when i drive above 40, it sounds like im driving at a high rate of speed over a cement highway. when i turn left the noise gets stronger. so im assuming its a wheel bearing :/.... i just replaced both hub assemblies in the rear. but my question is will i have to buy the whole hub assembly for the front or can i just buy the bearing? swapping hubs is easy but they dont come cheap. ive never swapped individual bearings so i dont know. hopefully someone can clarify

 

It depends on how long you let the problem go. If the hub is not scored, you can press in new bearings. You really need to press the old bearings out, then go from there.

 

how can i tell if the hub is scored? and will i need a press or is there another way to pull the old bearings and replace new ones.

 

okay so after some light research, i figure that it would be the most cost efficient to buy timken bearings, remove the hub, go to a shop to remove and press the new bearings in then i should be good gold. so along with the new bearing i will also need a new seal. is there 2 per hub on both sides or just 1? so the price should be around $100-$120 for one bearing plus installation and seals. does that sound about right? for should i say screw it and just buy a new hub?

 

I just did mine. You'll need 2 seals which should both be the same part number and 1 bearing. Pull the spindle/knuckle and take it to a machine shop that can press out the old bearing and press in the new one.

The only work you really have to do is pull the wheel off and get the spindle to a shop.

Cheap aftermarket crap bearing from O'reily's (National) was about 50 bucks and each seal was 22 bucks... rip off if you ask me, its probably similar price at the dealer for a better quality bearing. IIRC Nissan uses Timken or NSK which are supposed to be the best bearings

 

Just but mine back toghether today. I got the Timken bearings, $ 26 at Autozone, $ 50 something at Orielly's, no idea why. The seals were $15 each.
$40 to press old off, new on per side.

Quiet as a mouse now.

On edit: I don't think Timken makes the bearings. They source from NSK and SKF at any given time.

 

bro, im going through the same prob and i just got my wheel hub and bearing in.. The sound is obnoxious and it growls like no other, but when you trun right a little bit then the sound goes away...

 

Yes, they are packaged Timken, but are Japan made NSK. Excellent bearings.

 

I just did it and replace both the bearings and the hubs. The bearing was around $57 dollars
http://www.courtesyparts.com/40210-b...-p-133579.html

and hubs was around $65 dollars
http://www.courtesyparts.com/40202m-...-p-189726.html

from Courtesy Nissan plus shipping.
Cost me $50 for a shop to press out the bearings and press in the new ones both sides.

 

Rather than start a new thread, I'll just ask in here: can anyone give me a list of every single part you'd need to replace the hub AND bearing? I know I need a hub and a bearing, duh, but I can't seem to find a list of seals or anything like that. Part #'s? (just for 1 side, pass. side) Also, is there a good write-up for this anywhere? I'm having a shop press the bearing in but the FSM is a little vague on re-assembling the hub and knuckle.

 

You need Timken wheel bearing part# 510009. And 2 Timken wheel seals part#710108.
Have the shop press the hub back together after the bearing is in.
I have 20 ton press to do this.
There were no good write ups here after searching. I will do a write up next time I do this job.

 

I'm having a hard time understanding (from the FSM) how all of that even goes together. I've never taken it apart so it's hard for me to imagine how it's "layered" if you will. So the bearing gets pressed into the knuckle, the seals go in at the same time, then the hub gets pressed on over that? Am I envisioning this right?

 

Just take off your knuckle/hub, take it with your new parts to a shop with a press and they will do the rest.

 

Sounds pretty simple lol Sounds like it takes out most of the hard work for me, too

 

I got a question , groaning noise while turning left and right at slow speeds, when i apply breaks and when i release breaks . Ihave a 97 maxima SE 175000 miles the sound come from the front of the car, sounds like a groaning or grinding sound like friction. any advics

 

Observe the forum rules and go here with your question:

http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...e-posting.html

 

Getting ready to give this a try. Thanks to everyone who posted, it will be my first bearing job. I however will be taking the hub assembly to a shop to have it installed, bringing it back to the house and putting it back on. The FSM is good detail, but the tips on breaking free the control arm and steering arm are very helpful.

An easy way to tell which side is bad, is turn your wheel slightly at the speed in which the noise is most noticeable (usually about 40-45) and turn your wheel slightly. If you turn it right and the sound goes away or decreases in magnitude, it's probably the driver side bearing; vice versa for the pass. side.

Thanks a million people, this forum has saved me thousands of dollars at least. I love my 4th gen.

 

tbh the cheapest and easiest solution to this problem is to not bother with replacing the bearing and just grab a knuckle+hub+bearing assembly from the junkyard

i struggled with the details of the swap until deciding that swapping the entire knuckle would be much cheaper and less labor-intensive...of course when i got the the yard i decided i'd try the rears first, which solved the problem

i realize that the junkyard knuckle could be in any state of disrepair, but give them a twirl and a wiggle and you can probably get at least some idea. at the very least if you swap the part and the noise is gone you know you're not wasting your money by getting a fresh hub + bearing + install. for ~$35 per side it's a cheaper and potentially as-good solution to the problem..of course, the jy knuckle has god knows how many miles on it and is going to wear down sooner, but if you're not looking to keep your car forever you can save a lot of time/money

 

Say, never heard back from you,did you get bearings in your front end and is it all fixed? This thread went somewhere else.

 

Here is a good DIY on replacing the front wheel bearings with out a press:
http://motorvate.ca/node/65

 

what are the foot pound specs for the front spindle nut on the 1998?

 

are you going to use a torque wrench on it? lol it's more than 100lb (more like 180) for sure. just use a nice impact and tighten it until it doesn't move anymore.

 

Does 203 sound good then.

 

The torque spec is 174-231 ft-lb

You'll find all torque specs in these manuals

http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/maxima/1998/

For the front spindle nut read page FA-9