease fitting would be in most cases) to a part on the shaft
that wont alter its length when the tie rods unscrewd. Then I screw a
new one on until I reach that measurement. I always come close enough
not to need an alignment.

I could look this up but someone else should know off hand so I'll let
them answer.