gundam83

iTrader: (1)

I've begun to hear a grinding noise come from my passenger side front wheel well, and it only happens when Im making slow left turns. It's not a rubbing noise, but more metallic.

I'm not the most mechanically inclined so I had a buddy look at it and he says it's probably my wheel bearing and it could be caused from my a combination of my slammed car, and some unknown object I struck on the freeway a year ago.

Anyone else replace a wheel bearing? How difficult is it? Where can I go to get one and how much should I expect to pay (parts and labor).

Chris11LE

I *think* the bearing is pressed into the hub, then the hub+bearing unit bolts to the steering knuckle (at least thats what it looks like in the service manual). It doesnt indicate you need to press the hub+bearing combo out of the knuckle to remove it, there are 4 bolts holding the hub/bearing piece to the knuckle itself.

Replacing just the bearing can be kind of a PITA. You need a 10 ton press I think (I believe the spec is 6 tons but assume no press will be exactly what it says it is).

Might be better off seeing if you can find the hub+bearing already as one piece (i.e. bearing already pressed in) and just replacing that. You can check the top of this forum for a sticky link to the service manual....its a little more work for AWD than RWD but still fairly straight forward.

I paid the dealer to do this on my '01 i30 which seems like a similar (maybe even the same) setup. Cost me 400 or so for just the bearing to be replaced.......I had to have it done quickly so I sourced the bearing from Carquest for 50 bux. Luckily didnt need to replace the hub because no one locally had it and I was stranded 200 miles from home.

Austin713

it comes in a prepacked hub assembly. they have them on ebay. install with hand tools will be difficult.

Hub assembly

Modme

iTrader: (17)

It's a pretty easy DIY. Jack car up, remove the wheel, and there are four bolts holding hub. You can reach them from the back.

Chris11LE

+1. That echoes what the service manual says. Its only a PITA if you need to press out and in a new bearing, instead of spending the extra $$$ for the whole piece already assembled.

Again, a little more work if its AWD (since there is a driveshaft in the way) but the bearing/hub piece seems to be the same.

MACS

iTrader: (3)

If you are hearing metal grinding, you need the whole hub assembly.

I had the front wheel bearings replaced on my last G ('04) at 78k miles. No grinding, so I just needed the bearings. $780 installed at the dealer for both fronts.

TONY37X

iTrader: (2)

Unfortunately, I found out the answer to these questions the hard way. Slid into a curb last week in the ice/snow, front driver-side wheel took 100% of the impact at about 5-10MPH as it was turned out during the slide. Luckily no body damage, only minor/medium scratches to the rim, but as soon as I started driving again I could tell something wasn't right. Grinding/rubbing sounds at 40MPH+ and a decent amount of vibration felt through the steering wheel.

So, took it in to the dealership and sure enough the wheel hub/bearing assembly was damaged and needed to be replaced. So about $600 later i'll be picking up the car today. The rim itself also shows a slight bend on the balancer, but now switched to the rear the tech claims to feel little to no vibration, so we'll see if I need to replace that as well. Surprisingly the alignment is still tracking straight. NOTE-TO-SELF and others, take snowy turns slower, even with AWD good tires I couldn't power out of the slide.

Black Betty

iTrader: (60)

I replace a wheel hub/bearing assembly for my wife's aunt a couple of weekends ago. On a Maxima not a G, but everything is the same. It is very easy. Took about an hour and required no special skills or tools.

Turbotwiggs

iTrader: (1)

I replaced my front left one on my X and it wasnt too difficult if you have mechanical experience. Just lift it off the ground and get to it. It maybe took me about 30-45 minutes but that was with air tools and a nice lift. It should be even easier if you have a rwd because you dont have to worry about the front axles. If you have any questions feel free to message me I have replaced several wheel bearing/hub assemblies on numerous vehicles.

mjd4k

I have a 2010 G37xS, 60k mi. My front passenger bearing went bad and I just went through the repair.

I am fairly mechanically inclined and I would say that this repair for the average person wasn't quite as easy for me as it was stated here. The big reason for me, rust. The rotor was rusted onto the hub like you wouldn't believe, took a piece of steel and 2x4 and two clamps to pop it off, I've never had that problem with any car I've owned before. I don't think it was unique to this car but just bad luck. Then the hub/bearing is press fit into the steering knuckle and it was too rusted in. I had to use the steering column as a hydraulic press and a hammer to work it out.

The entire repair took me 4 hours. Would have taken 1 if not for all the dang rust and knowing that the hub wouldn't come right out. So this is just a heads up for anyone attempting this. Have clamps, a rust solvent/pb blaster and some blocks on hand.

Dough1397

Did you take pictures? Would you be able to describe how to use the clamps and wood to get the rotors off?

Black Betty

iTrader: (60)

There is a tool made specifically for this job. It's a rotor/drum puller. You can rent them form most auto parts stores, just pay a deposit that is the cost of the tool and get it back when you return it in good shape.

Spray the rusted areas liberally with penetrating lubricant (I prefer Kroil), whack the hell out of it several times with a dead blow hammer (not a metal hammer!), then put the puller on and go to town. A long handled breaker bar works best because you have more leverage. You can search YouTube for rotor puller to see how it's used.