Yet another Nissan screwup...

**Matt93SE** · May 12th, 2005, 11:27 PM

So I'm doing a suspension install on a customer's 2004 Maxima today... do the left side, easy stuff.. 20 min for the front strut... get to the right side and start pulling the wheel off.. wtf? wheel's all wobbly! "dood, you have a bad wheel bearing"

I pull the suspension apart and get ready to pull the axle nut off the wheel hub so I can remove the whole spindle.. THE AXLE NUT WAS ONLY HAND TIGHT!!! WTF?!?!?!

Nissan never torqued this thing properly at the factory (the owner has never even had the wheels pulled off it before he brought it to me), and it caused the bearing to go bad.. Of course it took out the wheel hub as well.. Cost my customer $200 in parts and another $150 in labor because of a screwup fron Nissan..

Just a heads-up on you guys with '04 models. next time you're playing with the car, pull off the front wheels and check the torque on those axle nuts.

am3rican · May 13th, 2005, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt93SE

So I'm doing a suspension install on a customer's 2004 Maxima today... do the left side, easy stuff.. 20 min for the front strut... get to the right side and start pulling the wheel off.. wtf? wheel's all wobbly! "dood, you have a bad wheel bearing"

I pull the suspension apart and get ready to pull the axle nut off the wheel hub so I can remove the whole spindle.. THE AXLE NUT WAS ONLY HAND TIGHT!!! WTF?!?!?!

Nissan never torqued this thing properly at the factory (the owner has never even had the wheels pulled off it before he brought it to me), and it caused the bearing to go bad.. Of course it took out the wheel hub as well.. Cost my customer $200 in parts and another $150 in labor because of a screwup fron Nissan..

Just a heads-up on you guys with '04 models. next time you're playing with the car, pull off the front wheels and check the torque on those axle nuts.

so whyd you charge him if it was nissan's fault?

**Matt93SE** · May 13th, 2005, 02:54 PM

1. Out of warranty.

2. Because I'm not a Nissan shop. I can't do squat about it... He was here paying me to do a suspension and exhaust install, and we found the wheel bearings while we were doing the rest of it. might as well just get it out of the way and drive on before it damages more stuff.

am3rican · May 16th, 2005, 08:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt93SE

1. Out of warranty.

2. Because I'm not a Nissan shop. I can't do squat about it... He was here paying me to do a suspension and exhaust install, and we found the wheel bearings while we were doing the rest of it. might as well just get it out of the way and drive on before it damages more stuff.

i see i see.

Puppetmaster · May 17th, 2005, 02:54 PM

That's why I either do my own repairs or check the car to the best I can when I get it back...

**Matt93SE** · May 31st, 2005, 08:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Puppetmaster

That's why I either do my own repairs or check the car to the best I can when I get it back...

Problem is, this was something never done at the FACTORY!
on the '04 models, they punk a black rubbery gunk on the end of the axle after it's installed on the car and torqued... the stuff is thick enough that it covers the cotter pin on the end as well and basically glues it to the axle. I'm not sure if this is a torque-mark, a rust inhibitor, noise reduction, or all of the above..

but nonetheless, the black stuff was never tampered with, so I know the cotter pin has never been removed from the axle. and the only way to get a socket on is to remove that cotter pin. Thus, that nut wasn't torqued properly from the factory. Sometimes I wonder how Nissan gets away with stuff like this on a regular basis.