Wheel Bearing goes bad

My Nissan Leaf Forum

Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

EricAUB

New member
Joined
Sep 26, 2015
Messages
4
Location
Tukwila WA
Took my 2015 SV into the dealer a few days ago. I recently heard a strange noise eliminating from the rear of the car while driving. The dealer said my right wheel bearing needs replacing. This was surprising to me because I have less than 8000 miles on my leaf.
 
I just bought a used 2013 with 3700 miles on it, it had a groaning noise from the front.
They said one front wheel bearing was bad and the other was loose...
Fixed under warranty.
 
Yikes, I might pull mine and check them. Curious if they gave a reason: cheap chinese bearings or were they not packed with grease properly?
 
My guess is that they weren't greased, or weren't assembled properly, or both. If Nissan were using Crappy bearings we'd see a lot more failures, and mostly at higher odometer readings.
 
My experience would dictate leaving them alone. I don't think you accomplish anything by "pulling them" to inspect. If they're defective, you'll know soon enough, with plenty of warning. I've not read/heard about bearings just spontaneously disintegrating.
 
gncndad said:
My experience would dictate leaving them alone. I don't think you accomplish anything by "pulling them" to inspect. If they're defective, you'll know soon enough, with plenty of warning. I've not read/heard about bearings just spontaneously disintegrating.
Agree, I doubt there is any way to grease them, they're probably sealed bearings like many (most?) cars these days.
 
I had mine replaced about a month ago on my '15. The service tech stated that they probably tightened the car down too much on the train during shipping which put too much stress on the bearings. My '15 only had 8k on it. They ended up replacing both sides in the front even though only one was making noise.
 
Started hearing a droning sound from the rear of my Leaf. Jacked up the back and it sounds like both bearings are gone at 38K km's or 24K miles. Checked my Brother's leaf as a comparison. see video here

https://youtu.be/rta42cJVI4g
 
Firetruck41 said:
gncndad said:
My experience would dictate leaving them alone. I don't think you accomplish anything by "pulling them" to inspect. If they're defective, you'll know soon enough, with plenty of warning. I've not read/heard about bearings just spontaneously disintegrating.
Agree, I doubt there is any way to grease them, they're probably sealed bearings like many (most?) cars these days.


Yes, I took my 2012 to the dealer yesterday and he told me that they were sealed bearings. He also told me it was $950 for two bearings (right side) to be replace. I'll wait until they get a LOT worse!
 
evphreak said:
Firetruck41 said:
gncndad said:
My experience would dictate leaving them alone. I don't think you accomplish anything by "pulling them" to inspect. If they're defective, you'll know soon enough, with plenty of warning. I've not read/heard about bearings just spontaneously disintegrating.
Agree, I doubt there is any way to grease them, they're probably sealed bearings like many (most?) cars these days.


Yes, I took my 2012 to the dealer yesterday and he told me that they were sealed bearings. He also told me it was $950 for two bearings (right side) to be replace. I'll wait until they get a LOT worse!
A front OEM hub (wheel bearing) is $165, and not too difficult to replace. Hopefully you can find an independent mechanic that will be able to do it cheaper, or you could attempt it yourself. If you can change a tire and a brake pad, you could probably do it.
 
Normally when a wheel bearing goes bad, you can jack the car up and wiggle the tire at the 6 and 12 position and the 3 and 9. Any undesired play is usually the bearing. You can't pack them, only replace them.

Replacing these can be a bear, especially in the rust belt. Rotohammer is recommended. If you are going to tackle it, South Main Auto channel on youtube has alot of videos showing tips and tricks.

If you can, avoid any bearings made in China. When it comes to car parts, cheap parts end up being expensive.
 
jkline said:
Replacing these can be a bear, especially in the rust belt. Rotohammer is recommended.

Yes. I had a hum last summer that (strangely) didn't seem to change much with speed. Replaced the right rear, that wasn't it, but found corrosion on the brake cable and other places, so worth going in there. Replaced the right front, and that was it. 54 k miles and a failed bearing.

If anyone does decide to do one of the front bearings, you will want to look at the videos closely. I found the Nissan Sentra videos most helpful. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD-qvFPgWdQ

Here are some comments about the worst parts of the repair. This is intended for people who have done work like this in the past and have all the tools--otherwise it should <strike>probably</strike> definitely go to the shop. Sorry, I should have gotten some pictures.

The axle nut is on tight and my impact wrench would not do it. Use some penetrating oil. With the tire on and in contact with the ground, use a breaker bar plus a cheater bar to get about five feet leverage, and put a jack under the lever. Put some force on it and let it sit for a while. It came off eventually. The nut and cotter pin are one use only. order them ahead of time.

The speed sensor was really stuck. I ended up drilling it and using an easy out. I got two aftermarket sensors (one spare) for very little money (amazon I think) and they are identical to what came out. You may want to order one ahead of time. The tied rod end nut is single use, order one ahead of time. Get the tool for separating the ball joint.

The four bolts that hold the bearing on from the back are hard to get to, but doable. You will need a wobble fitting and some patience. I had to use heat, penetrating oil, and and impact wrench to get them loose.

The bearing assembly needs to come out at this point, and mine was tight. The videos generally show someone sledging away at the flange with the lug bolts in it, and I ended up hitting it pretty hard from various angles until it finally moved a little. I then sharpened up cold a chisel to a long taper and gently worked around the gap between the bearing and the brake shield--that move it a little more--back to the hammer to finish. Seems like there should be a better way, and I do think a jig could be made that would fit under the lug nut flange and expand.

The brake shield was a little buggered from the cold chisel, also rusted, but I rehabbed it and painted it. You may want to order one ahead of time.

Hope this helps!
 
Back
Top