Hi everyone, sorry this might be a little long...

I have an 01 maxima 20th anniversary edition with the limited slip 5 sp transmission. It has a slight vibration at highway speeds and I'm not sure why. The other day driving to work, what I thought was the clutch started slipping and within a block was slipping so badly that I couldn't move. Luckily I wasn't going very fast and I could pull off the road and tow it home later.

Anyways, I thought the clutch was fried so I ordered a new one and started the clutch replacement. Tonight I removed the CV axles, and I found a neat little surprise

The passenger side CV axle has broken the bearing support mount off the engine block. It has been (improperly) welded before by the previous owner and has broken again







To me, it seems possible that the mount broke and the CV axle slipped slightly out of the diff and this caused the near-instant loss of power

Now I have a couple of questions... Has anyone seen this before? Can I replace the mount (and likely the bearing) without replacing the whole CV axle (part 39780-A33B002, 3978031U00)? Also, what is the likelyhood that the broken mount is responsible for the highway speed vibration that I was having previously?

As it stands, I'm going to continue to replace the clutch since it has 260000km on it anyways. I would also like to know if it would be a good idea to get the diff bearings looked at by someone more capable of fixing them, or if they should be good for a while yet. I should mention my ds CV axle seal has been leaking since I've had the car...

Thanks for any input you may have. I almost have the transmission out, so far it doesn't seem like a TOO difficult of task to do the clutch

 

That suks. You are the first one to post about having that bracket break that I've ever seen. Congrats on being # 1.

But it could have been the cause of your vibration since it would allow the axle to move more than it should. You probably don't need to replace the bearing that goes in that bracket. I don't think you can get that bearing separately anyway. It is considered part of the axle.

But since you have it out of the car, check it out. Turn it by hand, both real slow and as fast as you can. When turning slowly, you should not be able to feel anything like little bumps or resistance. Turning fast, you should not hear any noise. And you should not see any grease leaking out of it.

The oil seal leaking could be a sign of worn differential bearings which could also be the vibration you have. If you can get them checked, I would advise that. If the car was all together, you could grab the axle right next to the differential and see if it wiggled. I will say that my driver side oil seal was leaking also, and it was because of the axle having too much play in that coupling right next to the differential.

Good luck on the clutch job.

 

Thanks for the help dennismik. Once I drop the transmission today I'll take it in and get the diff bearings looked at. I hope a local junkyard will have the support bracket I need, I've only been able to find the part online at courtesyparts.com, and its $120 + something stupid like $60 shipping to canada.

Hopefully the clutch goes well from here :S

 

Every car that Nissan built has one of those brackets, so you should be able to get on. I hope you can find a car that has the axle all ready removed. That will make your task a lot easier.

 

i've had that bearing itself fail on me once upon a time. try fixing it and see if your problems go away. if not, it's not a big deal. undoing the work you do by putting the axle back in to test will only cost you like 45 minutes tops.

 

Thanks for the input everyone. I've taken it apart to the clutch, and everything else looks good. I'll get the diff bearings done at a shop while I have it apart to this point.

Now about the CV axle bearing support... I'm not having much luck finding a compatible vehicle which would have the same support as this locally at a junk yard. The only thing I can find online is ~$120

Does anyone know if the bearing in the middle of the passenger side CV axle can be replaced, or does the whole axle need to be done?

Thanks

 

Looking at part numbers, the manual trans and the auto trans use different brackets.

For manual trans, the 1997 through 2001 use the same bracket (# 39780-31U00), but the 2002 and 2003 use a different one.

As far as the bearing goes, it is Nissan part # 39774-5Y70E. List price $54.18 US. You could look at the bearing and get the manufacturers number from it and try to find it locally.

http://www.nissanpartszone.com/Page_...mponentsNo=391

 

Thanks for the info! I was able to find the bracket (39780-31U00) for "relatively" cheap online (~$80). I know the bearing is shot, since it has way too much side to side play. That's why I was looking at replacing the bearing.

I found a complete rebuilt passenger side CV axle online (https://www.thewrenchmonkey.ca/produ...ARDONE/606198/) for cheap, but it doesn't actually specify if it is for the limited slip (or locking) transmission which mine is. All I can find online is that the drivers side CV axle has dual splines for the limited slip transmission, nothing about this one. Will it work for me?

 

only the driver's side axle is different for limited slip. It is shorter in length and has the dual splines. Passenger side axle is the same regardless of limited slip or standard differential.

I am not a big fan of remanfactured axles. I have read too many threads here on Maxima.org about people having to replace them way too soon. I will admit that they are the Duralast brand sold by Autozone.

But if you go to rockauto.com, they sell the Cordone 606198 axle for $44.89 USD. They ship to Canada and just about every country in the world. They will have a shipping charge, though. And with the currency exchange, I don't know.

They also sell just the bearing, but if you have a significant amount of miles on the axle, it might be wiser to replace the axle.

 

Thanks so much for the info DennisMik. You've really helped me out here, I appreciate it. I've ordered a cardone axle, I hope it all goes together nicely

 

So the shop said my transmission is fried... $1200 to replace some of the bearings. To me, that's not worth it in a $2k car. My options now are a full transmission replacement.

1. Will a non-limited slip transmission for a 00-03 bolt right up, no issues (other than a new drivers side CV axle)? I might be able to find one for cheaper

2. Is it ONLY 00-03 transmissions that are compatible?

Thanks!