Ok, I am not mechanic, but I was told by a passenger in my car that I have a bad bearing in my car. I noticed my car was louder, and thats what I was complaining about. What does a bad bearing sound like? My noise sounds like road noise, but louder... Sort of consistent, but not a constant hum. Is there a proper way to determine this? Are bearing easy to do on 99 Maxima, or should I take it to the garage? Are these things expensive?

 

Make sure it's not tread noise from your tires.
A bearing noise will change as load changes. Tread noise pretty much stays the same.
If you hear the noise get worse as you go around left or right sweeping turns, then most likely you have a bad bearing. If the noise stays the same as you go around sweeping turns and doesn't change as load is changed, then it's most likely tread noise.

Rotate tires front to back and see if the noise changes.

 

jack up ur car and PUT JACKS STANDS ON BOTH SIDES of the car put the car in drive and let the wheels spin and u will definetly hear if ur bearing is bad or ood thats how i found out for sure on my car and it was on my left side.try at ur own risk though.

 

Jack up each side of the car and grab the wheel and see if you can shake or rock it. If there is some obvious loose play then you got a bad bearing (or hub). Not very loose play could be tie-rods/steering linkage, so shake the rim both vertical (12 - 6) position and horizontal (3 - 9) position as steering shouldn't affect the vertical play much. Bearings sometimes make a growling/drumming sound at highway speeds and a grinding or squeaking noise at slow speeds.

 

Thanks for your answers!

 

When my bearing went bad, the bearing also took out my spindle. If you need a new spindle, change out your balljoint at the same time. Check for worn boots on your axles, and your steering rack. Check for worn bushings on the sway bar and LCA's. I ended up rebuilding the whole front end. Then you need to get an alignment

 

You know, I have an 06 Altima SER and I hear what I think could be a bearing issue, however, I only hear the noise from about 35mph and up. It is very annoying as I cant hear the engine or exhaust. I am almost to the point of just replacing the hub and bearings. Does the sound of a bearing going bad actually go up and down as the car accelerates or decelerates?
Could it be anything else? Definently coming from the back of the car. I think the driver's side. Thanks.

 

jack up the car and see if you can get any play by rocking the wheel. Thats what i did.

 

I will do that, but I am still wondering if a bad bearing could actually change as you accelerate or decelerate. I thought that the noise was constant for the most part. (Is there ANYthing else it could be?)

 

of course...Mine was loudest at 30mph all the way up to 65mph..n got quiet when i was at 80 mph....

 

Hey, thanks. I was actually leaning this way, but you know, sometimes you just gotta hear it from someone else. NOW I am gonna go jackin and shakin, lol.

 

My 97 Maxima GLE has a bad bearing, rear right wheel. The bearing-hub assembly at Nissan is about $145. Do u know if I would need any special tools (to press ABS sensor, etc) to replace, or is it straightforward?

Thanks,
Dan S

 

As for tools - You need a good breaker bar or impact wrench to loosen the hub nut and a 5 ton press, or drop the hub + bearing assembly off at a local shop (about $50 Cdn, or 20-30 $US) to press out the old and squeeze in a new bearing.

As far as sounds go, could be anything from a squeaking/grinding at low speed to a drumming, howling noise at high speed accompanied by an odd shudder/vibration that you may not feel in the steering wheel, but in the floor boards and car in general. Bearings are sensitive to loads and turns so if the sound/feeling changes as you change lanes or apply mild accelerator, then that fits with the diagnosis of a shot bearing. Of course it also could be a inner CV joint or half shaft issue, but those usually happen later in life. Hope that helps!

Remember my opinions are worth what you paid for them!

 

mine bearing needs replacing too. it vibrates my car bad when i hit around sixty

 

yea i think is the same problem i have in my car. it starts around 35 and i can feel it up to about 65 (in the pedals) then i jsut hear it for the rest. my car has new u joints supposedly but who knows. ive heard that wheel bearings are a pain in the but to fix esp on the driver side. i was also told my someone that part of the noise could b my front brakes, they are worn 85%... idk if thats actually true or not, it was just someones opinion.

 

Read the whole thread. Yes, bad bearings can feel like badly balanced tires, warped rotors, you name it. Just jack up the car and shake the dang wheels!

 

If you have ABS do NOT try to take the sensor off the hub if you are going to press out the bearing. Disconnect the wire inside the engine bay and remove the whole thing. I learned the hard way.

 

the thing about shaking the wheels is i just got new tires 3 days ago at fire$tone and they deff. would've told me if my wheels had some play... they told me everything else that was broken i dont kno why they would've left that out....

 

Maxima's are prone to shaking and vibration which is why so many people don't realize they have a serious problem until it is too late. It takes less than 20 minutes to jack up each wheel and check for obvious problems like a bad bearing.

IF there is no play and especially if you just got new tires, then there is a chance that the wheels tires are not perfectly round, and/or centered (trust me). Try removing each wheel, rotate 1-2 lug nut positions and remount with hand tools only. Lower the jack until the tire just touches the ground, but can still spin. This will show you the high/low spots on the tire (loosen/retighten until wheel is centered as best as possible). This can be a big problem with non-stock wheels and/or economy priced tires. The shakes usually come and go at highway speeds. If all else fails, get your tires road force balanced. I do everytime, just to save me headaches.

 

Why not remove it yourself? Now your leaving a sensor in the possession of your machineshop that could damage or loss it! It's just a bolt that secures it in...It's really simple.
In my opinion it too is your front axle bearings. Another test is to take your car out and load up one side at a time by swerving from left to right and listening for the moaning/groaning to increase on the side loaded with the weight/outside tire of turn. Napa carries the same exact p/n the the dealer is gonna sell you for god knows $90 on up, when you can get one from Napa for about $75. Good luck dude!

 

my car has been doing this for about 3 months now... ive only had my tires for about 3 days... there was no change.

 

its not a constant hum though... i dont know how exactly to describe the pattern other then; hum.. hum.. hum.. hum.. hum..

 

warped break rotor?

 

Possible, but if you have a warped brake rotor you usually feel vibration when you are braking, especially at high speed.

 

This thread is getting a bit long so here is a recap of typical bad bearing symptoms:
- play in the wheel
- grind/squeal at low speeds (sometimes)
- humm, drumming sound at high speeds (comes and goes in the beginning)
- sounds get worse/better as you turn, change lanes,...
- sound remains when feathering brakes (i.e. not loose calipers)
- hard to pin-point shake/vibration in floor boards more so than the steering wheel (unlike wheel balance or rotors)

Other possible causes could be worn inner CV or other drive shaft issues, but the wheel bearings typically go before the draft shaft components.

 

Thanks, that's a good guide. I get a hummimg / drumming kind of noise at 30 mph and over. This started after the half shaft was changed 18 months ago. I'm just not sure if it is the half shaft or the wheel bearing causing the noise. I do not have any of the other issues typically associated with a bad wheel bearing.

 

My bad bearing on another car sounded like a dull sounding tire rubbing noise whose frequency increased with speed. At first thought it was my diff. but replaced bearing first and solved the problem. You might try jacking up the car and spinning the wheel and listening thru a screwdriver against the center of the wheel to locate the right wheel.

 

Thanks, I'll even get a stethoscope and try that, the only problem is even with the car in neutral the wheel does not spin very easily.

 

yea i doo feel it esp in my brake pedal when breaking but i can still feel it in both pedals pretty much anytime i have my foot touching a pedal. thats y i was thinking the same thing... and i know my brake pads on the front are worn and the right side is 85% worn but the left side isnt as worn (according to fire$tone). mayb a warped rortor is the problem...