Faint gear like noise at low speeds.

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Valdemar

Well-known member
Joined
May 11, 2011
Messages
2,674
Location
Oak Park, CA
2011 130k+ miles. Noticed a minor noise today while driving in a parking lot, faint periodic clicking, kind of gear type clatter. Doesn't seem to be affected by the steering. Can it be the CV joint? Hope it's not the reduction gear, gear oil change is overdue but it doesn't usually cause issues this early.
 
Valdemar said:
I'll experiment more but turning didn't seem to have any effect, which makes me think it might not be the CV joint.
I've forgotten details but failure of the joint on the wheel side and transmission sides of the half-shaft have different symptoms.
 
SageBrush said:
Valdemar said:
I'll experiment more but turning didn't seem to have any effect, which makes me think it might not be the CV joint.
I've forgotten details but failure of the joint on the wheel side and transmission sides of the half-shaft have different symptoms.

Good point. I always thought that the transmission side almost never breaks however.
 
Valdemar said:
Good point. I always thought that the transmission side almost never breaks however.

Depends on the specific car. For example, on a Subaru Outback the inner (trans side) joint fails at > 2x the rate of the outer joint since it is close to the exhaust and the additional heat ages the rubber quickly. But in general, the outer joint sees more stress since it experiences higher articulation angles during normal use.

On most of the cars I've had, outer joint failures will show up as clicking on tight turns. Inner joint failures usually show up as vibration under acceleration. Of course, the easy test is to check the boots. Most modern CV joints will last as long as the car if the boots are intact.
 
Hard to diagnose sounds via text, but I'll just note that I've had "faint periodic clicking" noises from objects embedded in tires, from small stones embedded in the tread and also nails and screws; most easily heard at low speeds with windows down. I've avoided punctures several times by finding and removing metal objects before they penetrated the belts.
 
I know but this is definitely not tires. Sounds more like gear teeth engaging during rotation, hence the concern about the reduction gear, but from my experience with failing differentials they tend to whine at high speed, nothing like that fortunately, or at least not yet. The sound is very faint, can only be heard with windows up and the speed may be up to 3mph.
 
2018 with 12k miles, I started hearing the same yesterday. It only happens when accelerating or braking (regen) metal on metal clink like a u joint or something. EVness doesn't give the feeling of slop like u joints in gassers though...
 
DaveinOlyWA said:
2018 with 12k miles, I started hearing the same yesterday. It only happens when accelerating or braking (regen) metal on metal clink like a u joint or something. EVness doesn't give the feeling of slop like u joints in gassers though...

Is yours a single click per event (accel or decel)? Mine is a consistent dull clatter as long as the speed is maintained low, and I hear nothing on braking. There was an issue on 2011 cars and maybe later, symptoms were a click on accelerating, a TSB was issued the fix was something along the lines of lube and re-tighten front axle nuts, I had this issue addressed before, that noise was different and more like what you describe (I think).
 
Man! I cant believe how much mileage this silly issue has gotten!! You can philosophize all you want, but ...... YOU NEED TO TAKE IT TO A MECHANIC.
 
I'm getting there but slowly :) I only first noticed it 6 months ago and it hasn't gotten much worse. Most people wouldn't even notice something like this. I looked at the CV boots and they are fine. If this noise is indeed due to CV joints it is way too weak to indicate an imminent failure. And if this is reduction gear, well, I'm not changing the reduction gear on this car anyway.
 
Valdemar.. have you tried doing an oil change on the reduction gear? I am going to change my gear oil this weekend, with red line d6. I will tell you if I hear any difference.

My noise is like you described. It is a very faint clicking noise that you can hear best around 5 mph or less. I hear it when I come to a stop, even going straight. I have switched both front wheel bearings, struts, lower control arms, brakes, rotors, tie rods, and greased the **** out of the splines. The only thing I haven't switched out in that area are the CV joints. They are not torn. It doesn't seem to be getting any worse but it's a really sutle continuous clicking all low speeds. It stops just before I come to a complete stop, almost like it's a servo that pulls out

I'm going to change the gear oil in the reduction gear, and then change both ABS sensors. They are cheap parts. If this doesn't work I'm going to bring it into Nissan and see what they say.
 
Valdemar said:
DaveinOlyWA said:
2018 with 12k miles, I started hearing the same yesterday. It only happens when accelerating or braking (regen) metal on metal clink like a u joint or something. EVness doesn't give the feeling of slop like u joints in gassers though...

Is yours a single click per event (accel or decel)? Mine is a consistent dull clatter as long as the speed is maintained low, and I hear nothing on braking. There was an issue on 2011 cars and maybe later, symptoms were a click on accelerating, a TSB was issued the fix was something along the lines of lube and re-tighten front axle nuts, I had this issue addressed before, that noise was different and more like what you describe (I think).

Single click and only when changing momentum (speed up or slow down) It sounds "exactly" like u joint slop (if you are old enough to know what I am talking about) but there is only sound, no feel at all. I "know" it just started yesterday and its still there today.
 
coolorangecat said:
Valdemar.. have you tried doing an oil change on the reduction gear? I am going to change my gear oil this weekend, with red line d6. I will tell you if I hear any difference.

My noise is like you described. It is a very faint clicking noise that you can hear best around 5 mph or less. I hear it when I come to a stop, even going straight. I have switched both front wheel bearings, struts, lower control arms, brakes, rotors, tie rods, and greased the **** out of the splines. The only thing I haven't switched out in that area are the CV joints. They are not torn. It doesn't seem to be getting any worse but it's a really sutle continuous clicking all low speeds. It stops just before I come to a complete stop, almost like it's a servo that pulls out

I'm going to change the gear oil in the reduction gear, and then change both ABS sensors. They are cheap parts. If this doesn't work I'm going to bring it into Nissan and see what they say.

Sounds very similar to mine. One characteristic is that it only happens with the gentle torque being transferred to the wheels, as soon as I let go off the accel pedal the noise is gone. Turning the wheels doesn't seem to make it worse. No change of gear oil. I kind of doubt it is related or going to help, gear oil lasts like forever, and if it's not leaking it is all good. I mean, it is possible there is wear to the gears which causes the noise, but changing the oil isn't going to help as the damage is already done. I will be at the dealer soon for maintenance, I'll see what they can say about it.
 
Well, I jacked the passenger side of the car up, took the passenger wheel off and removed the tie rod to the knuckle. Then I rotated my wheel right and left and heard a clicking/knocking noise (see link for video https://photos.app.goo.gl/4jN8GjDoaQvvmJv77). I don't know if this is normal for a cv joint with 100k miles, but got the new cv axial in and going to replace it this weekend. I will post my findings. Hopefully, this is the cause of my continuous clicking sound.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/4jN8GjDoaQvvmJv77
 
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