Eh, I've done a few wheel bearings on my car. On some I replaced the hub, on some I didn't. In fact, the ones I did NOT replace the hub have lasted the longest so far.

Just replace the bearing. Figure $80ish for the bearing. So is it worth it to you for $200 to have someone do the job vs you do it yourself?


It takes me two hours to do a wheel bearing. I'm at the point now where i'd rather throw $200 at someone and go golfing instead.

 

Mechanic has to answer that one. Bearings do go bad, so it could just be that it needs replaced. Also a loose axle nut could have damaged the hub and the bearing. Bearings are pain to replace without access to a press, so as rule of thumb I usually just buy an entire hub assembly with bearing preinstalled and dont worry about it. Then it is a 30 minute job to remove old hub and put new hub on. (Literally only 4 bolts to remove) It is best to do it same time as brakes, as you are removing the caliper and rotor anyways.

You can drive on a bad bearing, it will just be noisy and cause some brake jutter. Your wheel wont fall off as long as your axle nut is torqued. Still isnt anything you should ignore.

 

Got my car back today and I can't believe one single rear wheel bearing can make such a big difference. I confirmed with the tech and he only replaced the bearing and not the hubs. But man... best $280 spent..car drives and feels new. The cabin used to be noisy with rattles and now all that is gone.

The tech claimed he used "OEM Nissan bearings" that's why it cost so much. But what the hell OEM or not... i'm just glad I got my baby back on the road.

 

From dealer, bearing runs $75-80