I just bought my titan 2 wks ago and have noticed a clunk in the drive train when coming to a stop, i know it isn't the brakes because if i stop with it in neutral it doesn't happen. I have a CC 4X4 LE W/big tow with 850 miles. any one else notice this? most of the time i just feel it in the pedal and body but sometimes if traffic niose is minimal you can also here it. sometimes it happens at a cruise coming off and back on to the gas.

Yes! I have noticed this. it is very slight on my Titan (two wheel drive) so I was hesitant to mention it on this forum figuring that no one else would have noticed. On my truck it is like the transmission is downshifting a millisecond before I come to a complete stop. I can feel a definite clunk each time I stop.

 

Seems to be just as you come to a stop and the suspension rebounds slightly and when you let off the brake you feel it do it again just before you hit the gas.

 

I will make an effort to pin it down to exactly when it happens when I leave work. I think it happens with my foot on the brake at about 5 mph after I have been at higher speeds.

 

This sounds very similar to a problem that Tundras had for awhile. I believe it is called a slip yoke. It is where the driveshaft connects to the rear differential. The slip yoke slides back and forth on the rear differential shaft and on the Tundra the clearances were very tight and would cause some slight binding between the slip yoke and this shaft. There is some sliding designed into this type of system to account for the differential movement that occurs with suspension movement. Well on the Tundras, when you would slow down the rear suspension travel would increase as weight was transferred forward. When the truck would finally even back out when stopped the slip yoke would bind slightly on the differential shaft before the binding would release resulting in a clunk. This may not be the case here, only a guess. I hope that maybe some of this will make sense...I know my description may suck or may not be completely accurate. Sorry. I think the problem was solved by using some additional grease on the shaft.

 

has anyone else had this problem and found a definit fix or am i just being to picky?

 

If this has any value info, I had this loud clunk from the front axle (I think) on the second day of ownership when going down hill with my foot on the brake. It happened once and that was it .

 

I've posted about this same issue before and just today a Nissan Tech and myself figured out what's going on. Basically there is too much axle wind up on take off and when stopping. If you look at the rear spring shackle clamp, you'll see a rubber bushing mounted on the top of this clamp and about 1/2" of room before the spring even touches it. The whole axle assembly twists up far enough at take-off to make the drive shaft assy. flip upwards and hit the limits of the center bearing. When your slowing down and just before the wheels stop spinning you'll get a clunk as well, the opposite is happening.

The Nissan Tech is going to get the engineers in California to look into this and see what a good fix would be. Personally I think traction bars would look cool......yes they would stop the axle wind-up but on a truck????? :gunz: I'm not sure what the overall fix will be but I will be sure to let everyone know.

Dale

 

I've posted about this same issue before and just today a Nissan Tech and myself figured out what's going on. Basically there is too much axle wind up on take off and when stopping. If you look at the rear spring shackle clamp, you'll see a rubber bushing mounted on the top of this clamp and about 1/2" of room before the spring even touches it. The whole axle assembly twists up far enough at take-off to make the drive shaft assy. flip upwards and hit the limits of the center bearing. When your slowing down and just before the wheels stop spinning you'll get a clunk as well, the opposite is happening.

The Nissan Tech is going to get the engineers in California to look into this and see what a good fix would be. Personally I think traction bars would look cool......yes they would stop the axle wind-up but on a truck????? :gunz: I'm not sure what the overall fix will be but I will be sure to let everyone know.

Dale

Hey guys, had my truck for two weeks and its awesome. I too have been searching as to what this problem is ???? It seems to CLUNK a lot but not always and as is the same exact thing as wolf described. Just one question, basically how bad is this for the car???? thoughts. thanks jer

 

I was getting a clunk in the back of my truck, which I thought might be the something in the drive train or something underneath the truck that was loose. It turned out to be the tie down cleats I stowed in the side box. I took them out and so far have not heard anything. I will keep them out for a couple of days to make sure.

 

Well the noise happened again without the cleats in the side box, but I think I now know the source of my clunk. It was the covers on the bottom utilitrack sliding back and forth. Accelerating does not cause the noise, but hitting the brakes even mildly will make the covers slide up and hit the bed wall. My covers slide freely. I think I may have read another post about this same problem, but I don't remember.

 

Basically trying to figure out if this problem is bad for my truck??? tia jer

 

titanlv, if you clunk isn't in the rear end or trans or transfer case you shouldn't worry about it hurting your truck it is just outragishly annoying to me, if your not sure ck with your dealer as i am going to do as soon as i get time. and we'll get to the bottom of this annoyance.

 

Dude - been posting on this topic lately and as i stated in other thread, i think it may be my sliding covers as well. Today ( in the rain ) i used some old cups to hold the covers in place so they wouldnt slide and the clunks/thuds almost disappeared. I think IT only happened once but that may have been a NORMAL noise coming from the back of the truck. I hope this sovled my problem. will post tomorrow on progress. thanks to all for their input... jer

 

If the problem is, in fact, sliding utilitrack covers, then I'd say put a very small amount of hot melt glue on the outside of the two bottom utilitracks, towards the front. Not very much glue - you just want a bit of extra girth to the track.

After the glue dries and becomes a bit rubbery, slide the track covers all the way forward and they'll stay in place.

 

If the problem is, in fact, sliding utilitrack covers, then I'd say put a very small amount of hot melt glue on the outside of the two bottom utilitracks, towards the front. Not very much glue - you just want a bit of extra girth to the track.

After the glue dries and becomes a bit rubbery, slide the track covers all the way forward and they'll stay in place.

I just cut off about 1/2 inch of the covers just enough to allow me to put on those "stops"(don't know the proper term) on the 2 bottom tracks. Now the covers don't slide anymore. My noise is most definitely gone. Before, mine slid freely and would clunk everytime I accelerated and braked. I was given 4 "stops" with my truck, one for each track.

 

Well the noise happened again without the cleats in the side box, but I think I now know the source of my clunk. It was the covers on the bottom utilitrack sliding back and forth. Accelerating does not cause the noise, but hitting the brakes even mildly will make the covers slide up and hit the bed wall. My covers slide freely. I think I may have read another post about this same problem, but I don't remember.

Thanks for the tip! I removed the track covers from the bed and the clunk sound dissapeared. This sound was driving me crazy. It sounded exactly like a drive train problem. I wonder if Nissan has notified their dealerships? It would sure help those guys out who are trying to chase down the problem.

 

I got it fixed!!! the noise was driving me nuts! anyway the noise was coming from the slip yoke on the drive shaft.

Step 1 Go to GM dealership and get Special Lube Part # 12345718

Step 2 Index and remove drive shaft (index so you don't get any vibrations)

Step 3 Lube the spines of the yoke where it goes into trans or transfer case
use a generous amount on the splines don't put any on the outside of
the yoke.

Step 4 Clean the seal surface of the yoke so you don't ruin the seal

Step 5 Re-install the drive shaft and torque the bolts to serv man spec. (don't
forget to put it in the same way it came out.

the whole job took about 15 minutes and was very easy to do and the noise is completely gone. If you have any ?'s you can e-mail me at intruder8000@juno.com

 

Clunk Accelerating From Dead Stop

My truck has 1000 miles and it is a 4x2 LE Big Tow. It seems to snap forward from a dead stop, not smooth at all. No codes have been thrown yet, but stopping and shifting on the fly seems fine so far. Is this the symptom everyone is talking about? I only notice it when I let off the brakes at a red light and start forward. I have to be real easy on the gas or it launches hard.

 

That's it. I still have that problem. I originally thought it might have been due to the bad tranny I had replaced. Have had to the dealer and they still can not fix it. I'm thinking of taking it to another dealer. They tried lubing the slip yolk, tightning all the drive line bolts, tightning the leaf springs and checked the diff for low fluid. I'll keep trying to get it fixed and report back. Ughhhhhh!

 

My truck has 1000 miles and it is a 4x2 LE Big Tow. It seems to snap forward from a dead stop, not smooth at all. No codes have been thrown yet, but stopping and shifting on the fly seems fine so far. Is this the symptom everyone is talking about? I only notice it when I let off the brakes at a red light and start forward. I have to be real easy on the gas or it launches hard.

Same problem I have had - do a search under "driveline slop" for several old threads on this. When starting from a dead stop, the drivetrain has to audibly and palpably catch itself with a mild clunk just before it gets moving. Opposite occurs on stopping. The consensus here is that it is the slip yoke. When I get some time I plan on lubing it to see if it helps, before taking it to the stealership.

 

torq spec for the driveline is 61 ft lbs. hope this helps everyone. I also called Nissan tech line and udated them with this problem with the slip yoke. if they see enough problems with it they will issue a service bull. so if you have this exact problem with the slip yoke lube call nissan and report it even if you fix it yourself. thanks

 

I've posted about this same issue before and just today a Nissan Tech and myself figured out what's going on. Basically there is too much axle wind up on take off and when stopping. If you look at the rear spring shackle clamp, you'll see a rubber bushing mounted on the top of this clamp and about 1/2" of room before the spring even touches it. The whole axle assembly twists up far enough at take-off to make the drive shaft assy. flip upwards and hit the limits of the center bearing. When your slowing down and just before the wheels stop spinning you'll get a clunk as well, the opposite is happening.

The Nissan Tech is going to get the engineers in California to look into this and see what a good fix would be. Personally I think traction bars would look cool......yes they would stop the axle wind-up but on a truck????? :gunz: I'm not sure what the overall fix will be but I will be sure to let everyone know.

Dale

Dear JetTech,

I've had the same problem with my Titan from day 1. The dealer kept telling me the thump was normal for a full-size truck like Titan. I mentioned about this discussion group and insisted that they lubricate the slip yoke in order to possibly eliminate it. After they lubricated the slip yoke, the thump is still there. I also drove without the bottom utili-track covers just to confirm they were not the problem. The only thing left for me to pursue seems to be the axle wind-up? Will you kindly post what you have found out since your last post? Many thanks in advance.

 

I was in denial until I read this. My truck has this symptom. It feels like a slight click, or thump in the shifter from a dead start, or coming to a dead stop. I will check into the slip yoke thing.

 

I posted this in another discussion. From the owners manual page 5-29.

"The computer has a built in diagnostic feature
that tests the system each time you start the
engine and move the vehicle forward or 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."

Perhaps this is the noise you are hearing.

 

I posted this in another discussion. From the owners manual page 5-29.

"The computer has a built in diagnostic feature
that tests the system each time you start the
engine and move the vehicle forward or 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."

Perhaps this is the noise you are hearing.

Well, the thump occurs anytime the condition is right (slow take-offs and stops). Not just after starting the eingine...