So I left my car set for a few weeks and came back to a humming sound. Tires are (newish) and recently aligned. I just drive 300 miles across Ohio and noticed a humming sound from the front. I’m thinking wheel bearing? I also noticed while doing brakes last spring that my 21 Altima has staked axle nuts. I don’t have a factory tool to remove the nut, if it is in fact a wheel bearing. Any helpful hint on not destroying the axle? The hum starts at 60-70 and is gone by 80 and nothing before then. I’ll rotate a tire at a time to rule out my turanzas that only have around 20k on them but still have 8/32nds. There’s no heating up of the rotors so I’m sure it’s not a hung up brake pad.
Staked axle nut?
- Thread starter D1dad
- Start date
AutoMechanic
Site Donor 2025
Sometimes you can use a small chisel like 1/4 to unstake the axle nut. Personally I’ve zipped plenty off without damaging the axle that’s usually the normal practice. The only brand I don’t do that on is Toyota because their threads are a bit more fragile. If you do it the right way with the impact it won’t damage the threads.
I’ve got a small chisel (might be even smaller than 1/4”) for just that purpose - drive it up the groove, lever it outward to bend the staking, and then remove the nut.
Maybe I'm missing something after working 12 hours today.. but what factory tool is needed for a staked axle nut?
you unstake it and use a big impact on it?
I ground down a screwdriver.
you can also get the correct punch on amazon.. a cape punch?
you unstake it and use a big impact on it?
I ground down a screwdriver.
you can also get the correct punch on amazon.. a cape punch?
Like the others here, I use a Craftsman punch like the nail set shown below to un-peen the staked nut. If the punch breaks, the Craftsman lifetime warranty will be tested.
A cape chisel - that’s the name of that widget…slightly steeper angle than a cold chisel (which also works).
Look for a 1/8” or 3/16”.
Look for a 1/8” or 3/16”.
Other than a Toyota with the hardened steel axle nuts I normally dont unstake an axle nut, just zip it off and replace with a new one on reassembly. For Toyota (and it would work on others as well) I have a 1/4 mortising chisel that I ground down slightly to fit in the slot in the axle that I unstake the nuts with.
^agreed I just did a Hummer H3 and the portion of the stub shaft under the stake is not threaded, so just put the impact in reverse and everything will self-clearance 
Ya gotta use discretion though-- Toyotas are where you'll hear tales of destroying threads if you go caveman on it.
I also keep an inexpensive chisel that I sanded to a flat point for staking. Works really well. Visit a pawn shop and chisels are probably $1 ea or less if you ask nice
Ya gotta use discretion though-- Toyotas are where you'll hear tales of destroying threads if you go caveman on it.
I also keep an inexpensive chisel that I sanded to a flat point for staking. Works really well. Visit a pawn shop and chisels are probably $1 ea or less if you ask nice
There’s a tsb out for Nissans that involved applying moly kote to the splines of the axle to stop a clicking sound when going from R to D. I had that performed at the dealer because they listed a Oem tool to un stake the nut. I figured that it was just a simple punch but didn’t wanna screw up a $700 axle. I’m going to do the wheel bearing myself and won’t be using an Oem. At 47k I can’t believe it’s already failing. I’m still on 2 original bearings on my 09 so I’m a little disappointed that 1 has already gave out. I guess it happens.
According to the Nissan Powertrain Warranty your 2021 with 47K miles should be in effect and cover the bearing depending on when the vehicle was first put into service. The warranty is good for 5 years or 60000 miles. Copied from the 2021 Nissan Warranty information
POWERTRAIN COVERAGE The Powertrain coverage period is 60months or 60,000 miles, which ever comes first.
DRIVETRAIN Drive shafts, final drive housing, and all internal parts, propeller shafts,universal joints, bearings, seals and gaskets
It is indeed!! I just called and scheduled it. I figured wear and tear items wouldn't be but I was wrong. Thanks for the tip
It was under warranty and they replaced the front left bearing. My son took it over for me and when I drove it last night it’s vibrating like a tire, or 3 are out of balance. I’m going to pull the wheel and see if anything jumps out. Any ideas what may be the culprit here? I’ve done a half dozen wheel bearings over the years and have never had this personally happen. I guess they could have knocked a sticky weight off but I haven’t looked yet. By the time I got home it was dark and I had a long day. The good news, I guess, is the hum is gone.
A few guesses, none of them terribly likely: the wheel bearing assy is not fully seated. The axle nut was not fully tightened. The wheel is not fully seated or lugnuts are loose.
Is the vibe under most any conditions or only when accelerating or only under light throttle/coast?
Honestly on an Altima I doubt the loss of a wheel weight would be a big deal and likely only noticeable to the most discerning driver.
I just checked the wheels and everything is, or looks to be seated. No vibration on acceleration and really doesn’t appear till about 60mph on up. The front left, which is where they replaced the bearing only has 1 weight on the inside lip of the rim itself, no sticky weights. The other rims all have anywhere from a 1/2, to 1 ounce of sticky weights. I’ve got an appointment at Walmart (sigh) which is where I got the tires, to check the balancing. If it’s still there then it’s back to the dealer an hour away.