Hey guys, I'm a fairly new member here, please bare with me.

I have an 05 Z with 90k miles

I'm hearing a "whomp" or "wum" noise as my car reaches 45mph. The noise is coming from the front end of the car. As the car, lets say reaches 60 mph, the noise gets quicker.

Went to bridgestone and the guy there checked the wheels and rebalanced them. Wheels were fine but noticed the tires have inside wear.

I just replaced the shocks, LCA bushings, and ball joints.

He said it sounds like the wheel bearings are bad.

Of course, I prefer advice from you guys
Any input, before I spend the money, is much appreciated.

 

Wheel bearings and or alignment.

 

Thanks for the clarification terrasmak! I bought a pair of MOOG front bearing/hub assemblies. I'll report back when they're installed to see if that was the problem.

 

I had these changed a while ago, not exactly sure what the differences between brands are thought.

The wheel bearings went out near the same mileage as yours. Tires had a little feathering.

 

Hey guys, just reporting back. Got the bearing/hub assemblies this morning at around 9:30AM so we got straight to replacing them. Turns out it was the wheel bearings so I appreciate the help terrasmak!

Hope this helps other people

Old OEM rusty assemblies



New MOOG wheel bearing/hub assembly (part# 513268)

 

how could you tell the bearing was bad? did it have a lot of play?

 

You can feel roughness in them when turning them, but won't always notice play if they aren't too bad yet. They can be making a ton of noise and not "feel" bad as far as play is concerned, but they will be rough when you spin them by hand.

Easy way to check is put your hand on the suspension or knuckle and spin the tire with the corner in question jacked up, you should feel a vibration of sorts from the bearing if it's not smooth, transmitted through the suspension pieces. That's the humming noise you hear while driving due to the failing bearing.

OP, glad you got it sorted out, the bearings on these cars are very simple to change, and do tend to fail on a pretty regular basis.

 

Thanks for the thread..... I have been notice some noise in the rear on my 04, but there is no play. May just swap them out anyway.

 

Thanks... excellent narrative and great pics. --Spike

 

Perfectly said man! My drivers side bearing was the bad one. So I removed the wheel and removed the bearing/hub. Turned it and it was pretty rough to turn. My passenger side bearing was smooth like butter but decided to replace them both

No problem guys, anything to help the community out! I would have made a DIY guide but it's super easy to replace these

 

Hey guys,

Another update. I began noticing a quiet 'wumming' coming from the rear so I went ahead and ordered new bearings for both rear wheels. Stuck with MOOG since my fronts were great quality. Thing is, the rear bearings are actually repackaged NTN bearings (EXACTLY the same as OEM, pictures below to prove it).

Replaced them, took the car out for a drive, and the car rode smooth again and dead silent, literally.

If you guys notice a humming coming from the front or rear end of the car, big chances are it's your wheel bearings.

... and guys don't go to a dealer to replace these. Nissan quoted me 500$ (parts+labor) for EACH bearing they replace. Might as well

DIY or find a mechanic who can give you the hook up. I was charged 40$ to replace each bearing and that's the pressing work included.

Here are some pics

MOOG bearings, not assembled. You have to get the rear bearings pressed.
Part #512346



Fresh out the box



Out with the old...



and in with the new



Bearing close-up. Notice the engraved text



Old OEM bearing close-up. Again, notice the engraved text (little blurry), but it's the same.

 

There's only a couple major bearing manufacturers, most of the aftermarket companies like Moog are buying bearings from the same places that make them for the OEMs.

 

Quick question, I was wondering can you replace one bearing without replacing the other side?

 

Yes. You don't need to replace both sides of the axle if the other is ok, unlike brake pads, rotors, suspension components, etc.