Mrdeli Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 Disclaimer - this worked for me and has for lots in the USA. I am not a trained mechanic - if you are unsure of mechanics leave this to an expert. I take no responsibility for any works that you choose to do to your car – any works are at your own judgement and risk. I would rate this repair as easy diy. My car has suffered from the well documented clicking noise (from drivers side) rear axle since purchase. There is an awful lot of information on the web about it - but the more you research it, the more different answers are thrown up. (It is possible of course that various different problems exist). I have however come to the conclusion that most posts assume that the universal joints are the problem. This initially seems to be logical - but I now believe in the vast majority of cases these are a red herring. My car exhibited 'classic' signs of the clicking axle problem. From standing still each time I moved off (forward or backwards) the rear axle would make a clicking sound. Also underway if I stepped off the gas and then back on it would often click. The click is not a constant click, just a one off click each time. Logic would assume that the universal joint may have a play in it, and that the 'slack' being taken up is what is causing the click. I was so convinced that this was the answer to the problem that I was about to purchase new universal joints. I then came across this thread – http://m.my350z.com/forum/showthread.php?t=428639 Initially on the above thread it stated the fix was to remove the axle, grease and rotate the joint etc... But by the end of the thread the problem had been traced to insufficient lubrication to the inner edge of the axle splins and collar. Better still, to add lubrication just requires the axle nut to be slacked off, the axle pushing in around 1 1/2 inches and the area being lubricated. With hope more than expectation I did this today. Result - instant and 100% cure of the noise. If you read the thread you will see that persons who have done this fix a year or more ago have not had the problems return. It is however worth ensuring that a high quality grease is used (some have used a marine type). Tools required: 32mm axle socket (I purchased one from eBay at £3.8p), Breaker bar (tesco £5.99), Artist paint brushes to help apply the grease (12 pack from eBay £1.97, grease (I used Lucas x-tra heavy duty marine & bearing grease), lump of wood, torque wrench and pliers. First off jack up the car and remove the wheel (chock wheels). Use the pliers to remove the split pin. Attach the socket and loosen nut with the breaker bar or similar (anti-clockwise). Spin the nut off so it becomes flush with the end of the thread. Now push the axle in (you may wish to clonk it with a lump of wood or similar if it is stiff – by keeping the nut flush with the axle thread end, you should protect the thread from damage – don’t hit it too hard though!). Once it’s pushed in as far as it will go, look behind the disc and you will see the axle splins and collar exposed. Apply grease liberally to this area. Release the handbrake (ensure wheels chocked) and rotate the wheel so you can grease the other areas. Once greased, tighten the nut again (I think the torque is 177lbs) and this will draw the axle back out. Insert the split pin again and put the wheel back on - great now you have no more clicking! ïŠ Job time around 35 mins per side. Tips. 1. It’s a good idea to chock wheels as the hand brake is not effective when raising the rear wheels (also you may need to release the handbrake to rotate the hub for access when greasing. 2. It is a good idea to use axle stands as well as the jack for safety. Good luck 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrdeli Posted April 1, 2012 Author Share Posted April 1, 2012 . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrdeli Posted April 1, 2012 Author Share Posted April 1, 2012 . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zugara Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 Been saying this since we did Doogyrevs Clicky axle.....amen..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrdeli Posted April 1, 2012 Author Share Posted April 1, 2012 Yes I'm delighted. My rear driver axle clicked every time from start. Now completely cured. The CV joints are a complete red herring (though logically seem to make perfact sence!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctor austin Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 Thank you so much for taking the effort to document this...brilliant. This IS the best Forum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrdeli Posted April 1, 2012 Author Share Posted April 1, 2012 My pleasure - I've followed a few guides on here - so nice to be able to help others back. PS. The best thing about doing the fix this way is that nothing actually needs to be unassembled, just loosening - so it could hardly be any easier! (and of course its virtually free). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrdeli Posted April 1, 2012 Author Share Posted April 1, 2012 PPS. Just be be clear I think its the lubricating of the collar rather than the splines which solves the noise - i'll try and post a clearer pic of this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob22 Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 Gotta be worth a go before ordering a new unit. Will def be trying this. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrdeli Posted April 1, 2012 Author Share Posted April 1, 2012 So in the picture below we can see the collar in blue. The photo shows the outer face of the collar (we want to lubricate the inner face of the collar - so that lubrication is provided between the inner face of the blue area and the red area of the hub). Grease needs to go around the circumfrence of the inner collar edge. On the other forum thread (link provided in my first post) - some have also lubricated the splines - but I'm not sure this makes any difference with respect to the clicking - it seems the collar area is where the problem comes from. Hope this helps. Mark 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrdeli Posted April 1, 2012 Author Share Posted April 1, 2012 Gotta be worth a go before ordering a new unit. Will def be trying this. Thanks Hi Rob, I am very confident this will work for you. Good luck, let me know how you go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrdeli Posted April 1, 2012 Author Share Posted April 1, 2012 Whilst I think on. If the axle nut is difficult to get off, it may be worth removing the split pin, then putting the car wheel back on (removing the centre cap on wheel before) and lowering the car back down. This will then let you apply a good force to loosen the axle nut as the car tyre will stop the hub spinning and also of course the car is more stable when trying to loosen the nut whilst the car is on the ground rather than jacked up. Once loose - wheel off again and proceed as before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetSet Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 Good guide, mine is clicking with only 12k on the clock and has been doing it since about 7k so I guessed it wasn't the U/J's. I'll have a go at this in the next couple of weeks. Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dblock Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 Good man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricky-Ricky Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 While i am glad this has seemed to work for some, i fail to see just how, since the purpose of the splines is the provide a load spreading drive to the hubs, which relies on a non interference but close fit, however the purpose of the hub nut is to clamp the hub to the CV joint very securely to prevent any movement, IMO the only reason that these splines would cause the click, is down to either improperly torqued hub nuts from the factory/or being loosened by a third party, or badly speced spline fit in the first place, there should be no movement, so adding grease may help quieten the noise, but only if there is movement allowed, when there really shouldn't be any. IMO it could well be just a case of going through the motions, and the resulting re torueing of the hub nut has actually solved the problem. What you also need to remember is that there are actually two other sets of un clamped spline drives on each drive shaft just held in location by a circlip, one on the inner CV joint and one on the outer that are also capable of making a noise if worn, and thats besides the actual CV joints themselves. Pretty much all cars use this system both FWD and RWD, without problems ,and the classic symptom of a worn CV joint is clicking on pull away or slow maneuvering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrdeli Posted April 2, 2012 Author Share Posted April 2, 2012 Sometimes a leap of faith is required! I don't think it's the splines - it's the friction between the collar and the hub - the blue and red area on the last photo I posted. I understand why so many people are drawn to the cv joint as it seems very logical and seems a perfect fit for the noise. All I can say is I did it after reading about the fix that ALOT of owners in the USA had achieved. As I said, my car was absolute classic axle click. As for incorrect torque, as I know my car (one previous owner who I know) - unless Nissan set the torque wrong at the factory, this is not the case. For me, my suspicions that the cv joins where not to blame was based on the logic that so many cars were effected - some at very low miles. Why really would Nissan continually churn out faulty cv joints - they are hardly cutting edge tech. Anyway it will be interesting to see how others get on.... but for 35 mins work and virtually no cost I think it's an essential place for most to start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glrnet Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 Well, touch wood this doesn't happen to me but I know what I'll be trying first if it does Excellent guide Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
370Ad Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 Do you have a link to the socket you used please? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MITZ@CougarStore Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 Nice work, you’ll have to keep us posted on the progress of the fix over time… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricky-Ricky Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 Sometimes a leap of faith is required! I don't think it's the splines - it's the friction between the collar and the hub - the blue and red area on the last photo I posted. I understand why so many people are drawn to the cv joint as it seems very logical and seems a perfect fit for the noise. All I can say is I did it after reading about the fix that ALOT of owners in the USA had achieved. As I said, my car was absolute classic axle click. As for incorrect torque, as I know my car (one previous owner who I know) - unless Nissan set the torque wrong at the factory, this is not the case. For me, my suspicions that the cv joins where not to blame was based on the logic that so many cars were effected - some at very low miles. Why really would Nissan continually churn out faulty cv joints - they are hardly cutting edge tech. Anyway it will be interesting to see how others get on.... but for 35 mins work and virtually no cost I think it's an essential place for most to start. Sorry can't agree that it comes solely from the splines or the hub/shaft interface, like i said the first point being that the hub should be clamped firm enough by the hub nut to prevent any movement, ( you dont torque the hub nut to 152 to 205 ftlb for nothing) and the second being that there should never be enough movement between the shaft and the hub splines to make any noise, in the first place. Nissan just like any other car manufactures make **** ups, either due to their own over-site, or other third party supplier's **** ups, so recalls are common, the clicky axle problem not only affects the JDM, UK and US 350Z, it also affects the JDM Skyline 350GT, and the Infiniti G35, as they use the same running gear, i suspect with that amount of global clicky axle problems, they would have been somewhat diligent in finding the correct cause. I had the click on my Skyline 350GT, and acquired a replacement stock joint and fitted it,(with no grease on the splines) result no more noise. I will be interested to know how many people this helps (discounting the US) and if it works for more than a couple of hundred miles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrdeli Posted April 2, 2012 Author Share Posted April 2, 2012 The products I used are as follows: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Amazon-Parts- ... 0843430568 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lucas-Extra-X ... 0849485140 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LARGE-ARTIST- ... 0934092440 Regards mark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrdeli Posted April 2, 2012 Author Share Posted April 2, 2012 Sometimes a leap of faith is required! I don't think it's the splines - it's the friction between the collar and the hub - the blue and red area on the last photo I posted. I understand why so many people are drawn to the cv joint as it seems very logical and seems a perfect fit for the noise. All I can say is I did it after reading about the fix that ALOT of owners in the USA had achieved. As I said, my car was absolute classic axle click. As for incorrect torque, as I know my car (one previous owner who I know) - unless Nissan set the torque wrong at the factory, this is not the case. For me, my suspicions that the cv joins where not to blame was based on the logic that so many cars were effected - some at very low miles. Why really would Nissan continually churn out faulty cv joints - they are hardly cutting edge tech. Anyway it will be interesting to see how others get on.... but for 35 mins work and virtually no cost I think it's an essential place for most to start. Sorry can't agree that it comes solely from the splines or the hub/shaft interface, like i said the first point being that the hub should be clamped firm enough by the hub nut to prevent any movement, ( you dont torque the hub nut to 152 to 205 ftlb for nothing) and the second being that there should never be enough movement between the shaft and the hub splines to make any noise, in the first place. Nissan just like any other car manufactures make **** ups, either due to their own over-site, or other third party supplier's **** ups, so recalls are common, the clicky axle problem not only affects the JDM, UK and US 350Z, it also affects the JDM Skyline 350GT, and the Infiniti G35, as they use the same running gear, i suspect with that amount of global clicky axle problems, they would have been somewhat diligent in finding the correct cause. I had the click on my Skyline 350GT, and acquired a replacement stock joint and fitted it,(with no grease on the splines) result no more noise. I will be interested to know how many people this helps (discounting the US) and if it works for more than a couple of hundred miles. I think the collar gets a little corroded and this is what causes the click as it changes the tolerance slightly. I guess replacing the part as you did, resets it to how the car was when left the factory and of course one would expect this to cure the click - otherwise every z would do it as it left the factory! I guess there are several ways to solve this and all I am doing is reporting what has worked for many in the USA and also for me. As I say the down side is 30 mins and a tenner, but I fully expect it to last for several years if not more as others have experienced. Anyway I will comment again if the click returns, but so far so good. To my logic, if it wasnt the problem, I can't see why it would have fixed it as I have not replaced any components. Regards mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
370Ad Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 Thanks for the reply with the part links. Does the Hub nut definitely go to 177 ft/lb's? Quite a lot of the torque wrenches only go to 154. Cheers, Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrdeli Posted April 3, 2012 Author Share Posted April 3, 2012 I'm not 100% sure as I took the figure from the american thread (are US lbs different maybe) - however a early post on that thread states: "I just did this yesturday. All I did was pop the axle nut off (32mm, you can rent the socket for free at autozone), pushed the axle in as far as I could, squirt some brake greese (that I got from autozone for a dollar) where the axle meets the hub, and retorque the nut down (fsm states 177ft lbs but my torque wrench only goes up to 150 so I just went a little more than that with a breaker bar) and no more clicking now. " May be worth reading through the US thread - there is a link to this in my first post. Good luck - regards, Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
370Ad Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 Thank you very much, if all goes well i will be doing this Friday so i will let you know how it goes. Cheers, Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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