Hi guys,
anyone out there replaced a wheel bearing in their Max? I just replaced my wheel bearing and it looks like the 1 3/16" axle nut just keeps loosening up after a few hundred miles. I can tell because after jacking the car up there is some wheel play. Anyway, i initially tightened the nut to 210 ft-lbs, which i believe is what the spec calls for. Is there anything else I need to do? Locking compound possibly? I also noticed that there was no locking nut to prevent the main nut from backing off, and there is no nut on the other side, so it doesnt look like i lost it... Any input?

 

www.motorvate.ca has an excellent writeup on replacing the wheel bearing...

 

THere it is right in the picture it seems. I dont have that castle nut in the picture, i guess this could be the reason why the main nut is backing off...

http://www.motorvate.ca/auto/maxima/...m_DSC00007.jpg

 

How hard was it to do this yourself?

Also, how did you know your bearing was bad? Was it a sound it made over turns, or did you wheel have a lot of play when u rocked it back and forth.

Thanks.

 

You will hear a buzzing/humming noise as you accelerate and drive over about 50 MPH when it first starts, then it gets to be more and more prominent at lower speeds as it gets worse. While there is no looseness in steering or the suspension, you will notice that the sound will disappear when you make a turn in a particular direction. I found it simpler and safer to just replace both bearings instead of only replacing one, figuring if one was about to go, its running mate was also. The install wasn't bad, but do yourself a favor and get the bearings pressed in somewhere, don't do it yourself. The time savings is enormous.

 

What do you mean by wheel play?

From that pic it looks OK - cotter pin is in place.

 

I second that. I tried using the method described on motorvate's website and the bearing race just wouldn't go in. I ended up just mangling my home-made tooling. Fortunately I have a mechanic friend and he loaned me his professional quality wheel bearing press and it took all of 5 minutes to do.

 

The symptoms are front end noises, like banging scraping whose frequency increases with wheel rev frequency. Usually you can jack one tire up and grab the wheel at 12 oclock and 6 oclock and try to move the wheel toward and away from your body and you will notice a bit of play. It should be rock solid, meaning no play and you shouldnt be able to move it at all. But sometimes there is no play in the wheel, as was the case with this second time Ive replaced the bearing. Only recently has the axle nut started to back off, and therefore im getting some wheel play. Another good test is you can drive along at a speed where the noise starts to appear, and then gently turn the wheel back and forth and listen to see if the noise subsides. sometime by turning the bearing is forced into a "happier" state and the noise will go away.

Fortunately, my dad owns a service station, so whenever I have problems I just have to come on a day when the lift isnt tied up.
The first time I did this job it was a major pain in the *ss. Ive done the wheel bearing job twice, so now i can get it done in a couple hours. The first time I did it however, took FOREVER. This was due in part to not having a bearing press that was made for this job, and not having a good way to get the bearing out of the housing. after spending an hour trying to get the bearing out by smashing away, i just decided to cut a slot in the outer race and only then was I able to "pound" it out. I then used the old race to force the new bearing in using a crude screw-type bearing press.

I would recomend doing most of the job yourself if you know someone with a press. If that isnt the case I would call the dealership before you start an ask them if you can drop the housing by with a bearing and see if they will press it in. Its probably worth the $10-20 they will charge you, just in frustration alone. Getting the bearing in is definately the biggest problem if your lacking the right tools. You'll just end up destroying the bearing if this step isnt done right.