I did the 6 and 12 position pulling of my front wheels for hub wear checking and it seems that they are fine. The left wheel is real solid feeling and it only makes the noise/ vibrates a little bit anyway. The right one does it a lot more and when I performed the check it seemed to move a hair but it was so little that I think the tire rubber moving itself made it seem the hub was moving. But then again for some reason the hub didnt feel AS solid as the left one so maybe it was moving a hair. At any rate from how I would describe it they seem fine to me. What else could I check for a problem?

 

I assume you are looking for a bad wheel bearing. Mine was way gone and didnt have any play in the method you described. I attribute this to the fact that only half of the hub was torn up. Wheel play is not a good way to look for a bad wheel bearing on a Maxima. Take the spindle off and see if the hub spins inside the bearing. If the hub spins and the bearing race doesnt, then you will need a new bearing and a hub.

 

The spindle is the piece that has the studs for the rim to bolt onto right? Also, what kind of problems did you see with your hub being/getting bad?

 

The spindle is the entire assembly. Its what the strut, ball joint, and tie rod end mount to. The wheel stud part is the hub. Mainly I noticed loud grinding type noises.

 

Many "real mechanics" that you talk to will tell you outright that is not a good method of checking..

 

whats not a good method of checking? To do the spindle check I have to disconnect the strut, ball joint and tie rod end correct?

 

The hub was bad on mine. It would squeal, not just rumble like a wheel bearing.

When taken apart, it was evident the hub was bad, as there was a worn area with marks going around the circumference of the hub.

It was kind of a pain to fix, even with a press, but a new hub and bearing fixed it right up.

Be prepared to PAY for that new hub. I believe it was around $100 or so from Nissan.

Good Luck!

 

Trying to find play in the wheel is not a good way of checking. You are correct on what you need to disconnect. Also you will need to remove the axle nut (36mm).

 

After I take the big axle nut off, I take the whole assembly off then try to spin what the nut was orgianally screwed onto and look for disjointed spin? just wondering on what to do before i go about doing it.

 

Remove the spindle from the car.

Spin the hub around while looking in the opposite side of the spindle.

You are looking for the hub and the bearing race to be spinning together. If they dont then the hub and bearing are probably both bad.

Also there should be NO play in the hub. It should be solid in the spindle.