Wheel Bearing Replacement

First of all, thanks for this thread. It was very helpful. I have a bit of experience repairing my own vehicles but I always like it if someone else that has done it can give me some tips on the possible pitfalls I might encounter.

As a note to any of you who have not yet encountered this common issue I would tell you that if you hear even a bit of growling or humming from your front end you should already start planning on doing this repair. I got my MO with about 40k miles on it and I heard a very faint hum which I blamed on the larger and wider 18" tires. Much bigger than I'm accustomed to. Now after the repair the car is virtually silent. These cars, IMO, have very little inherent road noise. So basically what I'm saying is don't wait. I waited a long time and towards the end the growl was so bad that you could hear it at less than 10 mph. It became very frightening.

 

Just replaced the left front hub assembly

I followed this thread and decided to replace the left front hub assembly in the driveway. The right hub assembly was replaced by our local Nissan dealer as part of an accident claim. The dealer charges were $ 386.00. And yes the accident was a result of a deer deciding to commit suicide.

My suggestions if your trying this yourself:

1. Check the ABS sensor first. If you can't successfully remove it. Stop. Don't go any further. My sensor was pretty easy. Lots of Liquid Wrench, then waiting, and more Liquid Wrench. Even at 157,000 miles on my '04 Mo it came out without trouble.

2. You need only to remove the axle nut (32mm socket), the 4 hub retaining bolts, and the brake caliper assembly. Turn the wheel to gain access to the hub nuts.

3. Beat the wheel nut flange with at least a 16oz hammer. It will dislodge if you hit from the wheel well out on the forward edge of the wheel flange. I took at least 12 swings and it popped out. Be sure and tap the axle back out when you have loosened the hub.

4. Check Amazon.com for the bearing. I paid $ 129.00 for the Timken replacement with free shipping. Arrived in 4 days.

5. One other thing be sure and note the configuration of the sheet metal splash plate and replace it in proper order.

My thanks to the many posters who blazed the trail for my success.

Rock on................

 

You guys are all GREAT! My wife and I have been scratching our heads and imagining the worst (CVT) as we listen to our 06 with 94K miles buzz (literally) down the road. Sad to say I can hear that 10 mph growl described above, but not real loud yet. We have found our ride comfort improves tremendously as we turn up the CD player .

But seriously folks, I appreciate all the good info and will tackle this endeavor as soon as parts are ordered/received. Looking forward to the return of a quiet Murano ride...well, when the lovely isn't chatting my ear off .

I'll heed all the sensor/plate warnings and am hoping rust isn't too bad, but based on the underside I'm not holding out much hope for a rust-free operation. Thanks again!!

 

Advice please

Ok, I read all of the detailed step by step instruction... it is so good that I'm thinking of doing it myself (replacing my front bearing) even if I'm far from beeing a mechanical guy and don't have a lot of tool at home.

The reason is that I beleive I can to a better job than my dealership ! ha! I mean, I will be able to take my time and let the lubrification make is job and remove everything properly... but it will cost me some money to get all the tools and other stuff.

My real concern is that when I asked my Nissan Dealership if they where aware of those problems that comes out with that wheel bearing replacement, they said yes and their way to go around it is to make a notch in the old hub to remove it without removing the ABS sensor and then make the same kind of notch on the NEW one to install it "properly".

Is it ok for them to do that ? Can that cause other problem in the futur ?

Thanks for any help on this !

 

Sounds fishy...service manual does not mention of any notch making procedure. I would not take my MO to that dealer...Just take your time removing the expensive sensors. And put some anti sieze on the new one. Its crazy how a couple of rusted small bolts can become so expensive.

 

I'm converting myself into a mechanic this weekend !

Ok, I just received my new hub today. I bought on eBay for $165 CAN all included on my desk... compared to $295 at my dealership in NB, Canada.

I have 106K miles on my MO and live in one of the worst place for rust and corrosion + I only have basic mechanic set.

Here is a list of things I will buy or rent if available, please tell me if I need something else of if something is not needed. I hope I have everything before I start because I will not have any other car to go get the missing tools in town after I start...

1. 2 stands
2. Penatring oil (PB Blaster) & WD40
3. Heat gun
4. Antiseize compound
5. Slide hammer or hand sledge or pulley ? I'm not sure what I need here, Is a pulley and a slide hammer the same thing ? I understand that you need a 2nd jack to move the hub to be able to use the pulley but are those standard, I want to rent the right one for my MO.
6. Electronic cleaner (is there a risk of damage of the ABS sensor by putting to much penetring oil on it ?)
7. Breaker bar (what socket size fit on those ? 3/8, 1/2 ? )
8. Torque wrench (is there a special size that would be better?)
9. 32 mm socket
10. Cutter pins (do they come in different sizes, which size do I need ?)

Thank you so much for any advice

 

You need a floor jack that can raise up to 21 + inches.

Jack stands that will atlest go up to 15 inches-3 ton. Or 6 ton-24 inches.

3 or 4 lbs hand sledge--short handle.

Don't need heat gun and electronic cleaner and slide hammer or pulley.

Get the 1/2" breaker bar / 1/2" torque wrench / 1/2"socket wrench / 1/2" metric deep wall impact socket set that goes up to 32 mm-- and a metric combination wrench set.

Electric impact wrench 1/2" would help a lot removing the fasteners.

Cotter pin can be reused if you are careful. They are only $2 each. One long-axle and one short-steering outer rod.

Pliers set.

All these can be had for a decent price at harbor freight tools. They always have sales and coupons on all items.

Parts store like autozone rents out parts by buying it first and then returning it after use.

Good luck.

 

...Parts store like autozone rents out parts by buying it first and then returning it after use...

:9:

 

...I meant tools....lol.

 

Thanks Nitely.... I was at the store when you sent me your reply, it helped a lot ! I worked on my MO for a part of the evening... like I said before, I don't have a lot of mechanic set so it took me longer than normal. The good thing is I'm almost there ! ALL the nuts are removed. I'm stuck with the ABS sensor : Is there something I am missing here ??? I have like 1/4" to grab the plastic and pull the sensor out ? I will try to attach a picture to show you where I am. I just have NO grip.

Also, before starting the work, I just tried to shake the wheel to see if there was a loose : I would say like 1/4" !!! I mean the top of my tire was moving from the inside to the outside for around 1/4" Is this all because of the bearing or could it be something else ?

This site is so helpful, thank you so much once again !

 

Once the bolt is removed on that sensor RUST is the only thing holding it down. Try tapping the knuckle base where the sensor sits with your hammer to break off the rust. Don't force pulling it out. Take it slow and lots of penetrating fluid so you can save the expensive sensor. Wiggle it left to right little by little. You can use a pliers to hold on to the sensor bracket. But be very careful.

 

I broked it.

Plan B. The sensor is still very tight into place, so I'm thinking of leaving it there and try to remove the hub by making a notch where the ABS sensor is. There is also another post where the guy beat the hub on the opposite side so the hub can come out someway... not sure I understand that way to do it.

Should have never started this...

 

Well, the good news is that it only took me like 15 minutes to do that notch with a pair of long nose (thanks to the rust !). The hub came out after some punching, but not too bad.

I can easily feel the loose in the old bearing just by moving it with my hand...

Now I will check if I can install the new one without making a notch in the new hub.

 

How'd it come out?

 

It actually had a good ending... I was able to put the new hub without making a notch in the new one. You need to be very careful not to push to hard on the sensor... you'll see, just fit the new hub in an angle. It's made to fit really tight, so because you are in an angle you might have to hit a little bit on the other side of the hub with your hammer (softly). That's what I did and it fited perfectly.

I now have 1000 miles on it and no problem at all, the noise is gone !

 

We can see the notch I made in the old hub and the final result here.

 

looks like you just peeled part of the metal back so the old hub could be removed without removing the sensor first? Then once the old hub is out, it's much easier to push the sensor out without damaging it, then reinstall the new hub and slide the sensor back in.

Is there some kind of guide notch so that when you're positioning the new hub you don't get it seated down only to discover it's rotated 1/16" or 1/8" off, and the bolts and the sensor don't line up right?

 

Yes, if you read my previous tread, you'll see that I broke a part of my sensor (the plastic part around the bolt) but the sensor was so much seized that I was able to leave it there. I didn't tried to remove it after I removed my hub (no reason because I was able to put the new hub WITHOUT removing the ABS sensor)

Recap: If you can peel part of the metal in the back of the hub(see my pic above) like I did because of the rust, you don't need to remove the sensor! Try it with long nose, it's easier than it looks, easy solution!

I don't understand your concern with the alignement... when you put the bolts, everything is aligned.

 

Ok, so the hub is not really a press fit in, the bolts when tightened pull it up into place? It's just a very tight fit and that's the reason it has to be driven out. I thought maybe there was some interference fit in addition to it being bolted on.

 

It turns out the trick I use on my Mitsubishi to remove stuck rotors works on the Murano and also works for removing the hub.

You want to buy a 19mm bolt that's 6cm long with a matching bolt.

To free a stuck rotor you need to remove the caliper and caliper mounting bracket. You then place the bolt through the top caliper mounting bracket hole and thread it through the matching nut you bought on the other side. The bolt will spin freely in the hole and you hold the nut with a wrench as you turn the bolt with a socket. The bolt will turn onto the rotor in a spot not touched by the pad and lever the rotor right off with a satisfying pop as you turn the socket.

To pull the hub I removed the cotter pin and loosened the castle nut until the face of the nut was above the axle it was threaded on. I then tapped it with a 3lb sledge to loosen the axle from the hub and removed the nut. Pushing the axle back a little gave me enough room in the back to get the top two hub bolts off with a socket and angle extension. The bottom two hub bolts were not a problem. Remove the ABS sensor and at this point corrosion should be the only thing holding the hub to the spindle. You now want to bolt the rotor back to the hub and use the same technique that was used to free the rotor to free the hub. Since the rotor is now bolted to the hub, the rotor will help pull it loose. Here's a pic of the nut and bolt setup through the caliper mount hole. I didn't go through the bottom caliper mount hole since it looked like it would contact the rotor where it could hurt the pad surface though if you're changing the rotor anyway you could use that hole also.

 

It turns out the trick I use on my Mitsubishi to remove stuck rotors works on the Murano and also works for removing the hub.

You want to buy a 19mm bolt that's 6cm long with a matching bolt.

To free a stuck rotor you need to remove the caliper and caliper mounting bracket. You then place the bolt through the top caliper mounting bracket hole and thread it through the matching nut you bought on the other side. The bolt will spin freely in the hole and you hold the nut with a wrench as you turn the bolt with a socket. The bolt will turn onto the rotor in a spot not touched by the pad and lever the rotor right off with a satisfying pop as you turn the socket.

To pull the hub I removed the cotter pin and loosened the castle nut until the face of the nut was above the axle it was threaded on. I then tapped it with a 3lb sledge to loosen the axle from the hub and removed the nut. Pushing the axle back a little gave me enough room in the back to get the top two hub bolts off with a socket and angle extension. The bottom two hub bolts were not a problem. Remove the ABS sensor and at this point corrosion should be the only thing holding the hub to the spindle. You now want to bolt the rotor back to the hub and use the same technique that was used to free the rotor to free the hub. Since the rotor is now bolted to the hub, the rotor will help pull it loose. Here's a pic of the nut and bolt setup through the caliper mount hole. I didn't go through the bottom caliper mount hole since it looked like it would contact the rotor where it could hurt the pad surface though if you're changing the rotor anyway you could use that hole also.

I did this job today. I thought it was my passenger side because when I swerved right the noise lessened. So I bought a new Timken front bearing from partsgeek.com for $126, read this thread about three times, went to autozone to borrow a few tools I didn't own (like a 32mm axle nut and torque wrench) and had at it.

There is so much amazing advice in this thread I think I literally could not have done the job without so I'm posting to thank everyone. This should be a sticky. Having said that, I think the most useful advice was this tidbit I quoted so I wanted to make special note of it. I hammered on my wheel bearing a few times and decided eff it, I'll just go to home depot before I waste three hours hammering and destroy the dust shield in the process. Bought a six inch 1/2 inch bolt and nut and this method quoted above worked slicker than sh1t.

As soon as I got the passengers wheel bearing off and played with it I knew that wasn't the bad bearing cuz it turned smooth as silk. Put the new bearing on anyway, got it all back together, took the car for a spin and sure enough, same noise. I tackled the other side and it went faster because I had just done it but still a couple hours more work. Put the old bearing from the passenger side on the drivers side and it drives quiet like it should now! If I'd beat the hell out of getting it off I would have thought twice about putting it on the other side but since I hadn't, I felt it should be ok.

If this helps anyone..all of those hub nuts are a b!tch to get off. You have to turn the steering wheel to get better access. I have several extensions and the half inch ones are two thick to work. Fortunately I have a long flexible 3/8 socket with a thinner extension and that worked when I added a small cheater bar. I broke my regular 3/8 socket but it's craftsman so hopefully they'll replace it. Didn't even realize I'd broker it till much later.

The axle nut would also have been a PIA...I got a 2 foot breaker bar (borrowed from autozone too. Mine is only 18 inches and it's really amazing how much that extra length helps.) Anyway, I put the breaker bar on the axle and with the car on the ground used my 3 ton floor jack to push up on it. I mention this because I hadn't seen this method mentioned before and it might help someone. Made that axle nut very easy to get off. I just went slow with it and it worked. I saw this mentioned on another site. I should also mentioned I soaked everything in PB blaster multiple times. The anti lock sensor were easy to remove. Removed the bolt then used a very thin flat head to get a little leverage on it.

PB Blaster, noting the orientation of the dust shield, and making sure the hub went on so that the sensor would fit was also invaluable good advice.

 

So I need some experienced someone to chime in here. What exactly is the failure mode of a bad bearing other than noise? Can it contribute to some front end vibrations? I've already swapped out inner/outer tie rods on both sides, already did all pads and rotors. I'm research other possibilities because I now have a very slight vibration that comes and goes. I know it's not attributed to the brakes any more because when I hit the brakes it's extremely smooth.

If I can understand how the bearings fail, then I can troubleshoot. I'll also need to know how to check if the bearings have enough play to cause some wobbling.

Thanks!

 

-The only failure i found was horrendous noise. However, shortly after replacing my bearing i think i need new struts: every bump is very hard and it feels like i have no 'shock absorption'. only shock.

i know that strus can contribute to vibration if they fail.

Good luck

 

You can check bearing play by jacking the car so that the tire is off the ground, grabbing the tire at the 12 and 6 o'clock position and seeing if there's any play when alternating pushing and pulling on on either side of the tire.

My experience with the worn wheel bearing was that there was not enough wear to notice any wobble even after waiting almost a year after initially hearing the noise before changing the bearing.

After removing the old bearing I could feel that it would not turn smoothly when manually turning it by hand but there was no play in it that I could tell.

 

So...just to clarify...did you notice any play with the wheel when you grabbed it at 12 & 6 o'clock? Did you have any vibrations before that were resolved after you swapped out the bearing?

Appreciate your help! From what I'm seeing in the forum, most people get a noise of some kind indicating the bearing is bad. Others get that plus some vibrations in the steering wheel.

 

I couldn't feel any play on the wheel though that wouldn't rule out vibrations from the bearing feeding back to the steering wheel only when the tire is spinning. I didn't experience that but I would think that it would be constant if it was happening.

 

I think I need to swap out my front driver side bearing. Makes a very low/muffled humming noise at lower speeds but goes away entirely at mid to higher speeds. Seems to only do it when it's first moving after sitting for a while. Humming noise does not go away if I turn the steering wheel or apply the brakes. Just did the front struts and pads/rotors are new.

My question is: Do I also need to swap out the front passenger bearing as well? Like shocks, you replace one side you got to replace the other?

I'm thinking about just swapping out the front drivers side only. But want to ping the other experts in the forum.

Thanks!

 

I just replaced the one that was making the noise. Took me a couple of months to figure out what the problem was. I initially thought it was noise from having just rotated the tires, but it didn't go away and stayed pretty much the same even when swerving from left to right, which usually makes the tires sound differently.