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Please point me to the right direction. Wheel bearing or smth else?
Hello all,
Have G35x 2005 with 163k on it, car has been mostly problem free except of few minor hiccups. Recently the car developed a humming noise while traveling at speed of around 40-80mph. Noise got much worse when turning right so i figured it was front left wheel bearing. i bought hub+bearing assembly from ebay and gave it a shot with DIY, the bearing felt screwed up upon check but I couldn't change it as it was seized (had to pay the toll for 163k miles in NE winter), i took it to the bodyshop and they managed to fix it with a few words and a press. HOWEVER> now i hear no noise when going straight (earlier it was so loud i had to turn up the volume by +5), BUT, the noise is still there when I take the right turn. there is no noise at all when I take left turn. WTF is going on? I paid $150 for the part and it looked solid and felt much smoother than my OEM bearing. I also don't hear noise when going straight/taking left turn. Before the noise was always there
1.Can non-OEM wheel+hub assembly be bad out of the box?
2. Could it be a symptom of something else going south? I recently changed differential oil with full synthetics, the axle boot also looks intact, no grease around.
3. Is it possible that now i hear rear left wheel bearing on its way out?
I love the car but just spent $350 on it and thought i would be all set, i had passenger side axle boot failure but I managed to change the axle on my own which cost me $50 and 2 hours of my labor which is fine, but i still hear the noise and I'd really like my car to become silent without switching all wheel bearings which will cost me $1400 while current car value is $3500 tops. maybe it's time to kiss good bye and upgrade?
Sounds like you've got another bearing going bad, there isn't much else it could be if it changes under suspension load. At 163k and winter driven, I'd be surprised if you DIDN'T have a couple wheel bearings go bad. In my car with 130k at least one of the rear bearings have been replaced and although the fronts aren't making noise I'm expecting to have to replace them before 160k for sure
Ebay parts are generally pretty poor quality with little quality control which is why they're so cheap, so it's always a risk when you buy parts from there in terms of how well the part will perform or hold up. I've got a pair of NIB Timken (high quality) rear wheel bearings on the marketplace for less than RockAuto that I didn't need when I found out the PO had already done these.
It could be a symptom of something else going south, but if it changes under suspension load that strongly points to another wheel bearing, as they all tend to wear at similar rates. Your car is 13 years old with a lot of miles on it, and suspension maintenance is to be expected. It sounds like your car has been reliable, you must maintain it well as far as fluid changes and driving style. If you like it, you could keep it but expect it'll need some maintenance as far as suspension bushings and balljoints goes. There isn't much else you can buy for $3500 that competes with the G35 in performance and practicality IMO
Last edited by cswlightning; 10-01-2018 at 12:34 AM.
Wherever you're buying parts from you should probably stop going there. Start buying from Rockauto.com, you can get the Timken or Moog wheel bearing ASSEMBLY that comes already pressed onto a new hub for under $100, if you were buying just the bearing it's like $40.
Typically you can jack up and support the front of the car, grab the tire at the top and pull it back and forth and notice wheel bearing play if there is any, or spin the wheel by hand and hear noise.
Wherever you're buying parts from you should probably stop going there. Start buying from Rockauto.com, you can get the Timken or Moog wheel bearing ASSEMBLY that comes already pressed onto a new hub for under $100, if you were buying just the bearing it's like $40.
Typically you can jack up and support the front of the car, grab the tire at the top and pull it back and forth and notice wheel bearing play if there is any, or spin the wheel by hand and hear noise.
Sounds like you've got another bearing going bad, there isn't much else it could be if it changes under suspension load. At 163k and winter driven, I'd be surprised if you DIDN'T have a couple wheel bearings go bad. In my car with 130k at least one of the rear bearings have been replaced and although the fronts aren't making noise I'm expecting to have to replace them before 160k for sure
Ebay parts are generally pretty poor quality with little quality control which is why they're so cheap, so it's always a risk when you buy parts from there in terms of how well the part will perform or hold up. I've got a pair of NIB Timken (high quality) rear wheel bearings on the marketplace for less than RockAuto that I didn't need when I found out the PO had already done these.
It could be a symptom of something else going south, but if it changes under suspension load that strongly points to another wheel bearing, as they all tend to wear at similar rates. Your car is 13 years old with a lot of miles on it, and suspension maintenance is to be expected. It sounds like your car has been reliable, you must maintain it well as far as fluid changes and driving style. If you like it, you could keep it but expect it'll need some maintenance as far as suspension bushings and balljoints goes. There isn't much else you can buy for $3500 that competes with the G35 in performance and practicality IMO
i agree there are very few cars for $3500 which can compete in regards to performance and reliability, but I can put $10k on top of that and jump a few years ahead in regards to technology.
anyways, looking at that your rear wheel bearing was bad can you specify what was the sound like? did it change when you turned the steering wheel? i'm going to have my wife drive the car and listen because from where I sit it definitely sounds as if it's coming out from front left bearing and i can't believe there is a very minimal difference with the new bearing as it felt much smoother than the old one.
i also called local nissan dealership (not even an infiniti) and they quoted me $121 just to diagnose this.
I'm pretty confident from your description of the sound changing when turning that it's a wheel bearing going out. The trick is figuring out which one. Since they all wear evenly though, it's likely they're all going to go bad soon, so replacing all of them isn't that bad of an idea if you're planning on owning the car for another couple years.
A) You could keep driving the car until it get worse and becomes more obvious which bearing the problem is
B) Preventative replace your rear wheel bearings as it's likely they're both ready to go bad.
C) Have someone drive with you and move around in the car in an attempt to triangulate which corner the noise is coming from - that's all that Nissan would do anyway assuming there isn't any play in the bearings (which you can easily check yourself as Cleric said above)
ok. so i called my local shop and they quoted me $520 for the rear wheel bearing (and it wasn't even nissan, not to mention infiniti). i think medicine isn't the only rip off in states. mechanics are working hard to catch up. i make six figures in the middle of nowhere but I just can't justify paying $520 for something like that.
took me roughly 15 minutes to put hub and bearing together using the tool which immediately paid for itself when job was done. no press needed.
then i grabbed my tools, jacked up the car and worked on it roughly for 4 hours. i had to remove the part which holds the suspension as i couldn't remove the drive shaft otherwise and I'm not sure how exactly some other members managed to remove it without doing so. hub bolts were rusted and would only budge with a breaker bar and a 3 feet extension on the socket, otherwise i had no space to move it. one of the bearing bolts was stubborn but it's hard to resist a 3 feet breaker bar.
now the fun part - the bearing had a lot of play in it so i immediately figured that was it although it wasn't making any noise. unlike with front wheel bearing where it took me around 1 hours to get to it and 2 hours NOT to remove it with rear wheel bearing it took me roughly 2 hours to disassemble everything and 30 seconds (!) with a slide hammer to remove the hub and bearing assembly. i wish i was smart enough to buy the slide hammer when i was doing front wheel bearing - this tool is a blessing.
total damage: $155 $90 of which are tools equity. vs $520 donation to dealership. most important part is now if another bearing goes out it will cost me <$100 to repair because I already have the tools and knowledge.
car is finally silent now, the only thing I hear is V6. humming noise during breaking is also gone. basically both left bearings failed.
otherwise I'm at 163k and counting.
Overall i would rate this job as medium-hard mainly because of tight space, amount of tools required and rusted bolts.
Good job! Glad to hear your car is fixed. I love the roof rack on the sedans. You can also rent a slide hammer for free at AutoZone but not much use now!
What bearing puller/assembler did you use? Part of the reason I didn't replace my bearings "while I was in there" is because I didn't want to buy a tool that turned out not to fit properly.
Good job! Glad to hear your car is fixed. I love the roof rack on the sedans. You can also rent a slide hammer for free at AutoZone but not much use now!
What bearing puller/assembler did you use? Part of the reason I didn't replace my bearings "while I was in there" is because I didn't want to buy a tool that turned out not to fit properly.
hi. thanks, i'm happy too, the ride is very smooth now, feels like new, i wish i did it before. i don't like to rent the tools as it's a waste of time in my opinion, especially considering i might need it again in the future.
worked like a charm to assemble hub and a bearing. i was very lucky as 32mm lug nut worked on this tool as well as on the axle nut, i was afraid i would have to buy another socket but didn't have to.
I did both of my rear wheel bearings a few months ago. Definitely rent a slide hammer from the store and I was able to get the hub and bearing out as one assembly without the race breaking. However, I couldn't separate them using a 12 ton press or puller tool. I bought a Timken bearing and cheaper hub and pressed it in with 12 ton press without any problems. I bought the press for this job and it was only about 100 bucks from Harbor Freight. I also refreshed my e-brake hardware while I was back there and fixed a rear diff seal. So, with tools and parts I spent ~250-300 dollars to replace both sides and my mechanic wanted about 500 just to do one side.
I'd also recommend a swivel socket and 1/2 electric impact gun. I was able to do each side in about an hour or two with my Milwaukee with some extensions and the swivel socket. I heard Harbor Freights electric impact is also really good.
I just bought swivel extensions for my impact, best investment in a long time. I couldn't often use it because it was too bulky or hit something behind the fastener. No more!
I did both of my rear wheel bearings a few months ago. Definitely rent a slide hammer from the store and I was able to get the hub and bearing out as one assembly without the race breaking. However, I couldn't separate them using a 12 ton press or puller tool. I bought a Timken bearing and cheaper hub and pressed it in with 12 ton press without any problems. I bought the press for this job and it was only about 100 bucks from Harbor Freight. I also refreshed my e-brake hardware while I was back there and fixed a rear diff seal. So, with tools and parts I spent ~250-300 dollars to replace both sides and my mechanic wanted about 500 just to do one side.
I'd also recommend a swivel socket and 1/2 electric impact gun. I was able to do each side in about an hour or two with my Milwaukee with some extensions and the swivel socket. I heard Harbor Freights electric impact is also really good.
with hub being $24 for fenbest with good reviews I don't think it make a lot of sense to waste time on separating the old hub from the bearing, especially considering hub could be bad too. i also wanted to buy a press but figured it was too bulky and the tool i referred above isn't only cheaper, but also much more compact and could be easily taken with you for a job. i think it would be even easier to press the hub into the bearing when bearing is already installed because you don't have hold it tight.
09-30-2018, 10:55 PM
Please point me to the right direction. Wheel bearing or smth else?
i think medicine isn't the only rip off in states. mechanics are working hard to catch up. i make six figures in the middle of nowhere but I just can't justify paying $520 for something like that.
i wish i was smart enough to buy the slide hammer when i was doing front wheel bearing - this tool is a blessing.
vs $520 donation to dealership. most important part is now if another bearing goes out it will cost me <$100 to repair because I already have the tools and knowledge.
humming noise during breaking is also gone. basically both left bearings failed.
i don't like to rent the tools as it's a waste of time in my opinion, especially considering i might need it again in the future.
