Hi,

I am fairly certain that my driver side front wheel bearing is shot after 49K (Groan that has been getting worse).

Reviewing the repair manual (See pic) that was posted on another Nissan site it looks like I can get the Wheel Hub/Bearing out of the Steering Knuckle without having to remove it (The Steering Knuckle) from the car.

My question is if I can tap the new hub/bearing into place and use the bolts to pull it into the steering knuckle (No need for a press or taking the steering knuckle off the car)?

Comments/thoughts appreciated.
Thanks!

 

Are you the first owner of the car?
The wheel bearing might be covered under the power train warranty.
https://owners.nissanusa.com/content...2011_N_WIB.pdf

Just a suggestion, otherwise, I do not know the answer to your question.

 

Yes, first owner. If I read what is covered is does say "Bearings". I may call the 800 number just to confirm so I don't get into an argument with the dealer.

Thank you!!!

I would still like to get an answer if anyone else knows? Thanks.

 

He didn't say what year he has, or if he has extended warranty

 

It's covered under the powertrain warranty. I had mine replaced for free using it. 5yrs/60k

 

Hub bearings are usually not pressed in. If they are tight, its due to rust/crud forming in the knuckle. You should be able to just pull the old
hub bearing out, then clean the area and just simply place new hub bearing in.
You will most likely need to remove front axle from the hub to remove the
bearing and put new one in. At the very least it will make the job much much easier.
No need for press at all.

That said, the bearings should be covered by power train warranty, however I saw a TSB on mentioning bearings specifically and the cases in which the job is not covered. Look up nissan tsb site.

 

I know the bearings themselves are not pressed in, but am I correct that the inner and outer races are pressed in/on? Inner race pressed into the hub and outer race pressed onto the spindle. I don't guess you would need to replace the races unless you've lost all of the grease and the bearings have scratched the surface of the races. If they aren't good a smooth, though, you're asking for another failure if you don't replace them.

Late,
Trav

 

So a trip to the dealer on Friday for a test drive/confirmation the bearing/hub (It is all one unit) was the noise.

Dealer replaced both bearings and flashed my ECM (To stop the Service Engine light issue) in less then 4 hours. Cost $0.

I have never had a dealer or repair shop take my car in the afternoon to do that type of repair and have it back to me by 5PM. I was very happy.

 

poor QC

shame on Nissan

 

Good to hear it was fixed under warranty.
Somewhat similar story, my Check Engine Light came on for the MAF.
I was worried about having to pay out of pocket until I re-read the entire warranty booklet and found that since I live in live/bought the car in Maryland, I qualify for the extended emissions warranty.
Turns out a ECU reflash was needed, but still covered under warranty.

 

Man I am jealous! I had my drivers side wheel bearing replaced at Firestone for a few hundred dollars at around 50k. I didn't bother taking it in to Nissan because I didn't know wheel bearings were part of a powertrain warranty. I thought powertrain was just engine and transmission. Either way, good for you!

 

I know the OP got the issue resolved, but for the sake of correct info. Modern cars have two styles of wheel bearings. The type on our car, is a hub bearing.
Hub bearings comes as a single unit that has a new bearing and a new hub assembled/pressed together. This style of bearing usually bolts on with either 3 or 4 bolts. The bolts come from the back of the knuckle, which is why you need to remove the axle from the hub. This style of bearing has no replaceable parts. The hub bearings are not pressed on the knuckle, but they
tend to be stuck a bit, due to rust/dirt. Couple of good blows with a small sledge usually dislodges them. I also found that a sliding hammer works very well.
Another style is just a "regular" bearing that has independently spinning inner race and outer race. The hub is typically pressed into the inner race and the outer race is pressed into the knuckle. There are two ways to service these bearings, either take the knuckle off the car and use a shop press, or use some sort of on car bearing remover (like hub grappler). I guess mechanics used to repack bearings in the olden days. You would be hard pressed to find one that is serviceable anymore. You just press them out and chuck them into garbage (I use the races of old bearings on my shop press, to press other bearings/bushings). By the time you hear the noise, which is
what usually gives bad bearing away, the races are scored, so there is nothing left to salvage anyway.
Same car can use different style bearings on front and back. I have done both kinds and much prefer the hub bearing, due to amount of labor involved.

I do car work as a hobby and speak of personal experience. There could be
other stuff out there that I have not worked on.
Max

 

Nissan does not make the bearings. I have seen them use NTN before on 4th gen. Not sure who is current maker.
It actually would be interesting to find out just how much of a Maxima
Nissan actually makes. They definitely assemble the car, but amount of components not made by Nissan is sure to surprise people.

50k is definitely under expected life time of the wheel bearing, but you are missing one crucial element when placing your blame. Some wheel bearings die due to how the car is driven. In New England the roads are not in the best condition, so couple of good sized potholes can definitely accelerate failure of the bearing. I am not blaming the OP, but definitely something to consider.
Max

 

Yup - makes sense. I was thinking of my very first car, a 1990 Toyota Camry. I replaced a bad front wheel bearing and the inner and outer races had to be pressed on/off, then pack it with grease and replaced seals. But then thinking back, on my 2003 Corolla, I did a drum to disc conversion on the rear. The discs were from a junkyard and were complete with wheel bearings. I used the wheel bearings that came with the discs from junkyard and one turned out to be bad. I remember very clearly now, it was just 4 bolts to remove the bad one from the hub and replaced with one of the original wheel bearings that came on my car originally (exact same wheel bearing b/w the two, fortunately). Super simple.

So, front wheel bearings are same as rear also - one-piece sealed unit that's bolted to the hub, huh?

 

Yes, in case of 7th gen Maxima both front and rear are hub bearing assemblies. Its not the same part, but the same design.
But as I said, the front and rears can have different designs. I remember replacing a wheel bearings on 06 Forester and CRV and both had regular bearings in the rear, easiest way is to find a replacement part and see what it looks like, i.e. rockauto

Max