How to - "Clicky Axle" repair

[toffeeman]

I thought I'd make a little "how to" guide as there doesn't seem to be one on this topic that many Zeds suffer from.

 

Before starting I want to offer some fortuitous advice that actually ended up saving me a whole heap of cash. When I first noticed the clicky axle sound coming from my Zed I asssumed that both rear CV joints had gone and prepared myself to cough up to repair both. It wasn't until one day I noticed when fannying around with my windows whilst driving that I could hear the passenger side axle clicking with the passenger side window down but I couldn't hear anything clicking with the passenger window up and the drivers side down. This meant that the rear passenger side had gone but the drivers side was sound which ultimately meant half the cost to repair. It may seem obvious but when you hear the click you can't differentiate between the two sides without using your windows as sound barriers.

 

 

The parts I got from JDM Performance. They are vastly cheaper than Nissan themselves.

 

The actual CV joint which is the part that fails - CV Joint

The dust boot repair kit comes with a new boot, clips, new circlip and a tube of grease - Dust boot repair kit

 

They are the only parts I think you will need as the clicking comes from the CV joint so you shouldn't need wheel bearings or anything else. I also downloaded the Zed Service Manual for a 2004 model and the relevant Nissan Technical Sevice Bulletin (TSB), links to both can be found on here somewhere. They both have useful info and are worth having.

 

I am a Marine Engineer in the Royal Navy so was confident of doing the job but I would say that anybody who was semi-capable with a spanner would be able to do this job. I would suggest that you give youself a good solid few hours to do the job incase you come accross any problems that need addressing. It took me a few hours to take it all apart but it flew back together in less than an hour.

 

Okay, now the technical bit!!

 

 

1) First thing to do is to jack the car up safely and remove the relevant wheel. You can then remove the split pin from the CV joint and remove the driveshaft nut.

 

 

2) Next you have to undo the stabiliser connecting rod at the bottom to allow clearance to remove the whole driveshaft assembly.

 

 

Once the rod is undone at the bottom just swing it up out of the way and tie it up.

 

 

3) Now you need to get right under the car and undo the 6 nuts and bolts that attach the driveshaft to the rear diff. It separates with a little tap from a hammer. It looks like this.

 

 

When you separate the two bits you will the two components below. This is the diff end

 

 

This is the driveshaft end.

 

 

4) This is where I did things a little different from the manual because I saw an easier way of doing the job by using a slightly different removal route. Next I removed the brake pads and undid the brake caliper mounting bolts to remove the brake caliper from the hub.

 

NOTE - THE BRAKE HYDRAULIC SYSTEM WAS NOT COMPROMISED AT ALL AND NO BRAKEPIPES ARE TO BE UNDONE.

 

You now tie the brake caliper up to the suspension strutt so it is up out of the way.

 

 

This now forms your removal route for you driveshaft as it will come out where the brake caliper was mounted.

 

5) You can now remove the driveshaft / CV joint combo. The service manual tells you to use a set of bearing pullers to push the driveshaft out of the hub. You may not need these as my shaft came out very easily by just tapping it out with a hammer. Don't worry about whacking the CV joint as its being replaced anyway. This is probably the trickiest part of the job as you will have to guide the driveshaft out where there isn't much room. As long as you take your time and bring it out via where the brake caliper sits you will be fine. You will now have this on your bench.

 

 

6) This is the CV joint that you will be replacing.

 

 

7) You can now undo and remove the CV joint rubber boot clips. If you peel the boot back you will see this.

 

 

I was quite surprised when I removed the boot on mine as it didn't seem like there was much grease inside the CV joint. There were also patches inside the joint that were bone dry where the grease hadn't got to. That would explain the failure.

 

8) You now need to separate the CV joint from the driveshaft. The service manual tells you to use a driveshaft puller to pull the CV joint past the little circlip that holds it onto the driveshaft. I didn't have one so I improvised. I put the driveshaft in the vice with the CV joint facing down. Make sure the driveshaft is protected from the vice jaws, I used an old towel. You can now use a big heavy hammer and smack the CV joint hard until it comes off the driveshaft. Don't be afraid to really hit the CV joint hard as its being replaced anyway so any damage is irrelevant. You will now have two pieces, the old CV joint and your driveshaft. You can now remove the old boot from the driveshaft and replace the little circlip on the end with the new one that comes in the dust boot repair kit.

 

 

9) Old and new CV joints.

 

 

10) You can now empty the supplied grease tube into the new CV joint.

 

 

You will probably need more grease as there wasn't enough in the tube for my liking. The manual tells you to top the boot up as well as the CV joint but there is only enough to top the CV joint up. After much research I got a tub of Castrol LM grease from Halfords for £5. The LM stands for Lithium Molybdenum and is perfectly suited for CV joints.

 

11) You can now slide the new small dust boot clip onto the driveshaft and then slide the new dust boot onto the driveshaft. You can protect the boot by winding some protective tape onto the splined end of the driveshaft so as to not cut or nick the new dust boot. Remove the tape once dust boot is on the driveshaft.

 

12) You are now in a position to fit the new CV joint onto the driveshaft. I put the driveshaft into a vice so it sits horizontal and then tapped the new CV joint onto the splined end of the driveshaft. Put your driveshaft nut on the end of your new CV joint to both protect it and to provide a bigger tapping area for the hammer. You can also put something over the driveshaft nut as well to protect it, something like a cloth or cardboard. It doesn't have to be much as you are only tapping lightly to fit the CV joint to the driveshaft. It fits quite easily easily and you just tap until the circlip engages inside to hold it tight. You can now top the boot up with grease and connect the large and small dust boot clips and you will have something like the newly built driveshaft below.

 

 

13) The fitment is just the reversal of the removal and it goes together much easier than it comes apart.

 

 

I'm very happy with the job as the test drive confirmed that my car is now 100% click free.

 

I hope this helps to provide an insight as to the amount of work needed to fix one of the most annoying quirks of the Zed.

 

Cheers,

 

Craig.

[GIXXERUK]

TOP MAN

 

This has been needed for a long time , excellent guide craig

[neo]

excellent guide

 

have stickied this for future reference, thank you for taking the time to document the fix and post it on here

[Cool Hand Luke]

Good work Craig

[GIXXERUK]

so it costs approx £300 for a diy repair ?

[toffeeman]

so it costs approx £300 for a diy repair ?

 

Yeah, for both sides.

[Chris`I]

Nice one mate, I now know who to give the beer to if mine needs doing

[Sarnie]

Wow

[martinmac]

Nice work. A very good saving too.

 

http://www.350z-tech.com/zwiki/Category:TSB

 

http://www.350z-uk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2945

[Beavis]

Superb work

[dcash5]

Awesome Post, the only thing I would question - and this is primarily from me not doing it, is, Dont you lose any diff oil when removing the driveshaft?

[Beavis]

Awesome Post, the only thing I would question - and this is primarily from me not doing it, is, Dont you lose any diff oil when removing the driveshaft?

 

No because you are disconnecting the drive shaft from a flange left on the diff.

 

[dcash5]

Ahh sorry didnt read it close enough! Cheers Beavis

[Trev-the-Rev]

Very useful guide

[Ebized]

Now the repair is all so very clear - I had always thought the regreasing option (and done by Nissan dealers) was only a temp fix as the symptons reminded me of the old BMC driveshaft issues - damage had been done to the joints that grease alone would not fix.

 

Anyone who is wary of tackling this job themselves and is offered the 'quick fix' by the dealers can now refer them to this sticky to show them how it should be properly done. Top stuff Toffeeman

[toffeeman]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I was glad to help. I felt I rushed the ending slightly as I was up to my elbows in grease and didn't want to handle my digital camera too much.

 

Cheers,

 

Craig.

[ersen.o]

is this the tik tik tik tik tik noise that comes when your getin up a curb or something, or a completly diff noise?

[H5]

It's the noise you get when pulling away from the rear of the car

 

Great guide, thanks for taking the time out to do it.

[GIXXERUK]

It's the noise you get when pulling away from the rear of the car

 

backwards or forwards and sometime can happen when changing gear, basically when you load the rear axle with drive

[SAFC99]

Brill guide, one thing though aren't all nuts and bolts supposed to be replaced and torqued up?

[GIXXERUK]

Brill guide, one thing though aren't all nuts and bolts supposed to be replaced and torqued up?

 

and thread lock ?

[toffeeman]

Brill guide, one thing though aren't all nuts and bolts supposed to be replaced and torqued up?

 

Yeah, the driveshaft nut doesn't need to be replaced but the six nuts and bolts for the flange are supposed to be renewed. I inspected them visually and decided I could reuse them as they were in good nick. It won't harm to change them though if you can get them. All bolts and nuts were fully torqued up as per Nissan TSB and service manual. You can see my torque wrench in the background on some of my pics .

[toffeeman]

Brill guide, one thing though aren't all nuts and bolts supposed to be replaced and torqued up?

 

and thread lock ?

 

None of the original threads had threadlock on them when I dismantled it all. The six nuts and bolts for the flange actually have spring washers on them which negate the necessity for threadlock. It won't do any harm to use it if you want but Nissan never used it in the first place and it all stayed together okay. You could use it for peace of mind though.

[GIXXERUK]

Brill guide, one thing though aren't all nuts and bolts supposed to be replaced and torqued up?

 

and thread lock ?

 

None of the original threads had threadlock on them when I dismantled it all. The six nuts and bolts for the flange actually have spring washers on them which negate the necessity for threadlock. It won't do any harm to use it if you want but Nissan never used it in the first place and it all stayed together okay. You could use it for peace of mind though.

 

Nissan aren't really a good guide

[M13KYF]

brillaint write up. thanks for doing it Craig :thumbs