Rear Axle Clunk (Please Report Here!)

Mr&Mrs

Hmm I have this issue as well. Did turning off the VDC help?

Unclemeaty

Hmm.. The beginings of this thread are actually older than the length of time I've had my car (Since September). I bought my car used at about 20k miles. At 24k miles I started to hear clunking on the outside of the rear driver side wheel/axle area, more promenent when going over speed bumps, but also audible on slight accel/decel. I first thought it may have been brakes and not under warrantee, so upon inspection I found the large axle nut which holds the half-axle to the wheel hub had come loose, and backed out all thw way to the cotter pin! I was actually able to slide the whole axle about 1/8" in-and-out from the wheel hub in the state it was found, while the axle nut had been backed out about 4 turns 'natually' over time.

I fixed it myself since I was right there, in the garage, with some tools available. The axle nut is about 1.25" in diameter...

All I did to fix was first clean the area a from some of the grit/grease globs, pack in a bit of greese as best I could, and then re-torque the axle nut with a new locking sleve and cotter pin. The car is now at 33k miles and makes no noise at all.

More notes on this; Nissan did include a cotter pin, but from the looks of it did NOT design the axle nut to be locked in place by a cotter pin. Usually axle nuts have slits ot holes in them, or in other designs I've seen are something like this:





On my car, a standard cotter pin is in association with a standard nut on the axle; meaning theres no way the axle nut can be kept from loosening up about 4 full turns before finally beig stopped by the cotter pin.


My car's axle nut looked like THIS, without splines for locking with the stock cotter-pin.


Also the natural forward roll and rotation of the assembly could cause the Axle nutt to back out as well, as it is of regular and not reversed thread pattern. I could only speculate, but I bet the passenger side does not have this issue as forward rotation should tend to keep the assembly TIGHT.

JvKintheUSA

Wow! I better check that nut under my car this weekend!

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Juruki

wheres this nut located? got any pics?

Unclemeaty

I dont have any pics, but here is a pic of a similar axle nut from another vehicle. Basically, you can get access to this nut simply by removing one of the rear wheels. The nut will be right in front of you then, and is about 1.25" in diameter.

This image shows an axle nut WITH a retainer for the cotter pin. My/our cars do not have this retainer.

Unclemeaty

Part number 43084 in this picture; this is an actual parts layout for the rear of a 370z. Also notice the cotter pin: #3262A

Boost_lee

Getting a clunk at 17k miles. Ill include this on my checklist for tomorrow.

RedZed34

wow, interesting... my car actually seemed to (randomly) stop making the clunk sound that I commented about back in post# 1... but I'm definitely going to check on that axle nut/cotter pin situation. Thanks 'unclemeaty' for the info!

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JvKintheUSA

Thanks for the pics. This is a safety issue and should be a recall IMO.

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Mr&Mrs

My car is all torn apart right now so Im going to check this out as well. Rep for you thanks!

Juruki

Ive been hearing the clunk for the last couple of months but my car is too low for the dealer : (

crazyyankfan

Just saw this in the manual:

"The computer has a built-in diagnostic feature
that tests the system each time you start the
engine and move the vehicle forward or in
reverse at a slow speed. When the self-test
occurs, you may hear a “clunk” noise and/or feel
a pulsation in the brake pedal. This is normal and
is not an indication of a malfunction."

MacCool

I get that occasionally, usually in the morning as I back out the garage.

crazyyankfan

i believe this sound which the manual mentions is probably what a lot of people have experienced with the seem-to-be "rear axle clunk"

pa19103

After reading all this. I still don't know what to make of it. I test drove 2 2011 370z's both with Sports, S-Mode off or on, VDC off or on, didn't make much of a difference. This is my first RWD car and hearing this noise from both cars, my initial reaction was "well the power is transferred to the back, so it would seem natural in a way, as long as it's not too loud, it should be ok."

Right now I own in of the the Z I test drove. Yes the noise is there, is it unbearable? No. I will hold my judgement after I put more mileage on it. I might even go test drive a G37 and hear it myself.

This reminds me of the 2005-2006 Acura RSX Type-S second gear grind and the steering "clicking." Owners on that forum had a petition going and all, trying to get Honda/Acura an answer or fix. Well, after 90,000 miles I put mine, the second gear is it is what it is. My RSX still drives great, and the steering clicking had gone since 30,000 miles.

I am not saying the RSX issues are comparable to those to the 370z's, nor am I saying they will go away or become worse. Like couple other guys on here said, every car has quirks, just like my brother's EVO X, my parents' Volvo and my old Civic SI. Unless you beat on it or drive very hard all the time, I don't think you should worry too much. Of course, there will be a few bad apples out there but we all hope we don't have that bad one.

All I gotta say is, 370z is a good car for the money, drive it, be happy, smile and enjoy! If it bothers you so much, take it to the stealership. If it breaks, fix it.