Ok, I can't seem to figure out whats causing this

About a month ago, my driver side wheel bearing was bad, Car shook violently, I jacked up the car and shook the driver side tire, itwas wobbly as heck. So i took off the hub, went to autozone and got a wheel bearing from the Timex, all new bearing seals and what not. Went to a shop to have it pressed. Got everything installed. Car ran beautiful

About 3 days ago, the issues shows up again, steering wheel shaking, car is swaying back and forth while driving, But it would drive fine for a few miles. then all of a sudden shake violently. So i jack up the car and check the wheel, it to is wobbly. So i got fustrated and got a hub from a junk yard, installed it, and replaced the ball joint while i was at it, and put the car back down, ran beautiful yesterday

Today i was coming home from work and the issue SHOWS UP AGAIN. WTF, so i jack up the car AGAIN and i shake the wheel, its wobbly. So im out of ideas on what it cold possibly be. Did i just get a bad hub from the junk yard. Or could this be part thats causing this issue.

Thanks for any input

 

someone should chime in with some knowledge. this is a safety hazzard.

 

Get a new hub and bearing. When the bearing goes out, it can damage the hub as well.

Also, are you torquing the axle nut properly?

 

but its strange that the one from the junk yard is doing the same thing.

And yea, im tourqeing it down to 180 ft-lbs

 

In which directions is the wheel wobbly? All directions or only in certain ways? Have you made sure you torqued down the two bolts that attach the whole assembly to the strut? I had those come loose once before and noticed the car became very unpredictable with very sloppy turn-in and bad wheel hop whenever I got on it.

 

ifi shake it veritcally, it doesnt do much, but if i shake it horizontally it shakes alot. I really dont know what could cause both hubs to go bad

 

Even though you initially are torquing the axle nut to 180 ft-lbs, have you been checking to see if your axle nut has been coming loose after your symptoms appear? Members have reported that when symptoms like this appear leaving them clueless, their mechanic just torques down the axle nut and all is well.

 

i got the same problem got the thing from a junk yard and is making a sound idk why and is just getting me so mad im about to give up on maximas

 

I feel like giving up on my max but i got so much love for it.

It does it on occasions, like, ill be driving, it will be smooth then the next 10 miles or so, its shaken the hell out of the car. Axle nut never comes loose, cause the b*tch is on there good when i check everything.

Could it be possible the acctual driveshaft is doing this? Because when I accerlate, it goes away, but when i driving around 40-60 its shakes the heck outta the car, car is all over road and sometimes swerving, its my only transportation to work right now. So i really need to get this fixed

Any other ideas?
Thanks for everyones input.

 

just a thought and might not be the problem. Vibrations and shaking can also be due to an unbalanced tire. Or OTHER unbalanced tires. Check to see if your rims are bent, dented, wheel weights had fallen off, all of the lug nuts properly tightened down.

Also, i believe that you're not torqing the axle nut down enough. The lug nuts is 98-118 ft lbs. THe axle nut however is 235-314. I've always torqued mine to 250 ft lbs as i've read on here that is the ideal amount of torque. You're missing a good 70 lbs here, that might be the problem.

 

Has the cotter pin been reinstalled after you torque down the axle nut?

I'm having some vibration from my wheels as well and I just had the bearing replaced on one side. I'm thinking the rotor on my BBK isn't seated fully as I've had all my wheels rebalanced twice now.

 

the cotter pin won't do anything if it was installed. The only thing that the cotter pin does is to prevent in case the nut comes loose, it won't fall all the way out.

 

When you replaced the hub with the junjkyard one, did you

1) Use the bearing that came from teh junkyard?

2) reuse the bearing that you had just bought?

3) Bought a new bearing?

The reason I ask is that a bad hub can ruin and bearing and a bad bearing can screw up a hub.

If the original hub was bad it may have messed up the new bearing.

Putting that bearing in the j-yard hub could've ruined that one.

And the j-yard hub and/or bearing could'ver been bad also.


Not sure if I've told you anything that you haven't already figured out, but good luck.

 

when the hub orginally went bad, i bought a bearing from autozone and got a machine shop and had it pressed in there. That infact failed within in a month. So i went to a Junk yard and just pulled a whole hub off a maxima there.

I install the hub along with a new ball joint. The bearing thats in the junk yard hub is still in there, cause i figured it was still good. I install the junk yard hub. It drives fine for a day, without no issues of shaking or anything. Then all of a sudden when im going over to my girls house, the car starts shaking like hell. steering wheel shaking, and loud thuds coming from the driver side tire.

Is this from a under tighten axle nut? or just ANOTHER bad bearing?

Ill try to shoot a video when i get off of work

 

wow man it just the same f**king thing i did and have till now car drives just fine but the sound of w/e it is is killing me man lol

 

Are you sure it's the hub/bearing thats lose? You mentioned you only have excessive play in the horizontal plane. A bearing would be 360 deg. play.

Have you checked the steering rack, inner and outter tie rod ends for play?

Seems strange you have the same part failing over and over again.
One starts to think that your changing the wrong part.

 

What exactly would i have to check on the steering rack?

I took it over to my uncles house last night and we jacked up both ends of the car, and we shook the passenger side tire, and it wiggled a little cause, but thats cause the steering wheel was moving to,. So what ever part failed.. its on the driver side.

Would a bad tie rod end cause this? even though the ball joint on the tie rod is completly good? or the steering rack, but if it was even evidently the steering rack. wouldnt i hear the noise on both tires. Keep in mind, the car steers fine.

Possibly bad drive shaft?, something on the driver side tire is bad. And the weird thing, if the car sits for a while, i start it up, drive for like 10 -15 miles, it drives fine, but then after the 15 miles or so it did, BAM, its back

Im stumped guys. HELP!!

 

Tie rods are best checked one side at a time because the tire that's still on the serves to isolate the opposite side from the one being checked.

One of my other cars is a Mazda Protege which I know to have a bade inner tie rod. It behaves in a manner similar to what you describe, it feels pretty good for X number of miles then...blah!

A tie rod problem will make itself known during braking, traveling over rough roads and also good roads if there is the slightest tire imbalance. You should feel it in the steering wheel as well as the brake pedal.

I also support the "not tight enough" axle nut theory because I had that happen on my Max.

 

The shaking comes and goes, so it could be the tie rod you say?
Even though the tie rod looks fine, it could be bad?

I REALLY need to get this issue resolved

any other ideas, and thanks for everyones input!

 

As mentioned above, since you are only noticing the play horizontally and not vertically, I would say its not the wheel bearing. Sounds like possibly a steering rack or inner or outer tie rods.

Here is what you do. With the car on the ground and turned off, have someone sit in the driver's seat and try to turn left and right with the steering wheel. Then you crawl underneath each side of the car and put your hand on the inner and then the outer tie rods while the person in the car is trying to turn left and right on the steering wheel. You will be able to feel the play if there is any.

 

ill have to check that when i get home

The shaking appereas while braking to. Just what gets me, why does do it 10-15 miles after, and not when im leaving my house, or going some place.

 

Even though parts are worn they still have a bunch of grease surrounding them. When the grease is cold it does a better job of damping shock/vibration as it warms up, not so much.

 

it doesnt do it on acceleration, or turning, Does this sound like a tie rod?