taro

Thanks for the tip. It turned out that the little circular spring for the spindle bearing seal came out and got wedged between the halfshaft and the bearing. I finally got everything put back together with the exception of one of the center caps that I broke. C'est la vie.

Ahh soo, I never would have thought of that, especially on the diff side of the half-shaft. Thanks for bringing me up to speed. Taro

Thanks for mentioning this. I did okay until the right front. The first two chambers of the reservoir were full, but I didn't pay attention to the third chamber. When I finished, it wasn't totally empty, but close. I thought that it might be a problem, but my wife had a migraine and didn't feel up to pumping the brakes any more and honestly, after how much I've been working on the PF, I was over it. I'll probably be in a better state of mind after a few days as the brakes were good enough for now. Thanks again, Taro

Well I finally got the balljoints, halfshafts, rotors, front brake pads, and brake fluid (pedal's a bit spongy, but I'll bleed it again later) replaced on my '98 Pathfinder SE. Couldn't have done it without the generous help from you guys. Thanks again!

Well it turned out that the little circular spring for the spindle bearing seal came out of the seal and wedged itself between the halfshaft and spindle. After I put the spring back into place, everything fit like it was supposed to. Thanks again.

Ugghh, thanks for the tip. I'll go take it out (again) and check it against the old one.

Got the new halfshafts and balljoints on. Changed the rotors and pads on the right front. New rotor is on the left front thanks to a thread file. Now my problem is that I'm about 2-3mm from being able to put my snap ring back on. I made sure my bearings in the hub were tight before setting the preload. I haven't taken the halfshaft of again yet. One thought is to shave down the thrust washer, but I'm hoping there is a better way. Thanks, Taro

Thanks for your input. I didn't see your reply until now. I hadn't put loctite on them, which was fortunate because I forgot to put a washer from the old halfshaft to the new one and had to take the halfshaft out again. Had to redo it on the other side too. What can I say, I typically learn the hardway. If for some reason I have to take out the bolts again, I'll put some loctite on them. BTW--now I'm facing the fact that I don't have enough axle showing throught the spindle to put the snap ring back on it. I'm going to try to move the steering around to see if that'll help. Thanks to everyone for their generous help.

While I was loosening the bolts that hold the right halfshaft in place I had a few ounces of what looks like motor oil drain out. What's up with this? I was wondering if it was coming from the diff, but it was much too thin (it was clean too), definitely not gear oil. Also, someone loctited the bolts. Am I supposed to do this? The other side wasn't. Thanks, Taro

Thanks for the info. I'll clean it up tonight and see what I can do. No worries about the locknut orientation.

Thanks for the advice. I'll try to see what I can salvage. The locknut is fine as far as I can tell and I've got plenty of good thread on the spindle, but the locknut just does not want to go any further than the first little bit. What's weird is that it won't spin at all past a certain point and that's with the tool. Maybe I've got too much grease on the threads? PS--Is the tapered side of the lock ring supposed to be on the outside of the hub? That's what I've been assuming. I forgot to look on the other side before I took it off even though I told myself to.

Well, instead of tapping in the outer bearing a bit, I tried to seat the outer bearing of a front wheel with the locknut. What I got for my stupidity was about a millimeter's worth of stripped threads (thread?). Anyway, I have plenty of good thread on the spindle, I just can't get to it. Does anyone have any tips on how to handle this? Thanks, Taro

Thanks guys. I'll go take another whack at it tonight.

Thanks for the reply. I removed the snap ring and the drive flange. What I'm having difficulty with is the rotor/hub assembly. I can see the outer bearing, but I can't get the hub off. I'm wondering if the grease can form that much of a vacuum and I'm just not pulling hard enough. Any more thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks, Taro

Okay, I've finally got some time to replace my half-shafts, rotors, and pads. After I figured out that there was a lock "guard" on the locknut, I got that off without a problem. Now the problem is that I cannot remove the hub. From the manuals that I have, it seems like it should slide off without too much difficulty, but my hub won't budge. The only thing I know I haven't done is remove the abs sensor. I took the bolt out, but I couldn't figure out how to remove it so I've left it in for now because I didn't want to damage it and it didn't seem like it would be preventing the hub from coming off. Any tips? Thanks, Taro

Another question: I took off the hubcap for the flange and the thing was just caked in rust. This is the first time I've seen something so cruddy looking in a "sealed" area (one of the six studs came out instead of the nut as an added bonus). Is this normal or do I need to keep my eyes open for some damage? Thanks again. Taro

Lewisnc100, thanks for the info. I'm going to start scouring the local stores to see if anyone has it in stock. Whenever possible, I like to have whatever will help me torque things to the recommended figures. It just makes me feel better. If I can't find it, I'll use the Simon method.

Thanks for the input. It's reassuring to hear how all of you have successfully worked on these things. Right now I'm trying to think through it too much. You are helping me calm down; hopefully I'll get to tackle it over the weekend.

Thanks for the info and the tip about the locknut. Very good to know.

Thanks for the welcome and the info. The snap rings are for the hubs. There is a small hub cap that you pull off and the snap ring is under that. BTW, what do people use to put the hub cap back on? I'm having difficulty finding a socket that large. I'm assuming if I can find a socket that large it should be sized somewhere from 45 to 50mm. Is that right? Also, do most people here do the best they can to loosen and tighten the lock ring or do you use the special tool. The special tool/socket sounds nice so that you can torque to spec, but I can't seem to find a Nissan compatible one. Lastly, what is it with Nissan torque spec ranges being so wide. I've been shooting for the middle of the range. Is that right or are you supposed to start on the low side and go higher as needed? Thanks again.

Hello all, new here. I have a 1998 SE 4x4 with a manual transmission. It has about 148,000 miles. It needs new front brakes, pads, and half-shafts and I was going to replace the rotors too so I don't have to leave the vehicle disassembled while the rotors were turned. I also have some verticle play in both of the front wheels (probably about 5 mm). I've been told that simply repacking the wheel bearings may be enough to address the play and that I should reuse the snap rings. My questions: 1. Even if the wheel bearings, steering knuckle needle bearings, and ball joints seem okay, at 148,000 miles, should I go ahead and replace them? 2. Is it okay to reuse the snap rings and ball joint nuts or should I go ahead and try to find replacements (neither the dealership nor Advance had them). Thanks, Taro