I guess the previous owner was quite the curb smasher. ARGH. Anyway, looks like its a $300 job parts and labor. Now I'm off to Courtesy Nissan to buy a front bearing, axle nut and seal.

Wish me luck.

 

Okay, I wish you luck!

PartsAmerica.com lists a front wheel bearing for $35. I can't compare the quality of a factory part to an aftermarket replacement part, but it is worth considering. If it were my car I would buy the $35 bearing and install it myself. I realize that some owners have good reason to pay a professional instead of doing it themselves.

 

So....it's possible for me to do it myself, right? The Stanza's bearing on the right side needs to be replaced. The Nissan dealer says it's impossible for me to do it because I need "special" tools. What is the name of the tool that I need?

 

How did you know they were going, did they give a funny noise or a wobbaly feeling. How long before you have to change them.
Holla,
Maxi-milliyon

 

I didn't get a wobbily feeling. It's when I go over a pothole or something, it would make a noise. Sorry I don't know how to describe that noise.

 

Well I don't think I have the tools nor the time to tackle the wheel bearing by myself, but for anyone interested, the bearing was about $31 from Courtesy Nissan and the seals and axle nut was another $10 or so dollars. So all in all, not expensive in parts, just labor will be where the money will go.

I just hope I can hold up until the parts get here. The mechanic was able to move the wheel and show me how much play there is when it was up on the lift. Not good at all... Time to cross my fingers and hope to make it through the week...

 

I don't have a manual for your Stanza, but believe it is similar to the Maxima in this respect. To grossly simplify this repair procedure,
(1) Remove the steering knuckle.
(2) Remove the old bearing.
(3) Install the new bearing.
(4) Install the steering knuckle.

Step 1 requires the use of a tie rod separator and a ball joint separator. This is special tool J25730-A or equivalent. These tools are readily available through auto parts suppliers. J.C. Whitney sells an import version (81ZX2149N) for $17 + S/H. The $5 "pickle fork" separators will work, but they pose a risk of tearing the rubber boot which surrounds the joint.

Steps 2 and 3 require use of a hydraulic press. If you don't have one, take the knuckle to an automotive machine shop and have them do the press work.

Step 4 requires a torque wrench to tighten that big axle nut. The spec on the Maxima is 174 - 231 foot-pounds. That's off-scale for most torque wrenches. I think it's okay to just tighten this nut "tight as you can" and that's close enough. If you weigh 200 pounds, stand on the breaker bar 12 inches from the socket, and you are applying 200 foot pounds.

Even if you pay a shop to do the press work you will have done most of the labor yourself and have saved some money. I don't regard paying someone else for the press work as "cheating". After all, if I were doing a valve job I would pull the head and take it to that same automotive machine shop and pay them to resurface the head and grind the valves.

 

Thanks again. I'll see what I can do.

 

My left front wheel bearing went at around 30K miles. I was driving down the street, all of a sudden a metallic grinding noise started coming from my front end. Its hard to explain, it was a metal on metal sound. I thought it might be my brakes or something...

Anyway, I drove it to my dealer and they fixed it for free! I think it had something to do with the fact that I had just bought the car from them 6 months previous. I was impressed that they did it just for the fact my car is a 97 and this happened just last summer.

Does anyone know why these bearings go? Someone said something about hitting curbs but I never heard of that.

Ed

 

The curb hitting was just a guess since my mechanic who specializes in Nissan cars has only replaced these once before. Supposedly its not a common thing at all. I have deep curb chipping on my wheels for the left side, so I guessed that this was the cause, but who knows what the previous driver did. Probably a woman driver (j/k)! :-P

 

The other night I started to hear shearing sound from
the front wheel. It sounded like a continueous low rrreeeee
eeeeeeeeeeee. I think that my brakes are low and this is the
scratch pad on the rotors warning me that the pads are low.
Is this true. Does the brakes give a funny noise, or is this
the front wheel bearings. Damn more money to spend. Danny B. Martin holla back.

Maxi-million

 

This shrill sound is probably coming from the brake pad wear indicators. Here is a quote from the Owner's Manual.

<font color = 'blue'>Brake pad wear indicators
The disc brake pads on your vehicle have audible wear indicators. When a brake pad requires replacement, it will make a high pitched scraping or screeching sound when the vehicle is in motion whether or not the brake pedal is depressed. Have the brakes checked as soon as possible if the wear indicator sound is heard.</font>

Front pads typically wear out sooner than rear pads, so check the fronts first. If the rotors are not conspicuously worn and you have not felt any pulsation in the brake pedal, you may need nothing more than new pads. Replacing worn brake pads is something which may be done by the home mechanic. You will find good coverage of this subject in the Haynes manual, pages 9-5 through 9-9. Doing the front pads is easier than the rears because the rear calipers have the complication of the hand brake mechanism.

 

This is a good way to check your wheel bearings.

1) Verify that all wheel lug nuts are tight.

2) Raise the car. Support it on sturdy jackstands.

3) Grab the top of the tire (12 o'clock) and push away from yourself and pull toward yourself. Yank it to and fro in this fashion several times. If there is noticeable free play or an audible "clunking" sound, the wheel bearing is probably damaged.

4) Attempt to spin the wheel. If it spins freely but makes ugly sounds the bearing may be damaged. If it won't spin at all the brake may be dragging. This could indicate a sticking caliper.