Can't go on a road trip with car problems! Please help :)

[AlexM.]

Thanks guys.

Alex I have an appointment with a few techs tomorrow. WIll let you know what hey turn up on my issue, which seems a bit similar to yours.

That'd be great. It might be a coilover issue. If you have coilovers, make sure your preload is properly set. I don't know how but my spring was a bit loose before I raised the car. After lowering it again the sound is gone from the driver side and now I hear an intermittent squealing on the passenger side. The squealing happens rarely and I think it occurs when the car's weight is shifted. Or maybe something in any of the various suspension parts is loose.

who replaced the cv boot, did you take it somewhere or did you do it yourself? If you took it somewhere, and the noise is coming from the same side, i would take it back tell them about the noise. Replacing a cv boot normally requires removing the axle, separating the axle from cv joint, cleaning old grease and dirt from joint and ball bearings, inspect, regrease and reassemble. Most cv joint failures are associated with clicking noises while turning but we are still talking about metal on metal components. A squealing noise while under load in a turn could be possible from the joint dependent upon how much grease is in the joint. If you took it to a shop to have the boot replaced, It may be worth for them to have a look at it.

A shop replaced it. I plan on them taking a look at it even though the noise is gone from that side. Thanks.

I got into 2 accidents in the same month...2 months after buying the A/C <-- This is bad luck. Good luck Alex!! I feel your pain bro.

Knowing that it could be worse is always very humbling, but not satisfying =/ Thanks!

[DJ_B_Easy]

Alex I have an appointment with a few techs tomorrow. WIll let you know what hey turn up on my issue, which seems a bit similar to yours.

Just as suspected, both of my front hub bearings are shot. Thats why the noise is somewhat random. Its also most likely where my random vibration and odd tracking are coming from.

So much for my tax return going towards projector headlights...

[Eriko]

This is kind off topic but what is the proper way to preload coilovers?

[AlexM.]

Alex I have an appointment with a few techs tomorrow. WIll let you know what hey turn up on my issue, which seems a bit similar to yours.

Just as suspected, both of my front hub bearings are shot. Thats why the noise is somewhat random. Its also most likely where my random vibration and odd tracking are coming from.

So much for my tax return going towards projector headlights...

Did they quote you on parts / labor? Maybe I have the same issue as you and I can't feel the vibrations because my suspension is full stiff all around. What do you mean by "tracking"? I read that its safe to drive on for a long time (like you've been doing), but that it costs like $400 after labor I'm assuming. And could you explain exactly what noises yours are making?

This is kind off topic but what is the proper way to preload coilovers?

You're supposed to compress the spring into the upper mount as much as you can by hand. You shouldn't be able to easily turn the spring by hand. Others also hand tighten it to get it to 0 preload and then use the spanner wrench to compress the spring an additional 5mm. But factory preload (attained through hand tightening) is supposed to be the correct way.

[DJ_B_Easy]

Tracking meaning steering on its own in a way. Feels like the car gets caught in a track and you have to correct your steering a lot to stay in a straight line.

Its definitely NOT safe, you could have a catastrophic failure and be in quite a bit of trouble. I guess Ive been lucky for the past year.

As for noises, on the passenger side its sounds like a low pitched rumble or grinding/rubbing sound. Like I said earlier, I can only explain it as NOM NOM NOM but with a W, so WOM WOM WOM haha! I also had a high pitched clicking, metal to metal sound on the driver side. That was also the bearing, just not in as bad shape as the passenger side.

They quoted me $980 for parts and labor to do both. I am NOT going to pay that. I need to go down there and see exactly what it is they are quoting me on parts wise and then jump over to courtesyparts.com to get better prices and make them match. They said $250 per hub and then $480 in labor. Im having them do some other things as well so the labor should come down.

[DJ_B_Easy]

Oh and the vibration only happens occasionaly. High speeds, usually around bends, but its completely random. Comes and goes as it pleases.

[Eriko]

Ok thanks thats what I did but I think I preloaded more than what I was supposed too. Is thier anything wrong with having too much preload?

[AlexM.]

Long post coming up, brace yourself!

Tracking meaning steering on its own in a way. Feels like the car gets caught in a track and you have to correct your steering a lot to stay in a straight line.

My car's had tracking issues ever since I got my new wheels and I thought it was just due to the camber I was running.

As for noises, on the passenger side its sounds like a low pitched rumble or grinding/rubbing sound. Like I said earlier, I can only explain it as NOM NOM NOM but with a W, so WOM WOM WOM haha! I also had a high pitched clicking, metal to metal sound on the driver side. That was also the bearing, just not in as bad shape as the passenger side.

Oh yeah you told me this already my bad. Man when it was raised I didn't have any noises but now that its back down I'm back to square one... I wonder if this means its actually related to my struts or if the noise went away because less stress was being put on the bearings due to the car being higher..

Actually, I've been hearing this other noise for a while too. I'm using true style coilovers so nothing is in the spring bucket and it naturally rattles. But for about two weeks I've been hearing what sounds like a grumble (only at high speeds like 60+). I thought it was a noise part of the rattling that had always been there and I just started noticing it but now I'm thinking it might be tied to the wheel bearing. But the sounds are coming from opposite ends of the car...

They quoted me $980 for parts and labor to do both. I am NOT going to pay that. I need to go down there and see exactly what it is they are quoting me on parts wise and then jump over to courtesyparts.com to get better prices and make them match. They said $250 per hub and then $480 in labor. Im having them do some other things as well so the labor should come down.

I think maybe I should continue riding on it before I cough up that much money that may or may not fix the problem. As time goes by the noise should become more apparent and hopefully point me in the right direction. There's still other possibilities for me like grease on the brake pads or something. I wanna take it back to the dealer and ask them to check out my hub bearings but last time they said they would charge me $50 to look at my car since it had aftermarket suspension components. And by the end of the visit the rate had gone up to $110 after speaking with a tech. Maybe I'll try another dealer.

Does anyone know what could cause the bearings to go bad so quickly? My car only has 20k miles... How many miles do you have, DJ?

Ok thanks thats what I did but I think I preloaded more than what I was supposed too. Is thier anything wrong with having too much preload?

Your spring would just be compressed more and your ride may be more stiff than at a preload of 0. But other than that there shouldnt be any downsides.

[DJ_B_Easy]

OK, long rebuttal coming up, too hungover to quote your questions.

Camber could cause tracking as well I suppose, having a wider tire than OEM probably doesnt help.

Noise COULD come from the opposite side of the car that has the bearing issue. They mentioned this to me, explained it, but again Im too hungover too remember haha! My noises were at all speeds, but were much more prominent at high speed.

I just passed 61,500 miles. The main cause of mine was due to the techs who repaired my car after my accident back in 2008. They actually over torqued the hub, causing it to expel all the grease over time. It just got worse and worse. These things are MANGLED. I have both of them, turning them by hand is actually difficult. I know you said you had your CV boot replaced, is your issue on the same side? Maybe someone over torqued when they worked on your CV boot.

What they suggested to help me pinpoint if this should happen in the future: Jack up the car enough that you can get your hand onto the suspension, in your case a coilover. Then simply spin the wheel. If you feel a vibration or hear ANYTHING you have a problem.

[AlexM.]

Haha thanks for the non-sober yet comprehensible reply!

My CV boot issue is on the same side, maybe the hub was over torqued. I'm going to try spinning the wheel and listening for noises. I already tried shaking the hub with the wheel off to listen for any noises and to feel for any looseness in the surrounding suspension but everything felt very sturdy. I still need to try the other side.

For the past few days, the noise has only come after the first couple of stop lights for my commute, making me really want to check my brake pads. I hope you can get a good deal out of services for however much you're gonna pay for labor.

[spawn01]

The problem with altima hub wheel bearings is that you just can't replace the bearing, you have to replace the hub. That obviously increases the cost of parts and labor. If it is a hub bearing, and on the same side as the cv boot problem, I agree that it could be caused by over tightening the axle nut. It could also have been caused when you accidentally screwed the strut through the housing. This would alter the pivot of the lower control arm causing added stress on the top of the shock tower and hub. If the noise is more prominent after you drive for awhile, it could be that when the bearing warms up the noise will be more distinct. I have seen abnormal hub bearing wear when I used to work on improperly lowered hondas. Hub replacement is fairly simple. No real special tools required unless you need a puller to separate the axle from hub. It is really just 4 bolts and the axle nut once you get the brakes and calipers off. A replacement hub can run anywhere from 100$ to 300$. It would be best if you could determine if that is your true problem before you spend the money. It is just difficult to determine without a tear down and inspection.

[AlexM.]

The problem with altima hub wheel bearings is that you just can't replace the bearing, you have to replace the hub. That obviously increases the cost of parts and labor. If it is a hub bearing, and on the same side as the cv boot problem, I agree that it could be caused by over tightening the axle nut. It could also have been caused when you accidentally screwed the strut through the housing. This would alter the pivot of the lower control arm causing added stress on the top of the shock tower and hub. If the noise is more prominent after you drive for awhile, it could be that when the bearing warms up the noise will be more distinct. I have seen abnormal hub bearing wear when I used to work on improperly lowered hondas. Hub replacement is fairly simple. No real special tools required unless you need a puller to separate the axle from hub. It is really just 4 bolts and the axle nut once you get the brakes and calipers off. A replacement hub can run anywhere from 100$ to 300$. It would be best if you could determine if that is your true problem before you spend the money. It is just difficult to determine without a tear down and inspection.

Can you compare the difficulty of hub replacement to say a coilover installation? The only things I know how to install on my car are coils, camber arms, exhaust, HIDs, intake. Other than simple bolt-ons, I dont know how to do much else. I considered replacing my cv boot myself but I read somewhere that if you don't do it right you could mess up your transmission so I didn't want to risk it. How easy would you say caliper disassembley is also? I think this is where I should start.

I tried DJ's suggestion of shaking the wheel and I didn't hear anything at all.

[DJ_B_Easy]

No shaking the wheel. Spin the wheel with your hand on the coilover and feel for vibration.

I paid $175 per hub assembly, courtesyparts sells them for about $130 but I couldnt wait to get them shipped in. It is a relatively easy install, however I just had the mechs do it since I couldnt wait for the cheaper parts and to be quite honest I didnt trust myself to do it 100%. Something like this where I could endanger myself or others with a mistake I dont like to mess with unless Im 150% confident in my abilities. Ended up paying $480 in labor for both front hubs, CVT flush, coolant flush, oil change, radiator hoses, and a bunch of other small things. Not ideal, but lets me sleep at night.

[AlexM.]

No shaking the wheel. Spin the wheel with your hand on the coilover and feel for vibration.

I paid $175 per hub assembly, courtesyparts sells them for about $130 but I couldnt wait to get them shipped in. It is a relatively easy install, however I just had the mechs do it since I couldnt wait for the cheaper parts and to be quite honest I didnt trust myself to do it 100%. Something like this where I could endanger myself or others with a mistake I dont like to mess with unless Im 150% confident in my abilities. Ended up paying $480 in labor for both front hubs, CVT flush, coolant flush, oil change, radiator hoses, and a bunch of other small things. Not ideal, but lets me sleep at night.

Oh, I misunderstood. I'll try it again then. Sounds like you got a good deal on the labor. If that WAS my problem and I could get that price on the labor, I'd do it without any regrets.

Also, I replaced my front passenger end link before the noise started also. The original link lost the nut and came out of its place on the strut. Then I replaced it and I guess technically within 5 days the noise started up. But its on the opposite end of the car and the link is pretty tight. Everything feels secure. Thoughts on this new info?

I appreciate everyone's help so far. I know this issue is super vague and has so many possibilities..