Nismo 6mt owners: Excessive transmission chatter?
 

Hey guys,

2nd gear low rpm (1200ish) crawling in traffic I'll hear chatter from the transmission. Not sure if it's the flywheel, clutch or tranny itself. It does seem to get worse the longer the car has been driven so maybe it's connected to temperature and heat. 3rd gear does it at the same rpm too...not that I usually drive that low rpm but I was curious to see if other gears would do it too which is how I found out about 3rd. Last week Nissan replaced the tranny due to a grinding gear so the new tranny only has 160 miles on it and I've been driving it very easy. The tech stated that he didn't touch the clutch and flywheel.

Not sure if the Nismo Z models come equipped with Nismo flywheels, so that's why this is specifically directed to Nismo owners. But if we share the same flywheel with our base and non-Nismo counterparts, I'd welcome that feedback :driving:

Is there a temperature connection with the chatter and does the fact that this happens in more than 1 gear point away from an internal transmission issue?

Thanks!

Mines has always done that, when it was stock and now with the 6 puck clutch, so I'd say it's pretty normal

Was yours related to heat? Meaning the longer the car has been on, the worse the chatter got? Yours was in 2nd and 3rd gear too?

I noticed it mostly in 1st after a lot of driving yea

Can't hear chit with mine. Too much exhaust noise. :D

Started noticing it in 1st now. It's definitely temperature related. The hotter the car gets, the worse the rattle or chatter. Does the fact that it happens in 1st, 2nd and 3rd gear turn away from a tranny issue and more to a clutch or flywheel issue?

Dropped the car off with the dealer. Took a ride with a tech and he didn't say it was normal.

Basically, 2nd gear very low rpm, around 1100 or so, light acceleration and it'll sound like a cement mixer with a lot of chatter. Going into 3rd at low rpm does it too. Sounds a bit like this guy except he has a 350z with aftermarket clutch and flywheel setup

Listen to the 0:27 mark
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YyFgTg57j0Y

I don't think an oem setup should sound like this. I'll hear more on Monday hopefully.

This is normal. Happened with 350z's and g35's alike. My genesis even made this same chatter. My 370z makes the same sound as well.

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The 0:27 mark in th video... That's the noise yours makes even with an oem setup?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YyFgTg57j0Y

That's a lot louder than what I'm used to hearing. that sound, I believe, is normal.

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Makes me wonder if my car already has a lightened flywheel that's causing this chatter. I bought it used so it's possible. Any way to tell aside from dropping the tranny?

I don't think an oem setup should chatter like this at low rpm and no one has replied saying theirs does this too. But I ask again... does the fact the chatter happens in gears 1-5 at low rpm (1200ish) point AWAY from a gearbox issue?

Nah it could be. No way to tell unless you drop the tranny. I do know my brand new 2016z did this with only 4 miles on it. Its not super loud but it does chatter especially after the car is warmed up some. Depress the clutch and chatter is gone. Release and the noise returns.

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From what you're saying it seems like this happens at idle with you. Mine happens low rpm in most gears... around 1200 rpm.

I can't figure out what you are doing to get your tranny to chatter at that low of an RPM. Are you lugging it in too high of a gear at slow speeds? Try downshifting into a lower gear. IF you lug the car, you will get strange tranny noises.

Yea, try this.

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2nd gear at 1200 rpm is definitely not lugging, at least I wouldn't think so. It's the equivalent of coming to a rolling stop and accelerating out in 2nd gear. 3rd gear at 20 mph also results in this chatter, which I also don't consider lugging esp. since it's higher than the manufacturer's recommended shift point. If someone could try to replicate this under those situations and report back, that would really help me troubleshoot.

Also, the dealer had their master tech ride with me, the same guy who performed the transmission replacement. He saw exactly when I shifted and didn't say it was too low or an rpm but seemed puzzled why the chattering was happening.

Again, it's a heat issue and only happens after the car has been driven a bit. The noises I'm hearing usually only happen with an aftermarket flywheel setup, it shouldn't happen with oem stuff.

Hrm isn't 3rd gear at 20mph too low of a gear?

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I wouldn't say so. When I drive locally, I turn onto streets in 3rd gear at ~15mph or so and the car feels fine. I never listened for the noise though

My stock clutch ONLY chatters at low RPMs (or idle). The more throttle applied at low RPMs, the more chatter. If you're getting on the throttle at all while at 1200 RPMs (in any gear), that is lugging and definitely causing the chatter. The Z likes high revs. I make casual shifts around 3-4K RPMs, meaning my next gear engages near 2500 RPMs or so. Shifting in this manner virtually eliminates all chatter on the stock clutch in every gear except 1st.

You're just fine at 20 mph in 3rd gear. The owner's manual says you can be in 6th gear at 35 mph. I definitely don't make it a habit, but I have done a 1st to 6th shift before :ugh:

Thanks Jar. Do you happen to notice if this is a temperature-related issue with your tranny, meaning, it won't happen the first few minutes of a cold start but will start chattering when it gets driven more? That's exactly the case with mine... first few minutes it's quite and no chatter even if I lug the engine. But if I lug the engine with low rpm once the car gets hot, it will chatter like I have an aftermarket clutch/flywheel

The sound I have heard from a hot Z trans like this is under very little load at low RPM in a low gear, i.e. maintaining 10 mph in 2nd gear, barely on the gas, etc. If you actually step on the gas, you don't hear it. I think the best guess I've heard is that it's the input shaft bearings, which is why it does it more when hot vs. cold, and I think a small amount of it is normal (I've heard multiple Z's do it.)

If you're really hearing it chug away like a Model T when you step on the gas and you're not lugging the engine hard, you might have a trans that's on the worse end of tolerances, I suppose. It could also be knock. Or, it could be clutch/flywheel chatter. It's really tough to say.

You never noticed this with your previous trans, I take it? If that's the case, I would take a wild-*** guess and say your new trans input shaft is way on the loose end. Sounds like the tech didn't like the sound of it, so hopefully you get a better replacement trans?

I hope I get a replacement for the replacement but I don't know how inclined Nissan will be to approve 2 replacement in 1 month. My fear is they will tell me it's normal after their evaluation and I'm stuck with a flawed tranny.

Hopefully they will get back to me today with some news. I think they might call the regional service tech if they're stumped

Dealer gave me the car back today. The tech explained to me that because the transmission is loosely meshed at that rpm and that low speed, it'll rattle more. I'm not too pleased but they told me to stop by tomorrow and test drive a brand new 0 mile 2016 Z to see if it makes the same noise.

Can any of you try to see if your car will make this noise? 3rd gear at 1100 rpm with very light acceleration. I'm going insane right now. All I want to know is it other cars do this with the oem setup or not

Can you get this on video ? I'm pretty sure you're hearing normal transmission noise, these cars are really clunky and noisy

Tried man...video isn't picking it up properly