First and foremost....I have a 2000 Altima GLE. Also....this is a 2-part question....

I recently had a garage change the front right wheel bearing. The bearing was not badly worn....it just started to get noisy. After I got the car back, I noticed that the steering wheel is slightly to the left when driving straight....like it's out of alignment.

Question #1 is...."is it possible that the car could need an alignment after changing the wheel bearing"?

Also....

I have changed my front brake pads at least 3-4 times in the past. I did the normal routine....
I took off the master cylinder cap....removed the wheel then brake caliper....pushed back the piston....replaced the pads. My problem is that there is not enough clearance between the pads to get it back on the rotor. Seems like there is almost a full 1/4-inch needed to get them back on. I am 100% sure that the piston is pushed fully in, and I am 100% sure that the pads are fully seated on the piston (on the inner side) and on the casting (on the outter side).

Question #2 is...."has there ever been too much "meat" on the pads where it will not go back on"?

Any help/advice is appreciated! Thanks in advance!

Since this question has not been answered....plus I found the info on my own....then all I have to say is that "this site sucks". :headshake

Sorry for your bad experience here. Answers are fairly prompt around here.

The shop probably removed the hub and knuckle to replace the bearing. This will mess up the alignment. I'm surprised they didn't align the car after the work was done.
I use a tool called "The Hub Tamer Elite". It's a tool that allows for changing the bearing on the car without removing the knuckle.
No alignment needed.

As far as the brake pads not fitting over the rotor, it still could have been that all the parts were not aligned properly. Some vehicles require that all the brake parts be perfectly aligned together or they won't slip into place. It also could be possible that Nissan made a mid year change to the braking system and you received the wrong parts.

Obviously you found the proper solution judging from your last post so I won't get into it any deeper than I already have.
I will say this though, post the solution you found.
It may help others that run into the same problem.

Laters