front wheel bearings

[timmack]

anyone know how to get to the front wheel bearings? i dont need to do anything with the bearings but tighten the nut that holds them tight. ive had a vibration forever and noticed that both wheels have alot of play in them, i wanted to check and see if the nuts werent loose. '02 pathfinder SE 4wd. when i take the wheel off there are like 6 10mm bolts on the hub in the center of the rotor, i havent tried to take them off yet because i thought someone on here might have past experience with this.

[jimmyzzer]

look herehttp://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/pa...x.pdf

[timmack]

exactly what i was looking for, thanks a bunch.

[Buzzman]

When you get finished adjusting the bearings, let us know how you did it. I want to take some of the play out of mine as well, but I have been very reluctant to take apart the front wheel assembly. (I've also wanted to pull the front discs off, but again, I have avoided it because it looks too complicated).Thanks.

[timmack]

i was also reluctant to do it but once i started, it really was quite simple. i found this link in an old post and followed it to a T, it was dead accurate for my pathfinder. i got to thinking though when i was reassembling it that if you dont put the hub flange back on that you might get better mpg out of it because the front wheels will just spin feeely, kind of like a poor mans auto hub. of course youd lose your 4wd though until you pulled the wheel off and put the flange back on.

http://rkrenn.com/xterra/howto/bearing/bearing.htm

i actually wasnt sure when i started if the nut was too loose or not so i just tightened it enough to get to the next set of holes in the lock washer. (when you look at the link and at your particular truck, you will see what im talking about). it seemed fairly snug when i got to it already. i put it all back together and both wheels still have the play in them so it has to be something else, ball joints or something, not sure yet.

[jimmyzzer]

or put on locking hubs,not a big change only about 20 more miles to a tank of fuel.https://www.4x4parts.com/catal...d=720

[SnowSurfLax]

i was also reluctant to do it but once i started, it really was quite simple. i found this link in an old post and followed it to a T, it was dead accurate for my pathfinder. i got to thinking though when i was reassembling it that if you dont put the hub flange back on that you might get better mpg out of it because the front wheels will just spin feeely, kind of like a poor mans auto hub. of course youd lose your 4wd though until you pulled the wheel off and put the flange back on.

http://rkrenn.com/xterra/howto/bearing/bearing.htm

i actually wasnt sure when i started if the nut was too loose or not so i just tightened it enough to get to the next set of holes in the lock washer. (when you look at the link and at your particular truck, you will see what im talking about). it seemed fairly snug when i got to it already. i put it all back together and both wheels still have the play in them so it has to be something else, ball joints or something, not sure yet.

That's a great find! Will be very useful when I go to replace my bearings in a couple of months.

[timmack]

yea thats definitely the way to go for no more than lockers cost. if you leave that flange off then that exposes the lock washer, nut, and the end of the axle, leaving it open to get all kinds of dirt and debris down in there.

[hittz]

i was also reluctant to do it but once i started, it really was quite simple. i found this link in an old post and followed it to a T, it was dead accurate for my pathfinder. i got to thinking though when i was reassembling it that if you dont put the hub flange back on that you might get better mpg out of it because the front wheels will just spin feeely, kind of like a poor mans auto hub. of course youd lose your 4wd though until you pulled the wheel off and put the flange back on.

http://rkrenn.com/xterra/howto/bearing/bearing.htm

Great find Timmack! I used the guide to replace my cousins bearings on her 2001 Nissan Pathfinder, 4WD. The dealer told her it would cost about $500.00 - 600.00.

So I bought all the required parts:

inner and outer bearings and racessealsgrease

and using my own tools (no special tools) I followed the guide to the teeth as you did and accomplished the task over 2 days with one problem. When removing one of the seals I broke the rotor sensor (abs ring) in half.this caused the ABS light to come on because it didn't sense the ABS ring (rotor sensor) Braking power is not effected, and I will be removing the rotor again to replace the the ring. But replacing the bearings did give the truck a much more stable feel. So all should be careful when removing the seals. I also removed the snapring using 2 screwdrivers without a problem.

Thank you much for sharing that link, it saved her quite a few dollars.



Modified by hittz at 3:49 PM 7/25/2009

Modified by hittz at 12:07 AM 7/26/2009
Modified by hittz at 12:08 AM 7/26/2009

[maikan]

When you follow the instructions to repack front wheel bearing, is it a long way to go to just switch to manual hubs ?

[ianh]

to switch to manual hubs you replace the drive flange with the manual hub.I called and found out the Manual hub is 97 mm dia and doesn't fit inside my wheel.They said the 3.0 3.3 hub also fits the 3. up to 2004 but check have 28 spline drive shaft.

[kkamakasi]

subscribed

[new2infinitiqx4]

this is a great find and a great forum.. i thank god everyday i found this forum.. hahah.. thanks for the post!!

[donal]

Just got a hefty quote off Nissan to fix my bearings, I'll be testing my limited car knowledge with the link about doing the bearings myself. Thanks a heap for the link

[cr4west]

I did the bearings and seals on my QX4 using the link earlier in this topic about Xterra bearing replacement.
Never did find the special tooth socket to fit the wheel bearing nut so I used a piece of 3/4" steel stock and drilled two 3/32" holes for 3/32" pins to be inserted to match the bearing nut slots. Then used a dial micometer and a magnet base to adjust the bearing run out to zero. Works great.

[yngw13]

Most important tips I can give after doing this myself...

1.Gloves are essential / nitril gloves and inexpensive work gloves (i got mine at an ASIAN market grocery store for $4 for 10pcs...the red kind that are socklike but covered with some adhesive rubber) ----hell of a mess when your packing those bearings with thick gooey grease...also cleaning up the old grease is messy too.

2.Lock ring pliers - I bought mine from a local harbor freight...the cheap one with all the extra attachments...sorta regretted it coz it was somewhat flaky....so....BUY A GOOD ONE...it can be time consuming when you have bad lock ring pliers

asides from these materials....give yourself lots of time....like if you wanna take it really slow do it on a long weekend