I torqued mine to 80lb/ft. Chassis bolts there are thick hardened steel and can take it. It's easier to separate the hub from the knuckle by taking out the whole knuckle. All you have to do extra is separate the lower ball joint (use a pry bar and hammer) and the tie rod end (do the same thing) or replace your tie rod end if you're car is a 2008 it's probably worn anyways. Once you have the kunckle off it's easy to use an impact and zip those bolts right out and separate the two, install, tighten and putting everying back together is easy.

 

all the other torque ratings above look right to me. Most cars are pretty close to the same. 130ft/lb is what I set my torque wrench to when I reinstalled axle nuts.

 

Thanks sbuswell but I was hoping someone who has a '08 Altima repair manual could help here. I would like to know the exact factory specs.

Also, since it looks like I will need to remove the steering knuckle to get to the hub bolts, I will need those torque specs as well:

Knuckle to strut bolts (2)
Ball joint pinch bolt/nut (1)
Tie rod nut (1)

So I need these specs in addition to confirming the ones in my original post. Can anyone with a repair manual help here?

Many thanks.

 

strut bolts torque to 80-90lb/ft, ball joint pinch bolt the same and tie rod nut 40-50ft/lb.+

Use this link for 4th Gen altima service manual. Index of /FSM/Altima/2012 Altima

save it to your favorites, you'll use it.

 

Thanks sbuswell! This is more than I could have hoped for...a complete Factory Service Manual online, for free! You just saved me what I would have spent for a much less comprehensive Chiltons or Haynes manual. Can't thank you enough.

Here's the link to the "parent" directory, from there you just click on your year Altima: Index of /FSM/Altima

And here's a quick summary of all the CORRECT torque values for replacing the front wheel hub on a 2008 Altima. Note that torque values can vary from year to year (and from front to rear), so be sure you use the specs for your year and front/rear. Again, the list below is for the front of a 2008 Altima:

Caliper pin bolts (2): 20 ft/lbs
Caliper bracket bolts (2): 98 ft/lbs
Axle (spindle) nut (1): 92 ft/lbs
Hub mounting bolts (4): 44 ft/lbs
Ball joint pinch bolt/nut (1): 46 ft/lbs
ABS sensor bolt (1): 7 ft/lbs (or 84 in/lbs)
Steering knuckle to strut bolts (2): 103 ft/lbs
Tie rod nut (1): 25 ft/lbs
Lug nuts (5): 83 ft/lbs (same for all 4 wheels)

Thanks again!

 

No problem. Glad to be of help.

 

Helpful notes and pics of front wheel hub replacement 2008 Altima

OK, so I finished replacing the front hub/bearing assembly and thought I would post a few notes and pictures that might be helpful:

1. It is not necessary to remove the steering knuckle. You just need appropriate length socket extensions to reach the 4 bolts that hold the hub on. It is not hard to remove/replace/torque these bolts with the proper length socket extensions. Also I believe that if you remove the steering-knuckle-to-strut-bolts it will throw off your wheel alignment so I didn’t want to go there.

2. I zipped the large axle nut off with an air gun and 32mm deep impact socket. If you don’t have an air gun, then you will probably have to remove the nut with the weight of the car on the wheel (unless you can devise a way to keep the hub from spinning with some sort of holding tool). If you don’t have an air gun or a holding tool, then remove the wheel, remove the cotter pin, pop out the center cap on the wheel by tapping it out from the inside (only for alloy wheels, not hubcaps), reinstall the wheel temporarily, lower the car so the weight is on the wheel, and remove the nut. I torqued the axle nut in the same manner after installing the new hub.

3. Be sure you remove the ABS sensor BEFORE you remove the hub. Otherwise you will damage the sensor.

4. After removing the 4 hub bolts the hub will probably still be stuck in the steering knuckle. I removed mine by whacking the back of the hub with a 3 lb. hand sledge hammer, applying a few whacks and turning the hub 90 degrees and whacking a few more…repeat a few times. You will see it start to separate from the knuckle and then finally pop out. This took about 2 minutes.

5. Stick a block of wood under the axle so the shaft sticks out the middle of the hole. This will make it easier to work around the shaft for the following steps.

View attachment 51298

6. I removed the hardened crud on the steering knuckle with an electric sander. It produced a clean and smooth mating surface very quickly.

View attachment 51306

7. Use sandpaper to remove the crud around the inside of the hole, where the hub sticks in. Then I used compressed air to remove all the sanding dust.

View attachment 51314

8. Clean and ready for reassembly.

View attachment 51322

9. Coat the splines of the axle shaft and the inside bore of the hole with a little anti-seize before installing the new hub. This will aid in future disassembly if it is ever required.

10. When installing the new hub, be sure that it is lined up in the correct position to accept the ABS sensor. Before you reinstall the 4 hub bolts, line up the 4 bolt holes and slip the sensor in. It should slide in easily all the way. If it does not, the hub is not in the right position and will need to be rotated 180 degrees. There are 3 “slots” in the hub…make sure the ABS sensor is lined up with the correct slot.

11. Reassemble the rest and torque all bolts to the correct values. See torque values in previous post above.

12. Enjoy the quiet ride again!

BeachbumNJ

 

I did this repair this weekend, and this thread was a great help!

I did mine without removing the knuckle, but I found a strange piece of steel approximately where the back end of the would block is in the photo in step 5 above. Maybe it's just something on 2007's, or maybe just on the 3.5SE, regardless, taking the three bolts out that held it in place made all the difference on getting to the lower left hub bolt!

Thanks for the great write up!

 

That piece is the "steering stop plate" and probably all Altimas have it. You could have avoided taking it off by just turning the knuckle a little to the left (using the steering wheel) to give you more room to get on that bolt with your socket and extension. But regardless I'm sure it was no biggie to take it off and I'm glad you found the instructions helpful. Nice to drive the car again without it sounding like a freight train inside!