2006 M35X - Gear Noise, CV Joint Going Bad?

[gordondjm]

Folks,

My 06 M35X with ~ 55k miles is making a loud gear noise that sounds like a CV joint going bad. It stared about 5k miles ago (the car is no longer under warranty). The noise is present when driving straight and worse when I take a sharp turn (normally indicative of a bad CV joint). The pitch of the noise increases with speed. It is also present when I coast in neutral, so I don't think it is transmission related.

At first I thought it might be my tires - but they don't appear cupped, and the noise seems to be coming from the driver's side front, even after a recent tire rotation.

I visually inspected the CV boots and I don't see any tears (normally the cause of a failed CV)

Any ideas what the problem might be? Seems too few of miles to be a CV joint, but I can't think of anything else that might be causing the noise.

Thanks, Gordo

[svard75]

I would bet it's a wheel bearing not CV joint. Does it sound like somethings grinding? Jack up each wheel individually and try to wiggle the wheel top to bottom then front to back and see if there's any play. You can also jack up both front wheels and spin them. It may feel rough. I had to replace both front wheel bearings at around that mileage. Labour plus parts $900 but luckily I had an extended warranty.

[antzrus]

Yeah, I had to replace my front wheel bearings at about 55K. It was around $950 as mentioned. ???

[gordondjm]

Thanks for the feedback guys - I'll see if I can get it on a lift this weekend to check it out.

Man, 55k miles should be nothing for a set of bearings - many last the lifetime of a vehicle without being replaced. Doesn't make me feel too comfortable about the quality of some of the parts on these cars.

Gordo

[gordondjm]

After a boatload more research and putting the car on a lift - i'm convinced my driver's side front wheel bearing is shot.

Based on my research it appears that this is a pretty common failure, even with low milage.

On the lift, the noise was noticeable when I spun the wheel, but the wheel had no noticeable play. I guess the bearing is dried out but has not worn to the point of failure or enough to allowing the wheel to wiggle (significantly chewed bearings and/or races).

I ordered a new hub assembly ($140 shipped) and will be replacing it myself shortly after it arrives.

Thanks again for the help - appreciate any tips if anyone else has taken this project on.

Gordo

[svard75]

After a boatload more research and putting the car on a lift - i'm convinced my driver's side front wheel bearing is shot.

Based on my research it appears that this is a pretty common failure, even with low milage.

On the lift, the noise was noticeable when I spun the wheel, but the wheel had no noticeable play. I guess the bearing is dried out but has not worn to the point of failure or enough to allowing the wheel to wiggle (significantly chewed bearings and/or races).

I ordered a new hub assembly ($140 shipped) and will be replacing it myself shortly after it arrives.

Thanks again for the help - appreciate any tips if anyone else has taken this project on.

Gordo

You will need to do an alignment once done replacing the HUB. Also does the HUB include the bearing?

M

[antzrus]

Whoa! You're going to do it yourself? You must be a real renaissance man. Me, I have problems remembering where I put my valve caps when I check my air pressure. R U a mechanic?

[gordondjm]

Done,

It was the driver's side front wheel bearing causing the noise. After removing the old one it was obvious that it was worn out, not so obvious on the vehicle - the noise seemed to emanate from the driver's front, I had no indication of wobble with the car on a lift and spinning the wheel - the driver's side seemed to make more noise than the passenger.

Removal and replacement of the hub assembly was pretty straight forward. Only issue I ran into was that the brake caliper bolts were on there pretty damn tight (needed a 1/2" breaker with cheater pipe to brake them free). Outside of that, off and replaced in about 2 hours.

Only oddity - I think I will need to reset my computer. Removed the brakes and now I have ABS and other lights on.

I'm not a mechanic, but I've always done a bunch of work on cars (hobby).

Total cost: $140 in the new hub. The car is quiet again.

Thanks, Gordo

[gordondjm]

Here's a tip for DIY wheel bearing / wheel hub replacement:

- Remove the wheel speed sensor before you remove the hub assembly. It's located on rear of the A-arm assembly and has one bolt holding it in place.

I reset the computer and the ABS, SLIP and VDC lights came back on. I took another look at the hub where the wheel speed sensor is and noticed that I broke the sensor as I removed the bad hub/bearings and installed the new hub.

Add an unnecessary $90 to the project and chalk it up to learning (a good manual would have been cheaper, but who likes to read instructions )

Gordo

[dip815]

I had the drivers side front wheel bearing replaced under the original factory warranty and now a year after it was replaced (Nov 2010) and with only 6000 miles on the replacement bearing it's failed again but my car is no longer under warranty. Is there any chance I'll be able to get Infiniti to replace it at their cost since it was a warranty part and repair and that it's the second time the same part has failed?? Would it help me to get Infiniti corporate involved?? Any help would be appreciated.

Deep

[Fezzik]

^^^^^ I'd take it back to them. That should not happen that soon and they hopefully will cover it since you got it done with them.

[The00Dustin]

I think any repair done at an Infiniti shop has a warranty on it that can go past the factory warranty. It may be like 12K/1Y, but if you are over one year ,that would be exceeded too.

[gordondjm]

Deep,

For info - I don't think it's anything the Infiniti dealer did wrong, just crappy parts. The driver's side wheel bearing that I replaced about a year ago ~ 10k miles, is making the same noise. I'm pretty sure its worn out. Not sure if there is a design problem causing excessive bearing loads on the driver's side, or just cheap Chinese bearings.

Gordo

[dip815]

Thanks for the help guys, and you were right about the warranty. I contacted Infiniti Consumer Affairs and let them know the issue and it turns out that any repair done comes with a warranty of 12 months or 12k miles. So I'm going back into my local dealer to have them take care of it. Lucky for me I had the original repair done under factory warranty on 12/16/10 so I barely made it to the 12 month cut off.

Just an FYI if anything like this should come up with your vehicle, make it a point to contact Infiniti Consumer affairs as they will open a file for you and your vehicle and catalog the information/ issues etc. Might be helpful when trying to fight with a dealer over a repair, warranty claim, recall or any number of issues.