ypl102

after being ripped off from the stealer, I've decided to turn here for any help. I went to the dealer for them to look in to my shimmy problem above 55 miles. I indicated to them when making a right turn and when coming to a stop at low speeds, I hear a rubbing or grinding noise from the left front wheel that sounds cyclical meaning it has to do with the spinning parts down there, i.e. wheel bearing or cv joint. I paid them $104 only to get another $1700 estimate saying my left rear caliper is bad and I need to replace all new brakes, exhaust pipe and muffler. I left the dealership saying WTF. I drive the 6sp 120 miles a day so I'm very depended on it but the shimmy is driving me crazy. I've replaced that caliper and balanced all 4 tires and it does nothing at all. After taking off the wheel for the last few days I was able to rule out brake components such as pads, rotor or clip. At 1st I could not replicate the grinding noise with the car jacked up and rotating the tire, however, I did notice when I grab one of the arms back there with the rubber boots, it felt a bit loose. Today I was able to hear some kind of ticking sound when I spin the left front tire. It ticks 2 to 3 times per spin with the piston compressed, no pressure on the rotor. I won't go back to that dealer again but was hoping someone has experienced same problem as this. btw when I shake the wheel left and right it had minimal play from the shock only but I was wondering if the bearing is beginning to go bad.

oldskooljdm

iTrader: (1)

1700 dollar estimate? wtf. by shimmy do you mean steering wheel movement at highway speeds. like left to right shimmy? like a wheel bearing. but i dunno about the grinding sound. i had a friend whos wheel bearing was bad and that thing roared while driving down the highway due to his "shimmying"..

Feldman

iTrader: (1)

Might want to check the dust shield and make sure it isnt very close to the rotor. I had a grinding noise that only happened when i was turning and i couldnt replicate it with the wheel off.

I'm sure that wouldn't be causing the shimmy though.

As for the shimmy you might want to make sure your wheels are balanced or like oldskooljdm said it is probably the wheel bearing.

It surprises me that the stealership wouldnt tack that onto your estimate if it was really your problem. I have seen them do stranger things before though.

ypl102

it's weird this morning i was about to take it to a local shop but I couldn't get it to do it until it's driven for 30 mins. The dealership said it wasn't the wheel bearing or cv joint however I don't believe them a bit. I've balanced the tires and brake pads and didn't help.

teddyace112

I have asimilar problem with my 2000 max. Whenever I turn the wheel all the way to the right the car shakes. I took it to my guy and he suggested I replace the springs. I wanted to get a second opinion because that seems expensive.

ypl102

i simulated the noise by jacking the car up, turn the wheel to the right, then spin the left front wheel and the rubbing noise was coming from the CV boots so I lubed them with some grease and the noise appeared to have disappeared when stopping or turning. However the shimmy is still there and I'm leaning toward a bad driver side axle. .. any takers? I wonder if it's something I'm able to replace myself.

foodmanry

iTrader: (15)

Axle...and yes you can replace it yourself. I haven't done it before so I can't describe the level of difficulty.

hi-tek22

iTrader: (4)

if you need to replace the axle go get yourself a Raxle

ypl102

before I order the part I will put it on stands and rev the axle with the engine on and see if the axle is spinning straight then I will be more convinced because I've tried to rock everything in there, the ball joint and the tie-rod ends feel pretty tight.

phxgold

iTrader: (5)

I had same problem rt front found out the car had been curbed before I got it. This last weekend I replace rt lower control arm, spindle/knuckle, hub and bearing, and rotors when I replaced the rotors I had the grinding as well and that was caused by the dust cover rubbing the back of the rotor. but the shimmy was definitely the hub/bearing.

ypl102

How much did you have to shell out?
my car's got nearly 120K miles so if I have to spend the kind of money into it like you did, I will get another car instead. the problem is hard to find another V6 6sp at a decent price

phxgold

iTrader: (5)

450 total
http://www.courtesyparts.com/betasit...4-p-92525.html
all the parts you need right here. great service too.

ypl102

phxgold,

$450 for parts if you do all the work yourself isn't bad at all. I checked out that site, it seems they show a picture for my 03 front axle but doesn't show a price.

ypl102

I put the car on stands and checked over the following. Please let me know if I'm headed the right track.

I grabbed the axle arm and spin it forward and backwards and noticed some noise and clunk from the inner and outer boots/bearings. Since both axles do the same thing and the sound from the outer boot turned out to be just the wheel studs hitting the rotor since the lug nuts were out, I thought it was no cause for concern. When I pushed up against where the inner boot meets the bearing holder from under the car, the bearing holder had some play up and down on the right axle while the left axle doesn't have any play in the same area. Could this be my culprit?

I then put on 2 lug nuts on each side, put it in 1st gear and let the clutch out while keeping the rpm at 1000. The weird thing was the left axle is barely moving while the right axle went spinning smoothly. But once I C-clamped the piston, it started spinning normally. Is this normal or is the dragging from the caliper, bad axle?

The last thing I noticed was looking at my spinning left rotor from the side, the thickness of the inner and outer disk varied quite a bit eventhough the total thickness is the same. Where the inner is thin the outer would be thick and vice versa. This tells me my left wheel or rotor had been wobbling while it spins, causing uneven wear through out different area of the rotor. I would like to assume this was caused by the axle, guess I won't know until I attempt it. I read somewhere on here it should be doable without having to affect alignment. Other than taking off the tie-rod end, anything I should watch out for?

By the way would the vibration at highways speeds be caused by the anti-sway bar? How do I check it? at the bushings?

phxgold

iTrader: (5)

sorry for the wrong link I was at werk and thought I had the info there.
these are the guys I went thru.
http://www.bankstonnissanparts.com/p...?siteid=213941

part numbers are as follows

pass front hub ***. 400414-5Y700
wheel baring 40210-2Y000
Transverse link (control arm) 54500-2Y412
spindle assembly 40014-5Y700

this site rocks just enter the year make and model along with the name of your part and they have several catalogs to choose from.

sorry about wrong info in last post. hope this helps.

ghostrider17

iTrader: (6)

Keep us posted on what happens....

I too have the mysterious 60mph shimmy from the pass. side, and this after I just replaced that wheel bearing AND Hub, incl. the Calipers, rotors, sway-bar links, springs & struts.
I'm down to the control arms, tie-rods, axle, or the bearing again.
*** me.

gr

ypl102

cool site, but they wanted $478 for my axle assembly, i think i'll go local with that

phxgold

iTrader: (5)

here ya go many to chosse from here as low as 69.00
http://tinyurl.com/67lrky
I got my rear hub assembly from them

ypl102

hey this is the same site i was looking at the other day =) Thanks. . .
looks like it's difficult to find it in stock around my area so I might order from that site

phxgold

iTrader: (5)

Just make very sure you verify and reverify the part number you are getting is right. that is the reason I have a rear hub sitting around I actually ordered a front huib and thats what they sent me. when i called and told them they authorized the return and i tried to order a front hub they said they dont have any so out of frustration I went to bankston. after doing my job when i went to get an allignment the tech at the shop told me that my rear is going out. Imagine his suprise when I stood there grinning and said right on! lmao

ypl102

here's the update. The problem is still there after I replaced the driver side CV axle and rotor. During the work I had to unbolt the strut so the alignment was thrown off along with the fact I had to replace the outer tie rod end. the replacement OTRE had a taller joint but everything else was the same with length and bolt. I put it on anyways but noticed it was a lot tighter compared to the old part and the passenger side when the joint is moved side to side. also noticed the TR arm with the boot does not offer any resistance to gravity, I hold it up and let it drop out of my hand freely. My question is is this normal or does it need changed since I've never replaced the inner tie rod before. Would hate to pop the passenger side just to compare. I've seen a Youtube video showing a good tierod on a VW that's holds its place where ever u move it too and a bad one that just drops as I described but I can't assume these parts act the same with the Max too. Certainly want to rule this out instead of doing 2 alignments instead of 1.