Hey guys, while doing the drivers side ball joint today I noticed that my wheel bearing has too much play. Axial end play tolerance is .05 mm, mine is more like 1mm. Would a new bearing take car of this or do I need to replace the hub? The whole hub moves in the direction of the axle with the bearing.

 

Both. I talked to Vic Simone of Simone Performance and he told me that Nissan has a problem with the hub. Apparently the hub begins to wear and with the stress of cornering and so forth also starts to wear the bearing. If you replace just the bearing, you'll be doing it again in another couple thousand miles. According to Vic, you must measure the hub to make sure it is to spec. before replacing just the bearing.

 

Agreed, I'd do both. I had that situation happen to me where I replaced just the wheel bearing, and soon enough I was getting the same noises again. Depending on how long you let this go on, you can have the wheel bearing spin on the hub which pretty much destroys the hub.

S

 

what's this noise sound like? I'm pushing 110k and might just do this as preventative maintenance.

 

If you did the hub, IIRC you wouldn't have to do the bearing, since it's included in the assembly ... Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Kinda like LCA's & Ball Joints.


These machinists with their high tech lingo..

 

the hub is separate from the whole "knuckle" (i think that's what you mean) you would have to replace the hub and bearing... i did on the right front of mine and i checked a few local junk yards for theirs... all gone on the right side. even on a few i35s. i just got a left front knuckle and stole the hub out of it for the right side. no problems in over a year/17k miles

 

I know at most retail parts stores, you can only get the bearing by itself for the front. I dont remember any listing the entire hub assembly, but it should include the bearing also though. It comes as an assembly for the rear though.

 

Yea, rear is listed as bearing & hub, front is seperate. Mine is just starting to howl between 50 & 60 MPH., otherwise not at all noticeable. Had it on the hoist and could feel the "roughness" when wheel was spun by hand when holding onto the coil spring, (right front).The other wheels were smooth as silk-couldn't feel anything. I'm taking it in next week as I don't have a socket for the axle nut, a torque wrench large enough or a press. I like to do repairs myself, but this seems a little cost ineffective.

 

I don't know about 5th gen, but we 4th gen guys have to buy the hub from Nissan because the Dorman part is the wrong size. Aftermarket bearings seem to work fine, though.

 

I was planning on replacing my front right bearing this weekend. The local parts place said they press it out and the new one in for 30, so I was planning to just get the knuckle out and tell them to do their thing. Should I ask for a new hub at the same time?

I know I've been driving with a bad bearing for at least 3 weeks, its to the point now where it feels like my pads are low when I brake even at low speeds like 25 mph.

 

I don't have any noise. Just vibration at 100 kmh and up, and some vibration when braking. And when the car comes to a complete stop there is a small thunk.

Damn, hub and bearing plus labor is a crap load of money.

 

Buy a new bearing and test fit in into the hub. It it fits tightly, then it should be ok.

 

Pull the knuckle out yourself, I went to a shop and thats what they were gonna do anyway. They were gonna send it out to a machine shop for 275 including alignment after.

 

Ahh yes, knuckle is what I was thinking about. . I remember I wacked a curb in my 4th gen, and thought cripes, LCA, hub & knuckle for sure, but I was lucky because I was able to get it aligned by only replacing said LCA and a strut.

knuckle. Got it now.

 

I'm going to pull the knuckle off the car. But up here the bearings are 119 each plus the hub, plus the labor of the pressing in and out... I can get 2 skf bearings in the US for less than the price of one up here. Anyone know if aftermarket hubs are any good? Rockauto sells Dorman, but never heard of that brand before.

When looking at the inside of the hub the bearing looks fine. I'm actually starting to wonder if the inside diameter of the knuckle is worn out. It's either the OD of the hub or ID of the knuckle. Or possibly the shoulders since it is end play .

 

Hey Knight ....

whatever happened with this?!

Inquiring minds!

gr

 

I bought a used knuckle from the junkyard for 50 bucks. it only had 24k km on it. good as new. They don't take the spindle or the bearing out, or the abs sensor.

 

Good Idea!!

I'll check-into that shud I need a new bearing(s) in the future.

Figured I'd prepare myself, since I'll be tackling that LCA this weekend -- haven't checked the runout on the LH bearing yet.

thks,
gr

 

wish i would have just done the hub...mine went out (pass side) and just did the bearning...PITA

B

 

Interesting as I need a new RH bearing/hub assembly. Can it be from any 5th gen or is there any difference between models? There is an i30 with a knuckle really close and I'd prefer to fix this thing quickly and cheaply.

 

splines might not match up between auto 5sp and 6spd...

 

http://www.courtesyparts.com/maxima-...2046_2047.html

There's no differentiation between them from 2000-03 and between transmissions, at least not on Courtesy parts...?

 

knight_yyz, was it hard to swap out the spindle?

 

You sure don't you mean the knuckle? I think it is the knuckle/hub assemble that our cars need replaced when the bearing is so bad that it spins in the knuckle.

 

Time to do my right front bearing. Found a salvage yard with knuckle hub assembly or what ever it called. I'm going to purchase a new hub from Courtesy Nissan and the bearing either from Napa or Advanced Auto as I'm trying to save a few $$$. I'm just not sure if aftermarket bearings are to spec of OEM bearings. I dont want the repair guy to tear down then tell me the bearing wont fit. Can someone chime in as to when they replaced their bearing/hub/ knuckle did you use all OEM parts or mixed and matched without any problems.

thanks

Bill

 

i just had mine replaced recently, and I used an aftermarket bearing (forgot the brand) and an oem hub. total install w labor 238.40 in florida... and i replaced it at the last possible moment, severe grinding, loud scraping, and wheel fallin' off.

 

Oh ****.... better get mine done soon... My repair guy quoted me $200 for the install. I found a hub/ knuckle at a salvage yard for $95.. Did you have to get a wheel alignment after replacing?

 

Absolutely you do.

It's neat seeing one of Ray's threads bumped. He hibernates in the winter, like a little Canadian bear.

 

Thanks.... Dam this job is going to be expensive... replacing hub/bearing, right axle, have a failed failed precat bank2.

 

10 year old car.

But I feel your pain. Had my front bearings replaced last month, when the plan was just to replace the outer tie-rod ends. (Hubs were fine.)

Stuff happens. Better safe and solid, than otherwise.

 

Update... I got into a minor accident just before xmas so the knuckle I replaced got fried. Well actually the bearing was toast as of a few weeks ago.

So what I did was buy 2 knuckles from the scrap yard. Took them both to work and knocked out the spindles. This destroys the bearing. Removed the rusted out retaining ring and pressed out both used bearings. The knuckles were media blasted and painted with por-15 rust paint, 3 coats. Bought 2 new SKF bearings from RockAuto and had them sent to a buddies place in NY. He brought them back across the border. I pressed in the new bearings at work on the 50 ton press we have, inserted brand new retaining rings.
The hubs were media blasted and then pressed into the bearings.
I also bought 2 junkyard LCA's and gutted them at work, media blasted them and painted them with 3 coats of por-15 rust paint.
I bought a new set of Energy Suspension bushings and put them on the junkyard LCa's and pressed in a new set of Moog Ball joints.
Installed the reworked knuckles and LCA's last weekend.
New rims installed and the car feels brand new. I have an appointment for front end alignment early next week.

Just wanted to say... The Energy Suspension bushings don't last forever. The large LCA rear bushing was worn out and basically fell off the LCA when it was removed. The other side was still tight like it should have been. The Lips on the smaller bushings were worn out. And they were all starting to squeak like rusty bed springs. So spent about 350 bucks on parts , free labor since it was a DIY project and everything feels brand new.

I have pressed out the bearings and Es bushings from my old LCA's and knuckles and have everything for sale in the 5th gen classifieds. Gutted and media blasted LCA's, spindles and one knuckle. The driver's side was not resalable.

http://forums.maxima.org/5th-generat...-spindles.html

 

I have 2 knuckles/spindles for sale if someone want to have bearings pressed into hubs before removing theirs.

 

So if they're humming the bearings are going out?

 

Typically more of a "whirring or howling" noise.

 

John, I'm selling the media blasted hubs and LCA's. All the bearings and bushings are sitting in a garbage bin at work. Nothing wrong with the hubs or the LCA's. The LCA's are ready for a new set of ES bushings, they've been media blasted and ready for paint, rhyno coat or whatever.

Due to Salt etc... My ES bushings lasted about 2 years. But maybe the fact that the fender bender I had caused my moog ball joints to fail 6 months ago and I've been driving on them that long... may have contributed to the wear on the ES bushings. extra strain??

BTY my bearings were not making any noise. According to the FSM you are allowed .010" of play at the bearing. So if you pull on your hub and it moves then your bearing is probably out of spec. My original bearing I talked about at the first post of this thread had .025" play and still was not making any noise. But vibrations during braking were pretty obvious.

 

 

I'm about to purchase one Timken wheel bearing and a Dorman hub so that my mechanic can replace the assembly in my front right wheel. I saw some talk of seals in other threads--what else do I need to bring to my mechanic, if anything (seals, snap rings, etc)?

Thanks in advance!