FIXED: Rear axle click clunk noise

LennyZCSD

The issue is now a TSB,,, bring your Z to the dealership... get it fixed for free!!!

zefaulter

Link?

DEpointfive0

Yeahhhh... I didn't understand there being a DIY, I just got my car back. Thank god. Axle click sounds so ghetto

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juld0zer

Yep, there is a TSB and the 370z is not the only Nissan affected. Any Nissan with CV joint axles has a chance of clicking.

This tutorial is for those who have been unsatisfied with the dealer's attempt st fixing the click

JARblue

My dealer said the TSB is only valid within 3yr/36K miles. They wanted over $350 for the work specified in the TSB (basically regreasing the axles - no real fix).

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bvl

Dealer is wrong. 5/60 drive train covers it. Btdt this summer at 39k on my 2010.

- b

JARblue

Its like talking to a brick wall. Everything seems to be "good will" coverage only. I don't qualify until they take enough of my money.

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bvl

The one thing I have not been able to get my hands on is the actual TSB: ask them for a copy of it. I suppose there are other dealers near by in beautiful Austin?

I'd like to hear a service manager (not the clerks: the big guy) explain how a 5/60 powertrain warranty does not include an axle.

350 is also very high: should be no more then 2hr labor, and honestly 1hr for a good tech.

I hear you on brick walls: dealers are not obligated to do anything for people but are motivated by money so should want to get your business even if its at a lower book rate for a warranty repair.

- b

JARblue

There are three dealers in Austin. I talked to all three. Same basic story - we don't have to cover it but we will under "good will" if you spend a lot of money with us. I don't, so they won't.

The service guys are idiots for the most part. I can talk circles around them when it comes to discussing these these type of things because I've done all my homework before I have the conversation. First, the axle isn't being replaced - they claim that regreasing is a maintenance item (no answer given when I asked why it's not listed as a maintenance item in the MA section of the FSM). Second, the powertrain warranty doesn't include a lot of things. You'd think it would include the rear differential bushing, but no. According to Nissan, the bushing is part of a $900 cross member piece and costs $2500 for parts and labor to replace - I paid someone <$300 to replace just the bushing with an aftermarket polyurethane bushing. Fvck Nissan, seriously.

The guy that did my bushing quoted me $120 to regrease the axles. Less than half what Nissan wanted, and they should be doing it for free

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juld0zer

not to sound like an ***, but the TSB is easy to find on the net. google for it and you'll find it pretty quickly because it applies to any Nissan with CV shafts. i'm at work at the moment otherwise i'd upload the document for all to see, but trust me it's out there.

the general idea is you need to remove both axles and slather some M77 grease NOT on the splines but the flat face that meets the back of the hub. the instructions stipulate a few grams of grease per axle.

clean the surfaces first. replace the spring washers, cotter pins, big nuts, adjuster caps if fitted, and the bolts that go into the diff side.

then torque nut to spec.

of course it's a bit more involved because to get th axles out, the rear section of exhaust, wheels etc needs to come off.

let me know if you still want the doc uploaded

JARblue

Well, I've been looking for one that applies to the 370Z. I found one that applies to 350Z (TSB 04-065 - Suspension Clicking Noise From Rear Axle). I found another one that applies to Frontiers. I did not find one that applies to all Nissan vehicles with CV shafts.

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juld0zer

you probably wont find one specific to the 370z or specifically stating for any Nissan with CV shafts. what i meant to imply was the problem is widespread and unless the Nissan has a solid axle then the vehicle is probably going to have clicky axles at some point in its life. Everything from Altimas to the R35.

i forgot to mention that the axles have to be rotated 180* from their original position when they are reinstalled

JARblue

The reason I was looking for a TSB is because the dealer is looking for any excuse to not do this work. No TSB means no warranty coverage and would explain the response I got from them.

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juld0zer

hmmm i reckon if you have the time, tools and confidence to do it then do it yourself. then you dont have to worry about all the what-if's that come after a dealer visit. eg. what if they rattle gunned the big nut on? or what if they didnt replace the single use items?

to this day i still struggle to understand how some moly grease applied to the flat mating face can magically cure this clicking noise that occurs whenever the axles are loaded/unloaded - which is clearly a rotational impact related noise. for the TSB to make sense in theory, the flat surfaces of the axle and the hub must be moving in and out on each application of the gas pedal (or side to side depending how you see it). It would make more sense if the instruction was to apply grease to the splines, but again for the splines to make that much noise there would have to be a huge amount of wear/misfit.

im no engineer but IMO the torque spec for the nut is way too low.

i believe that due to the sloppy design (pardon the pun), the constant loading and unloading of the axles particularly in forward motion creates an impact-gun like effect which breaks the nut loose. The only thing stopping the nut backing off completely is the soft cotter pin. Some models have an adjusting cap which resembles a large beer cap that goes over the nut and the cotter pin is driven thru the castellated slots of the cap. The cap is made of soft metal, not much stronger than the metal on your fridge door. The constant impact-gun like effect wears down the soft castellated slots which were once snug because the cotter pin was driven between them, holding the cap in place. Once the slots are worn, the cap becomes loose, as does the pin and the nut beneath. When the clicking noise re-emerges, the percussion from the nut to pin to cap makes the noise worse and slightly more metallic. This is why it begins as a dull clonk then becomes a full on metallic click with more distance accumulating. Nissan's choice of using a 'spring washer' IMO is also flawed. Its name implies it serves a springing function, which suggests it is promoting or at least allowing some lateral movement of the axle shaft inside the hub. This 'spring washer' is best described as a domed washer. It is not flat. Other manufacturers either have no washer or a conventional flat washer betwen hub and nut.

With further research on the applications of the nut fitted to our cars, i learnt that the torque spec is different on other vehicles (or even model years in the case of our 370z line). Therefore i concluded that it is safe to torque the nut up more than the FSM specification. Some people may have success with that alone. It didnt work for me but i've now been click-free for a long time and i'm glad i got to the bottom of it.

Sometimes you just have to take matters into your own hands because nothing anyone else does will satisfy you after all that you've been thru. the dealer might just go bonkers with the rattle gun and hand the keys back, charge you for regreasing the axles and you'll be pissed in a few months when it comes back

JARblue

My hope was to get the dealer to regrease under the TSB at no charge to me. I don't mind doing the work, but I just don't have the time to DIY it right now. I already have the castle nut and extra spring washers and cotter pins I can install myself. Can I just do those without regreasing the axles?

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