FIXED: Rear axle click clunk noise

juld0zer · 11-26-2014, 01:01 AM

your boots look fine mate. those rusty components are rusty on mine too. no issue

remember to mark the original installation position then rotate 180 degrees from the mark before refitting - if you want to follow the service manual to a T

Guavazo · 12-01-2014, 04:29 PM

Just had a Talk with the Nissan corporate, as TSB like this should be covered under power train warranty, but still refuse to do anything with it. Thinking just live with it or fix it next spring.

zefaulter · 12-01-2014, 06:43 PM

It's simple fix just takes time. Not even sure if it's 100% necessary

JARblue · 12-01-2014, 06:48 PM

A guy here in Texas drove over 30K miles with the axle click. He has since sold his Z, but he never had any problems related to it.

Guavazo · 12-01-2014, 07:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JARblue

A guy here in Texas drove over 30K miles with the axle click. He has since sold his Z, but he never had any problems related to it.

Haha, I know its one of those good will service the dealer can do, and since I do most of the maintenance myself I don't spend much money at the dealer. I probably out of luck. I just feel corporate response "take it to other dealer and pay them a diagnostic fee to see if they willing to fix it for free" is a bad customer service.

This should be place under the schedule maintenance to re-apply grease since nothing is broken. and there known way to resolve the problem.

chops · 12-15-2014, 12:07 AM

finally had time to do this today. ran into a roadblock kind of. the nut doesnt really reach the castellated portion with 2 spring washers. had to add a 3rd just to get it high enough for the cotter pin to grab. heres a pic with 2 spring washers under the kawasaki nut. need to order 2 more spring washers for the other side now

juld0zer · 12-15-2014, 12:21 AM

hmmm that's a bit odd. i actually had to tighten mine down a bit more to get the hole in the axle to line up with a slot. Sorry for the troubles! was the Kawasaki nut the same height as the OEM nut?

Is your OEM setup with the beer cap thing over the nut with a wide base (ie. flange nut) or just a plain standard nut with no cap?

chops · 12-15-2014, 01:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by juld0zer

hmmm that's a bit odd. i actually had to tighten mine down a bit more to get the hole in the axle to line up with a slot. Sorry for the troubles! was the Kawasaki nut the same height as the OEM nut?

Is your OEM setup with the beer cap thing over the nut with a wide base (ie. flange nut) or just a plain standard nut with no cap?

my OEM setup is with that soft piece of **** adjusting cap on top of the flange nut. and yes the kawasaki nut and the OEM nut is almost the same height. they look to be exactly the same as yours

cfran22 · 12-16-2014, 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chops

my OEM setup is with that soft piece of **** adjusting cap on top of the flange nut. and yes the kawasaki nut and the OEM nut is almost the same height. they look to be exactly the same as yours

My Castle nuts are on the way but I can see that I will have the same problem as you. I put 2 spring washers behind the OEM nut, which is taller than the Kawasaki nuts, and the OEM nut was behind the hole.

cfran22 · 12-16-2014, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by juld0zer

Hey guys,
As some of you will know, i've been battling these clicking axles for a while. I have tried:
- Lazy fix - basically removing the big nut, pushing the axle in as far as possible and injecting a crapload of wheel bearing grease. Then torquing up the nut to spec. Didn't last long at all.

NB: There are 2 torque specs depending on your year model/the way the big nut is secured.

- Official Nissan fix using Molykote M77 grease. Involves removing both axles, cleaning and applying this special grease and replacing all nuts, bolts, cotter pins, caps. This solution didn't last long - i had my hopes up but i also had my doubts that this super-grease could cushion the metallic click to the point where Nissan engineers declared it as eliminated. For those who want to try it but can't find the grease, you can buy it in a tube from your Honda motorcycle dealer. Google "Honda M77 assembly paste".

- Re-torquing the nut an extra 10Nm each time the noise reappeared. I couldn't go on forever retorquing the nut. With the success i was having, i'd be up to 300Nm by now.

*drum roll*
This is the solution that has eliminated the noise for me. The noise used to come back every 4000km, on alternate sides. This solution has worked for the past 9000km (almost 5 months). I am driving the car harder now that i have some mods too. No, it doesn't involve Loctite and it doesn't cost a fortune either.

Here's what you need if you want to have a go:

- Kawasaki axle nut (yes, seriously). Part number 92210-0280. They're about $15 each from your local Kawasaki dealer. The nut is almost identical in dimensions to the OEM flange type nut - you use the same socket too. Kawasaki specifies similar torque specs to what Nissan specifies so there's no doubt the nut can handle it. It's made in Japan so it must be good, right? :P

This particular nut is castellated, so it combines the OEM big nut plus the pathetic OEM 'adjusting cap' (as fitted to 2011 models and other year models) into one nut. Unlike the weak tin steel prongs of the adjusting cap, the 6 slots in the Kawasaki nut won't get crushed over time from the constant banging of the cotter pin when you accelerate/coast. The slots are also quite snug when you use an OEM cotter pin so again, there's almost no possibility of movement.

http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/photo1-1.jpg
http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/photo2-1.jpg

- 2 OEM spring washers. One for each side. You'll need the washers to make up the gap because the Kawasaki nut, being just as tall as the OEM nut, will not reach the cotter pin hole in the end of the axle. In the OEM setup, the 'adjusting cap' would sit over the nut and its prongs would reach the cotter pin hole.

- New OEM cotter pins. Don't re-use the old ones. You dont want to be forever mucking around with this.

- Torque the nut up to the OEM spec for a 370z with adjusting cap. You'll notice that the castellated slots don't line up with the cotter pin hole in the axle. This is fine. Use your breaker bar and turn the nut until the next available slot lines up with the hole.

How you torque the nut is up to you. Some prefer to mount the wheel and lower the car til the wheel touches the ground. I just put a jack stand underneath the rotor hat and lowered the car til some weight was resting on the jack stand.

- Fit NEW cotter pin and secure it properly. You might need a small hammer to push it thru.

http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/a...r/photo3-1.jpg

- Reinstall wheel and enjoy

I hope you enjoy the same success as i did. You don't have to use a Kawasaki nut but any castellated nut of the same thread and diameter will be fine. Don't use an aluminium or soft metal nut.

Good luck!

What do you think about using the Kawasaki nuts as lock nuts over the OEM ones? I'm thinking to torque the OEM nut, then use an impact wrench to lock up the Kawasaki one. The question is, what are the chances of the lock nut coming loose.

juld0zer · 12-16-2014, 06:33 PM

can you guys post a pic of the original nut with adjusting cap side by side with the kawasaki nut sitting on top of two spring washers? i'm starting to think there might be a variation in the position of the hole drilled thru the axles.

cfran22 · 12-16-2014, 06:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by juld0zer

can you guys post a pic of the original nut with adjusting cap side by side with the kawasaki nut sitting on top of two spring washers? i'm starting to think there might be a variation in the position of the hole drilled thru the axles.

My setup had no locking cap, just the Cutter pin. The nut is a couple of mm behind the cutter pin. I don't get my Kawasaki nuts until tomorrow, hopefully.

JARblue · 12-16-2014, 06:51 PM

I actually reused the existing single washer that was there and then used two new spring washers on each side. So there were three used on each side. The cotter pin ended up sideways to make sure there was no play.

chops · 12-16-2014, 09:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JARblue

I actually reused the existing single washer that was there and then used two new spring washers on each side. So there were three used on each side. The cotter pin ended up sideways to make sure there was no play.

thats exactly how mine is by using 3 spring washers on each side

juld0zer · 12-16-2014, 10:04 PM

neither the OEM nor the Kawasaki nuts are lock nuts afaik. That's why the cotter pin is there - to prevent the nut coming completely off. However in the 2011 model, the flange nut is covered by a castellated flimsy 'adjusting cap' which is supposed to prevent almost any free movement of the nut beneath. Because it is so flimsy, the castellated slots are easily defeated and the cap itself is a loose fit over the nut. Early models had just the plain hex nut with a cotter pin several millimetres away from the top of the nut. In this configuration, the torque spec is higher than the 2011 model with adjusting cap and flange nut.

because of the adjusting cap's flimsy construction, loose fit and the lax fit of the cotter pin in the axle hole, there is so much potential for it to eventually work loose and cause the clicking noise. I imagine the splines in the hub and axle are also quite a loose fit and hence the constant to/fro rotational forces work like an impact wrench to break the nut loose. The low torque spec for the flange nut (less than wheel nut torque) is surprising. For the adjusting cap to be effective, the potential movement it is designed to restrict/prevent must be only a few degrees - which means the nut it is trying to hold must be f'ing tight to begin with. But it isnt.

Anyway, back to your question - dont use any impact tools to tighten these nuts. If you cant tighten it to spec then get a larger breaker bar onto it.

The reason the Kawasaki nut worked for me is because it is both tight (tad tighter than factory spec) and unable to move (castellated slots are barely big enough for the cotter pin to fit thru so it's a very snug fit.
Again, i apologise for any inconvenience i have caused due to me not accounting for various OEM configurations. I hope that you can all resolve this issue successfully - please post up any relevant pics so future visitors may gain from our collective experiences

11-26-2014, 01:01 AM	#61 (permalink)
juld0zer Enthusiast Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Sydney Posts: 428 Drives: 11 Nissan 370Z MB M6 Rep Power: 139	your boots look fine mate. those rusty components are rusty on mine too. no issue remember to mark the original installation position then rotate 180 degrees from the mark before refitting - if you want to follow the service manual to a T zefaulter likes this.

12-01-2014, 06:48 PM	#64 (permalink)
JARblue A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Austin, TX Age: 43 Posts: 36,450 Drives: 11 Z34, 98 E36 M3 Rep Power: 2684440	A guy here in Texas drove over 30K miles with the axle click. He has since sold his Z, but he never had any problems related to it. vman12 likes this. __________________ 2011 370Z 6MT Sport Gun Metallic \| ARC \| CJM \| Ecutek \| FI \| Fujimura \| R2C \| SPL \| Stillen \| TWM \| Z1 \| ZSpeed \|

12-15-2014, 12:07 AM	#66 (permalink)
chops A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: NA Posts: 1,732 Drives: NA Rep Power: 22	finally had time to do this today. ran into a roadblock kind of. the nut doesnt really reach the castellated portion with 2 spring washers. had to add a 3rd just to get it high enough for the cotter pin to grab. heres a pic with 2 spring washers under the kawasaki nut. need to order 2 more spring washers for the other side now vman12 likes this.

12-16-2014, 10:04 PM	#75 (permalink)
juld0zer Enthusiast Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Sydney Posts: 428 Drives: 11 Nissan 370Z MB M6 Rep Power: 139	neither the OEM nor the Kawasaki nuts are lock nuts afaik. That's why the cotter pin is there - to prevent the nut coming completely off. However in the 2011 model, the flange nut is covered by a castellated flimsy 'adjusting cap' which is supposed to prevent almost any free movement of the nut beneath. Because it is so flimsy, the castellated slots are easily defeated and the cap itself is a loose fit over the nut. Early models had just the plain hex nut with a cotter pin several millimetres away from the top of the nut. In this configuration, the torque spec is higher than the 2011 model with adjusting cap and flange nut. because of the adjusting cap's flimsy construction, loose fit and the lax fit of the cotter pin in the axle hole, there is so much potential for it to eventually work loose and cause the clicking noise. I imagine the splines in the hub and axle are also quite a loose fit and hence the constant to/fro rotational forces work like an impact wrench to break the nut loose. The low torque spec for the flange nut (less than wheel nut torque) is surprising. For the adjusting cap to be effective, the potential movement it is designed to restrict/prevent must be only a few degrees - which means the nut it is trying to hold must be f'ing tight to begin with. But it isnt. Anyway, back to your question - dont use any impact tools to tighten these nuts. If you cant tighten it to spec then get a larger breaker bar onto it. The reason the Kawasaki nut worked for me is because it is both tight (tad tighter than factory spec) and unable to move (castellated slots are barely big enough for the cotter pin to fit thru so it's a very snug fit. Again, i apologise for any inconvenience i have caused due to me not accounting for various OEM configurations. I hope that you can all resolve this issue successfully - please post up any relevant pics so future visitors may gain from our collective experiences vman12 likes this.

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12-01-2014, 04:29 PM	#62 (permalink)
Guavazo Base Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: ME Posts: 61 Drives: 10 370Z PG+Sport 6MT Rep Power: 15	Just had a Talk with the Nissan corporate, as TSB like this should be covered under power train warranty, but still refuse to do anything with it. Thinking just live with it or fix it next spring.

12-01-2014, 06:43 PM	#63 (permalink)
zefaulter A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,983 Drives: 40th 370Z Rep Power: 27	It's simple fix just takes time. Not even sure if it's 100% necessary

12-15-2014, 12:21 AM	#67 (permalink)
juld0zer Enthusiast Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Sydney Posts: 428 Drives: 11 Nissan 370Z MB M6 Rep Power: 139	hmmm that's a bit odd. i actually had to tighten mine down a bit more to get the hole in the axle to line up with a slot. Sorry for the troubles! was the Kawasaki nut the same height as the OEM nut? Is your OEM setup with the beer cap thing over the nut with a wide base (ie. flange nut) or just a plain standard nut with no cap?

12-16-2014, 06:33 PM	#71 (permalink)
juld0zer Enthusiast Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Sydney Posts: 428 Drives: 11 Nissan 370Z MB M6 Rep Power: 139	can you guys post a pic of the original nut with adjusting cap side by side with the kawasaki nut sitting on top of two spring washers? i'm starting to think there might be a variation in the position of the hole drilled thru the axles.