So I was hearing a chirping noise from the driver side front wheel. Thought it was brake related, kept driving. Hour later my hub nut sheared completely off the axle. So now there's no more threads left on the outer cv axle. Is it safe to assume that it is a bad wheel bearing that got so hot from driving that the axle became weak and broke? Any other ideas? Any input, suggestions? Thanks in advance.

 

I can't picture the axle threaded part shearing off because the end of the axle is splined in the hub and it is the hub that fits into the bearing.

Or did the threaded part AND the splined section shear off of the axle CV joint?

Does the wheel still rotate or is it frozen/locked up?

While I have never seen or heard of this, I would think that the wheel bearing is probably screwed up somehow.

Do you have any pics of this?

 

Yeah i would think that the hub would be making a loud noise like an airplane once it got really bad, and maybe burning up and locking the wheel up, but never heard of what the op is talking about.

 

Without a doubt I would replace the bearing as part of the repair. Rolling around on a bearing that's not torqued will almost instantly damage it.

 

Wheel still rotates. I'm talking about the threaded part that the hub nut threads on to. It broke off flush with the center hole of the rim. Car is parked at my current job site 75 miles away so I can't get a picture until later.

 

Wow...

I replaced the original wheel bearings at 127k miles on my 2K SE there was a fair amount of wobble and a pulsing sound but no squeal or grinding. If you are saying the end of the half shaft broke off then it makes me wonder if the nut was tight and how long it had been that way.

If there is an option to get the knuckle with the bearing already pressed in place, I would highly suggest that unless you have the tools and knowledge to do the work. In my case, the passenger side (which was bad) came out pretty easily but the rusty c clip that held it in place took some heat to remove. The driver's side ended up requiring the use of the oxy-acetelene torch and totally destroyed the old bearing.

 

I just had the passenger side replaced last week so, I guess it makes sense that the driver side is done now.

 

For the most part, I think the axle was the defective part that created the problem. The bearing might not actually be bad, but I would still replace it just for peace of mind if for no other reason.

 

So here it is. Any one else ever have this happen

 

wow!! maybe the nut was loose or some other suspension issue made it move. Just a guess

 

Never seen anything like that and I work on cars for a living. I'm thinking there was a defect in the axle.

I can't think of any normal issue that would cause that. Unless it was installed with a 3/4' or 1' high power impact and over torqued.

 

How much did the replacement cost you?

 

$100 for bearing and hub assembly. $120 for labor. Not bad I guess. This most recent one though, needed a new cv axle so like $400 parts and labor. I would have done the work myself using my friends press but I'm way too busy with work lately.

 

It could've been damaged previously by another owner that drove car on a spare tire. I went over 50mph on mine and the spare almost came off. I was like The nuts began backing out and now my lugs are slightly bent. I might have bearing issues down the road from it too.