Parts for your 2001 Nissan Primera-Centre bearing

2001 Nissan Primera centre-bearing: is it actually a thing?

Short answer: a centre‑bearing isn’t used on a standard 2001 Nissan Primera. The Primera is a front‑wheel‑drive platform, so it doesn’t have a long, two‑piece propeller shaft running to the rear like a rear‑wheel‑drive or all‑wheel‑drive ute or SUV. Because there’s no prop shaft, there’s no centre support bearing to hold one up.

What it does have are two front driveshafts (CV axles) running from the transaxle to the hubs. Many Primera variants also run an intermediate (right‑hand) shaft with a bracket and support bearing mounted to the engine block. That’s sometimes confused with a “centre‑bearing”, but in Nissan’s documentation it’s an intermediate shaft support/carrier bearing, not a prop‑shaft centre support bearing. Different job, different location.

If someone’s chasing a humming or vibration on a 2001 Primera and thinking “centre‑bearing”, the better places to look are:

• Front wheel bearings and tyres (cupping or out‑of‑round)
• CV joints/boots and the intermediate shaft support bearing (if fitted)
• Engine and transmission mounts
• Warped wheels or poor wheel balance

Worth noting: there were niche 4WD/ATTESA variants of earlier Japan‑domestic Primeras, but the mainstream 2001 Primera seen in Australia and New Zealand is front‑wheel drive only. Those local models simply don’t have a centre‑bearing in the driveline design.

Why Nissan didn’t need one comes down to layout. A centre‑bearing is there to support the middle of a long, multi‑piece propeller shaft and control shaft whip and NVH. The Primera’s compact transverse engine and transaxle keep the driveline short and up front, so the support role a centre‑bearing would play just isn’t required.

Technical sources referenced:

• Nissan Primera P11 Factory Service Manual (Driveline/Axle – front drive shafts, no propeller shaft or centre support bearing section for FWD)
• Nissan Primera P12 Factory Service Manual (Front Axle/Driveshafts, no centre support bearing for FWD models)
• Nissan FAST electronic parts catalogue for Primera P11/P12 (no listing for a prop shaft centre support bearing on FWD models)
• Haynes Service & Repair Manual for Nissan Primera (FWD driveline layout, absence of propeller shaft on UK/EU models)

Popular questions

Does a 2001 Nissan Primera have a centre‑bearing?
No. The typical AU/NZ‑market 2001 Primera is front‑wheel drive and doesn’t use a propeller shaft, so there’s no centre support bearing in the driveline.

Some cars do have an intermediate shaft support bearing on the passenger side driveshaft. That’s a different part and is mounted to the engine block, not in the middle of the car like a prop‑shaft centre‑bearing.

What’s the bearing I can see on the right‑hand driveshaft?
That’s the intermediate (carrier) bearing supporting the longer right‑hand driveshaft. It keeps the shaft aligned and helps reduce torque steer by equalising shaft lengths. If it fails, you’ll usually hear a rumble that changes with road speed, or feel vibration under load.

It’s serviceable as part of driveshaft work: check for play, roughness when spun by hand, and any torn dust shields. Replace the bearing or the complete intermediate shaft assembly if it’s noisy or loose.

I’ve got a vibration at 80–100 km/h. If there’s no centre‑bearing, what should be checked?
Start with wheel balance, tyre condition and front wheel bearings. Then inspect the CV joints and the intermediate shaft support bearing (if fitted). Also look at engine and transmission mounts, as collapsed mounts can mimic driveline vibration under load.

If the noise changes with cornering, think wheel bearings, if it’s worse on acceleration and eases off on coast, suspect CVs or the intermediate shaft bearing.