# Ticking Noise from Front - Drive shaft?



## rigwelter (Dec 6, 2009)

Hi,
Just bought an X-Trail. Had a ticking/knocking noise from front. Dealer said it was just tyre noise, but I've just had winter tyres put on and the noise is still there.

76000k on the clock, AWD, Auto.

Noise:
- Appears to come from front, cant decide which wheel
- Steering wheel has no vibration
- Doesnt pull to any side
- Noise is a ticking noise that appears to match the revolution of the wheels
- Noise dissapears at speed but I think thats just because of wind noise and tyre noise drowning it out.
- Driving slowly noise appears to dissapear while accelerating
- Noise comes back when coasting, decellerating. Steady tick tick tick with wheels rotation, getting slower as I slow down.
- Sometimes too quiet to hear, sometimes louder.

What I've checked - 
- Took front wheels off. Nothing loose. Nothing frayed. Everything seems tight and okay.
- Grabbed wheels by hand and cannot move them side to side (looking for wheel bearing looseness)
- Drove in circles, full lock clockwise and anti-clockwise - no noise when doing this.
- No noise when stationary turning steering wheel from lock to lock.
- Left hubcaps off now - but noise continues.

Any ideas? I have 30 days to get anything fixed so if I can find out what it might be I will have something to tell the dealer.


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## mgfiest (Sep 13, 2009)

with that diagnoses... I go back to the dealer and tell them to fix it.


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## tbk (Dec 29, 2008)

I am with mg. Don't mess about, take it right back to the dealer. Tell them you swapped the tires and its still there. If you have to, pay for an hour of inspection time and get a service sheet indicating what you were having checked out. It is important that you have documentation that shows the car had the problem while it was under warranty. If not you will be out of luck.


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## rigwelter (Dec 6, 2009)

Hi,
Yes I am going to take it back into the dealer to get them to work on it. Right now I am visiting relatives. I did this so I could give it an extended test drive. I know what it is like dealing with dealers that say "oh we cant find anything" so I was hoping to have some idea of what the problem might be for when I get back.

Any ideas?

Cheers

Max


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## tbk (Dec 29, 2008)

Two things that I can think of. One: Brakes. If you manage to knick a brake rotor, or if it was slightly defective and corroded badly you may get a ticking noise. You could try braking hard from a moderate speed and see if the sound changes. 
Two: outboard universal joints. If the joint has started to fail, you may also hear the joint moving as the half shaft rotates. You can try removing the tires, grab the half shafts, try to move them around. See if there is any play.

Other than that, can't think of much.


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## ValBoo (May 19, 2003)

Rig...
Try this test: drive at low speed with your windows down make sure you clearly hear the ticking/clicking noise and then gently apply the brakes but just enough to engage the pads but not enough to stop your car ..... Does the ticking/clicking noise go away? .... then release the brake pedal and coast... Does the ticking/clicking return?

If so you will need to isolate which brake/wheel the noise is coming from and it could be this:

http://www.nissanforums.com/x-trail/150505-just-bought-2006-rear-brake-starts.html




rigwelter said:


> Hi,
> Just bought an X-Trail. Had a ticking/knocking noise from front. Dealer said it was just tyre noise, but I've just had winter tyres put on and the noise is still there.
> 
> 76000k on the clock, AWD, Auto.
> ...


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## pulsar86 (Aug 13, 2009)

If the noise isn't there when you drive in a circle on full lock, i think you can virtually eliminate cv joints as the source of the noise. Maybe you have a brake piston that is not always fully retracting and it might be making intermittant contact with a slightly out of true rotor.


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## Browna21 (Jan 4, 2008)

Duel Mass Flywheel ???


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## rigwelter (Dec 6, 2009)

Hi,
I bought it from a Mitsubishi dealer. They pulled it in yesterday and say they hear the noise coming from the transfer case. Said they used a stephascope to isolate the noise. But since it's still under Nissan Warranty they wouldnt do any work.

Taking it into Nissan today. Will update this thread when I find out more.

Did find another problem too. Between Ottawa and Barrie - the stereo only plays country music.... damned annoying - I wonder i I can get 'em to fix that.

Cheers to everyone who has offered their advice. Much appreciated.

Rig


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## tbk (Dec 29, 2008)

Glad to hear they isolated it. Let us know what Nissan finds when they do the work.


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## mgfiest (Sep 13, 2009)

good job on finding the problem....
only way to fix the country music is sat radio.... lmao


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## rigwelter (Dec 6, 2009)

Update: Took it into Nissan. Told them what Mitsubishi had said "It's coming from the transfer case". Nissan said "I highly doubt it. If it is, it will be the first."

Got a phone call later in the day, "It's the transfer case. It will need a new one and it will be a warranty repair"

They then explained that it's basically undriveable and could "let go" at anytime.

Will update again if I find out anymore.

Cheers

Rig


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## tbk (Dec 29, 2008)

Nothing like shooting down a cocky service guy


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## mgfiest (Sep 13, 2009)

well technically speaking the service guy is kind of right. transfer case problems are far and few inbetween. but like all good things in life... sheeet happens.... at least it's under warranty.


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## rigwelter (Dec 6, 2009)

Okay so final outcome. The worksheet I got back just states Transfer Box Faulty. Needs new transfer box. Zero dollars. Warranty Fix.

I got no extra details from them. They weren't forthcoming and the guy I dealt with wasn't one of the mechanics so that's all I know.

Just glad I got it fixed. And yeah if its rare then it's just bad luck.

So if you get a ticking noise that slowly gets worse. And basically when it started it could have been a piece of plastic stuck to a tyre. It was that kind of noise.

But ask a mechanic to stick a stephascope on your transfer box... just in case.

Cheers

Rig


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