Metallic clicking sound from rear of car
 

Not sure if this is the right forum, so apologize in advance.

I just bought an 09 370z which checked out fine with Nissan, however I've noticed periodically I'll hear a metal clicking sound from the rear end of the car when I'm driving in my parking garage (so that it can reflect).

I've looked under the car and don't see anything loose, have loaded both sides of the suspension and it doesn't make any noise. The only thing remotely close to that sound I can duplicate is the center cap on the wheel which looks a little loose from time to time.

Has anyone heard of this or experienced it?

Thanks in advance!

Without hearing it I could say for sure, but there was a rear axle clicking issue with the 350z that a lot of people (including myself) had repaired under a TSB. I've never heard of it being common on the 370 though. If I remember correctly, mine showed up when I was backing up.

No baseball cards in the spokes are there? :icon17:

Nope, no baseball cards lol. It happens randomly and seems to happen first thing in the morning when I'm just rolling out of my parking garage. Seems go go away in a few minutes. I figure when we tear the suspension apart for my drop in a week or so we can take a look.

I may take it to Nissan since it's still under warranty and have them check it out again.

Found this post on the forum: http://www.the370z.com/nissan-370z-g...low-speed.html

I'm scheduling my car to be serviced tomorrow morning. Hopefully that's all it is and they fix it.

Update for whomever is reading. This issue is covered in a TSB but Mossy Nissan here in Houston said that the procedure of rotating the axles and greasing the diff/etc is considered an "adjustment" and only covered in the first 12,000 miles of service.

So I had to drop my car off with them for 3 hours and will probably end up having to pay 350+ for them to fix it.

Totally sucks, but I guess in the end it's cheaper than an axle or cv going out. (Shrug)

Just picked up my car and it seems to drive better already. Much more responsive. Nissan said the rear axles were bone dry and starting to wear. They repacked and rotated the axles so hopefully this helps with the clicking noise.

If it clicks tomorrow morning I'm going to scream. :bowrofl:

updates? my 370 is clicking like mad back there anytime i go from reverse to forward or vice versa... basically any time i reverse load on axles there is some nasty clicking from whatever has slack back there.

just curious if this permenantly fixed your sound... if so i guess i will have to pack the axles with some grease soon... though i dont see how rotating them is going to change anything....

So far no clicking whatsoever. Rotating the axles is part of their TSB supposedly. My splines were already getting worn. Just unfortunate I had to pay for it..

I think I'd ask another dealer.

Pull the rear-driver side wheel off and check the ~1.25 inch axle nut - It takes you about 5 minutes to check this. I had found the axle nut on mine had backed out a full 2 turns and made the metalic clanking that you may be experiencing. I dont think the passenger side has this issue due to rotational direction. Let me know what you find. I had posted some pictures in another thread about this.

My car does it too :(

Do u have a picture of this nut?

And I paid Nissan $370 to do this? :owned:

do you know the torque rating for this offhand? I can look through the service manual but too lazy. :icon17:

my car does not click but something to jot down in my notes.

133 ft/lbs.

I don't have it on my car yet, and the axle hub lock nut is good and tight. I did have the problem on my previous car, the G35 at about the 2 year mark. The dealer performed the axle rotation/lubrication as mentioned in the TSB and it was gone after that.

thanks! i will keep this in my notes and make it habit to check the torque from time to time. i might even be able to reach it without removing my wheel since i dont use center caps on my Weds. :D (not sure, will see)

i do remember reading about this in the G35 forums as well. :) luckily my 04 G35C has not had this noise the last 7yrs, but if it ever makes this noise i know wat to do.

where is this nut located?

It is in the center of the hub behind your rear wheel (access may be possible through the wheel with the center cap removed). It is what holds your wheel hub on, and hence keeps your wheel attached and the axle attached to the hub.

There has only been 1 report of this being loose that I'm aware of so far, but it's a good thing to check if you have the wheel off anyway.

What's the story with greasing the axles? I found the section in the service manual that talks about packing them with grease. But there's no mention of re-greasing them in the maintenance manual intervals.

They only re-grease them if they click, it isn't considered a regular maintenance item.

Good to know. Taking them apart looks like a royal PITA.

YouTube - ‪370z‬‏

My car also has the metal clicking sound. Please watch my video and tell me what you guys think...

Mine sounds like a metal on metal click... I will try and get a recording later for you guys. Might as well put that gopro to work.

Just a heads up, my metal sound is back again. It sounds like a thin metallic sound, like a "clink" or "plink" sound. I'm trying to find a pattern as to when it happens only thing I've been able to do is this.

Take off in 1st gear, hit the gas, let off completely immediately. The bucking causes a small "plink" sound from somewhere towards the rear of the car. Also seems to happen when I'm on uneven road more so than flat.

I'm probably going to have to take it back to Nissan but I seriously can't afford dumping another $300+ while these guys chase ghosts.

I'm taking the car back to Nissan Friday. But to a different dealer who's Mod-friendly and offers really good service. I'm hoping they find something and fix it this time under warranty. I'm at 33k and want to get this fixed before I run out of warranty on the car.

So I took my Z to Baker Nissan here in Houston yesterday. They drove the car around for a couple hours trying to find out where the sound was coming from. They said it was definitely not the TSB rear-axle issue (which they said they would have taken care of for free).

So they still have my car and are going to try to swap the drive shafts/rear end from another 09 on the rack for an engine replacement to see if it helps. If so, they will order the parts and install under warranty.

The worst that's coming out of this is having to pay for a rental daily, but oh well. I'll keep everyone updated..

Link to Youtube video of sound. For some reason embedding isn't working for me
YouTube - ‪370z Metallic Click Sound‬‏

Any more news?

I've noticed a clicking from my car in the parking garage as well. It actually sounds like a nail in the tire going around and clicking on the ground as I'm rolling slowly. However, I've searched for nails and found none. I also seem to hear it only when I'm turning slowly, but not when i'm going in a straight line. It's a pretty faint click so I'm considering just ignoring it.

noticed same thing. turning right the frequency increases. going straight or left nothing.

heres one thing for you guys to check... those of you who have removed your axle nuts for any reason. when i changed my rear wheel studs i had to pull out the hubs due to ARP studs 3" length. when i reinstalled i used new cotter pins for the axle nut. since the second i left i immediately heard the cotter pins ticking as i drive slowly and they flop around in position. to this day they still annoy the hell out of me as ive been too lazy to pull the wheel and make the cotter pins more snug in position. ive verified the sound easily though since my TE37SLs have no center caps i just got out of the car and jiggled them and knew immediately that was my new sound. Now i know why the factory installed cotter pins had a heavy grease/paste on them, to keep them from jiggling around!

but i also definitely have the axle clicking too. i recognize it from my 350z. its most noticeable when switching direction from reverse to forward and vice versa as the lash in the joints swaps directions.

Here's my update...

After 5 days of Nissan driving my car they couldn't locate the exact location of the sound. They tried swapping axles, driveshafts, and other parts but couldn't nail it.

Finally they tightened down all of the suspension components and also greased the axles again (the previous dealer only greased the diff side, not the hub side which was dry). After that the noise went away.

I've had it for about 4 days now and I haven't heard the sound except one time pulling out of my parking spot in the garage. May have been my imagination but we'll see what happens. If it continues they are going to replace the diff, but I'll also have them check the cotter pins as you had suggested.

I've only had this car for 2 months and it's been in the shop for half of that. Sometimes I wish I wouldn't have gotten rid of my Mazdaspeed3. But I did buy a 09 Z so maybe that's part of it...

What you need is a set of these :tup:

http://www.the370z.com/members/zat_z...dss-axles1.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/zat_z...ss-axles-2.jpg

i too am hearing a clicking sound but it sounds like its from all four wheels. i was changing the tranny fluid the other day and noticed when i move the H&R spacers back and forth while the wheel is off its EXACTLY the same ticking/clicking noise i hear when i take off or decelerate. i would drive around with out them to see if thats it but i have extended studs on and im afraid the lug nuts wont seat all the way on.

The noise I STILL here is a "plink" sound. Like a metallic higher pitch clink.

What sort of axles are those? It may be worth swapping out to get rid of this noise as Nissan is doing nothing to help.

Guys one thing to consider is the wheel bearing. An outside bearing is spinning faster when turning the opposite way which may increase the clicking sound. They don't typically wear this fast but it might be worth it to check out.

Good point. I only hear the clink sound when I first take off from a stop though. Nissan had it for 7 days and couldn't figure it out.

DSS Level 5 rear axles

will the 350 ones fit a 370?

No, they will not fit, the 370Z axles are different length compared to a 350Z.

well then why did you post pics of something that wont work. i went to their site and they dont sell a 370Z set yet.... am i missing something?

They can custom make it. Driveshafts as well.