S14 wheel hub bearing

[holisticbeatz]

Here's the deal. A few months ago I kissed a curb at 25 mph. Bent the tie rod, destoryed the factory tension rod bushing and bent the lower control arm. I have since replaced the lower control arm w/ one I found at a junkyard and the rest w/ aftermarket parts. The steering wheel vibrates a little more aggressively compared to some of the other S14s I have driven.

So I went to Drift Day 13 and had my car tech'd. Upon inspection, one of the officials said I had a loose wheel hub bearing. This is what he did. He squatted down and grabbed my front driver side wheel at 12 o'clock and 7 o'clock and gave the wheel a good shaking. I heard a slight rubbing noise, as if I had a loose lug nut or something. He told me that the wheel hub bearing was loose.

I checked my awesome bootleg S14 200SX FSM and found this picture. Is the wheel hub bearing inside that hub (highlighted in red)? In order to change it, do I have to change the entire wheel hub or could I just pry out the bearing and press in a new one? Anyone ever done this before? My bootleg .pdf FSM is a bit ambiguous when it comes to explaining how to change it.

I'm such a newb.. HELP!

[silvia14]

the front hub and bearing are intergrated together. so you have to get the whole piece.

[AceInHole]

I would check to see if the axle nut is loose at all before doing anything else. Those bearings can take a beating.

[holisticbeatz]

Axle nut? Do you mean the wheel bearing lock nut?

[the head]

you are correct

[Doriftomodachi]

I would check to see if the axle nut is loose at all before doing anything else. Those bearings can take a beating.

What's up Kenny it's Norm! I had to replace my wheel hub bearing a few months ago. The lock nut will NOT come loose. That is why it is called a LOCKNUT. f you look at the diagram the hole has a square shape to keep it from coming loose. If the wheel is loose it is because the bearing went out. Unfortunately there is no fix. You have to replace it. On mine there was a "humming" or "buzzing" sound whenever I drove the car as well which drove me NUTS. It sounded like extra loud tire noise. Good luck!

[95Blue240sx]

can i get a copy of your fsm? [email protected] =P good luck to finding the problem

[millworkman]

i also would love a copy, been looking around for one to download and never have found one. [email protected]

[kanekz]

Did you try air tools to get the locknut off. Might need that extra speed and torque to get it off. If not, replacing the knuckle/hub seem the next logical step.
FSM pdf should be dl from the tech tab at the top. It used to be offered, but it was for Aussie SR20 S14. Shouldn't matter for suspension and non engine material though. Same thing

[NinjaGaiden]

unless it has been messed with before, the front lock nut should not be too hard to get loose. If you are having a hard time, the way I got it lose was I used my jack to jack up the end of the socket wrench. Worked pretty well.

Changing the hub is not hard at all. Should take you about an hour at most.

[holisticbeatz]

The FSM could be downloaded here: http://www.zilvia.net/faqs/fsm/S14_SR20DET_FSM.zip

[LigouriRd]

Please forgive me, I hope im not thread jacking.
When I first bought my car it had a cyclic thump comming front the front end. After new rims (17" Yokohama AVS ES100 tyres), the sound seemed to go away. Now I just put Cusco camber plates on (soild no rubber), and now I really hear noise. There is still a kind of cyclic thump to the sound. Do you guys think that it is just road noise since there is now no rubber cushion between my strut and the frame or could it possibly be my hub bearings (im considering a 5 lug swap anyway)?

[holisticbeatz]

LigouriRd: Could be. You could always check, just grab your wheel at 12:00 o'clock and 7:00 o'clock and shake it. If you could hear a clicking noise or feel some play, most likely it's the hub bearing. Try retightening suspension bolts too..

As far as my situation goes. I'm going to replace the entire hub.. apparently the bearings come pressed into the hub already as one unit. So I have no choice but to purchase the entire hub.. They want $102 for it. oy vey! I hope it's going to be an easy job.. I'm mechanically inept.

Anyone in the So Cal area want to lend me a hand and/or some tools? I've had trouble in the past with getting the rotor off the hub, does anyone have those screws used to push the rotor off?

[NinjaGaiden]

It's an easy job. Are you 5lug or 4lug? If it is 4lug, then you can probably find used ones for pretty cheap at junkyards.

Someone did a 5lug swap write up:

http://www.teamhpi.org/5lug.php

Good luck with it, most tools you can rent or borrow for free from auto parts stores.