Hi. All 4 brake rotors and pads on 2009 Rogue AWD with 62k miles. Cleaned rust off wheel and put copper anti-seize before putting on new rotors. Silicon on caliper bushing pins. Bled caliper while compressing piston (removed resulting air pockets in boot with pin before reinstalling). Unfortunately, new pads did not come with hardware but old ones were good so wire-burshed off carbon and installed with copper anti-seize.

New pads and rotors work fine - no pedal softness, burnished them, tried many hard emergency stops, adjusted parking brake for new rotors ... I thought I had followed best practices but even after 3 years and and almost 20k miles, I randomly (once every 8 or 10 slow downs to 20mph or so) hear a soft thunk while slowing down from 30-40mph coming to a slow rolling stop - ironically, it does not happen at all if the braking is done hard or suddenly (40+mph)

Recently flushed all the brake lines with a pressurized bleeder (Motive) and had no issues - not even one air bubble from all 4 lines (never had any spongyness in the braking before anyway, just flushed it because it had never been done in 12 years) and fluid not very dirty - just some minor puffs of cloudiness on the passenger rear)

Flushing the brakes made no difference (I did not compress the caliper piston to get brake fluid out of caliper based on advice given by friendly fellow redditors) in the occasional thunking sound. Driven a few hundred miles since then - many intentional hard stops to test new fluid - nice and firm, good stop (the old fluid was never really bad but can still see an improvement in firmness with the new fluid).

Inspected brake pads since I changed them 20k miles ago - good 65-70% of life remaining. Please offer some advice if you can think of what can cause this in the brake system of a 2009 AWD rogue. I've done Multiple oil changes, 1x CVT fluid change, 1x transfer case + differential fluid since then - no impact on this thunk because I can swear it started with the brake and rotor change (Wagner) that was not there with the factory brakes and rotors.

Any ideas what could be causing this click/thunk while slowing down at low speeds? Hardly noticeable and I don't think it's an issue because I've lived with it for almost 20k miles through many stops and road trips but is driving me nuts, even though there are numerous pops and clicks throughout the car for obvious age related reasons.

I was going to try to buy new brake hardware and install them and flush out the ounce or two of brake fluid in each of the calipers and re-pressurize them to see if that does anything - have checked the tightness on the caliper and bracket bolts and they're snug - could it be from putting too much copper anti-seize between the rotor and the wheel?! it is super snug with the tire on (new tires and couple of rotations have been done in the past 20k miles) but the car is 3.5klbs so maybe the weight of it is sliding the rotor ever so slightly? makes no sense but I am out of ideas with my limited car knowledge at this point. Please help!

On my 2009 last year I replaced my brakes and rotors on all 4 wheels.

The reason was because every time I stepped off the brake pedal I had this slight sticky feel, like the brakes were becoming unstuck from the rotors. It annoyed me as hell.

But everything is perfect and beautiful in the world now where I don’t think of the process of braking as it should be.

So after watching tons of YouTube videos, I completed the repair without a hitch.

Just make sure you have all the parts. My oem Nissan advantage rear brakes did not come with new shims. So I had to clean the decade old ones and use those.
Without those they said it could cause noise. I also had these leftover rubber caps I never used because I didn’t know what they were for until it was too late and I just kept the old ones on. I did use some new rubber part that you use on the pins.

Getting parts on eBay or Amazon, it’s a crapshoot if you get all the replacement parts. Even though really, the old stuff can be used too. (Shims, rubber pieces etc)

Thankfully everything ended up great in my case.

All of my old brakes looked practically new, like having 1 inch and a half material or whatever, it had a lot.

So I’m not scared of wearing my new brakes. I am light on the pedals. Except when I was bedding my brakes.

Hardly noticeable is still noticeabley annoying. Just keep doing your detective work.

I put anti-seize on the correct areas, and silicone paste on the pins.

Everything torqued as best you can. The caliper seals not showing abnormalities like seen on ex-moderator imstricken videos.

It took a couple of days to change my brakes and rotors because I wanted to take my time to make sure I cleaned everything, rust etc , and do everything right.

Funny you said no pads came with hardware, then say new pads and rotors worked fine?

Maybe you should get new brake pads which is why I replaced everything because I feared I would still have a problem with sticky brakes and I wanted to avoid going back in to fix it. It still be a big pain in the butt if after everything, it was still having issues.

No offense to your predicament.

See if the heat shield in the rear is not hitting your rotors.

I just bled my brakes too, but I don’t think that has anything to do with any thunk.

Good luck, I’m no expert either, but just watch videos online because perhaps you overlooked 1 simple thing that is the cause.

Sometimes old brakes will be hard to mate with new rotors, or something to that effect. Hopefully others could chime in.

It would suck if that was all it’s been to get rid of the thunk; simply new brakes.

How’s your struts, shocks, or springs. Axle, tie-rods, or especially the infamous front lower control arms with my dealership. Didn’t think I needed those replaced.

Recently I had a thunk, but more of a major shudder, eventually I got a code of a misfire. Changed a spark plug and it disappeared. Really thought my suspension was messed up too. So if thunk gets worse.....mmmm. Also got new wheels and tires, but no rotation or an alignment yet.

Still a smooth buttery ride. But do admit I am getting more sensitive to hearing the normally whiny cvt lately especially when driving our non cvt Toyota Camry, Corolla, Cadillac SRX, and Lexus is250.

Don’t know why because I’m an old fart with old fart ears!

All the Nissans in your car's age group have a "clunk on first start at 30 mph" bulletin, caused by an ABS self-test that can be audible and sometimes palpable. That obviously doesn't apply here, but ABS's do a lot of transparent stuff that you normally never hear, ramping reservoir pressure up and down with conditions, etc. They're basically invisible Girl Scouts, trying to be ready if you need them. I'd say it's a good bet your ABS pump is on the loud side and you're hearing it adjust. You can use a pair of smartphones for confirmation if your curiosity kills you, let one dial the other and then tape one to the ABS housing and drive off. If you hear a loud burp that corresponds to your thunk, it's the Girl Scout.

casperfun wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 20, 2020 4:58 pm

Funny you said no pads came with hardware, then say new pads and rotors worked fine?

Maybe you should get new brake pads which is why I replaced everything because I feared I would still have a problem with sticky brakes and I wanted to avoid going back in to fix it. It still be a big pain in the butt if after everything, it was still having issues.

Thanks so much for your input, @casperfun; much appreciated. I was going to buy new hardware (those little metal shims that go on top and bottom) because that is what the new brake pads did not come with - what are the rubber parts for? the bleeder valve?

casperfun wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 20, 2020 4:58 pm

Recently I had a thunk, but more of a major shudder, eventually I got a code of a misfire. Changed a spark plug and it disappeared. Really thought my suspension was messed up too. So if thunk gets worse.....mmmm. Also got new wheels and tires, but no rotation or an alignment yet.

Changing spark plugs was on my list for 85-90k ... thanks.

VStar650CL wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 20, 2020 5:22 pm

All the Nissans in your car's age group have a "clunk on first start at 30 mph" bulletin, caused by an ABS self-test that can be audible and sometimes palpable. That obviously doesn't apply here, but ABS's do a lot of transparent stuff that you normally never hear, ramping reservoir pressure up and down with conditions, etc. They're basically invisible Girl Scouts, trying to be ready if you need them. I'd say it's a good bet your ABS pump is on the loud side and you're hearing it adjust. You can use a pair of smartphones for confirmation if your curiosity kills you, let one dial the other and then tape one to the ABS housing and drive off. If you hear a loud burp that corresponds to your thunk, it's the Girl Scout.

Thanks! I found this TSB:

Single clunk noise from front suspension when applying the brakes:
 The noise is a result of the brake pads shifting in the direction of rotor rotation when
the brakes are applied.
 Can be duplicated by lightly touching the brake pedal.
 If the brake pedal is pushed hard, the noise is less likely to occur.
 Make sure the brake pads and pad hardware (shims, springs, clips, etc.) are
installed correctly.
 Refer to ASIST for vehicle specific brake service information.
 Refer to Brake Service on page 6 for additional detail.

and P6 says:

2. Correctly install pads and shims.
IMPORTANT: Correct installation and lubrication of brake pads and all caliper parts
and hardware is essential for proper brake operation and will help dampen noisecausing movement and vibrations.
 Refer to ASIST (Service Bulletins and ESM) for correct installation and lubrication of
brake pads, caliper parts, and hardware.
CAUTION: Do Not get grease on the brake pad friction surface.

So I think my best bet at this point is to try and reinstall the brake hardware - but does the Rogue have the springs? I don't think so, right? Just the shims, I think ...

No, there are channel springs but no spreaders. The channel springs are U-shaped and fit into the top and bottom grooves where the shoulders on the pads slide into the caliper frame. It's important to grease the shoulders, by the way. A lot of the cold-or-wet squeaking that Nissan brakes are known for can be avoided with well-greased shoulders that slide smoothly in the grooves. Omitting the channel springs won't generally cause clunks and thunks but will cause a loud click going forward-reverse or reverse-forward. It can also make them squeal. They're part of the shim kit if you buy them at the dealer. The original shim kit p/n was D1080-JE00A, I know that number has been superseded but should serve if you're googling for equivalents.

VStar650CL wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 20, 2020 8:09 pm

No, there are channel springs but no spreaders. The channel springs are U-shaped and fit into the top and bottom grooves where the shoulders on the pads slide into the caliper frame. It's important to grease the shoulders, by the way. A lot of the cold-or-wet squeaking that Nissan brakes are known for can be avoided with well-greased shoulders that slide smoothly in the grooves. Omitting the channel springs won't generally cause clunks and thunks but will cause a loud click going forward-reverse or reverse-forward. It can also make them squeal. They're part of the shim kit if you buy them at the dealer. The original shim kit p/n was D1080-JE00A, I know that number has been superseded but should serve if you're googling for equivalents.

Thanks. This is what I’ll try replacing next (but the old ones seemed fine after wire brushing). Used copper antiseize too as I was told it was better than ceramic, aluminum and old fashioned grease.

You never want to use old-fashioned, but it's true that copper A/S grease is superior.

Hi. FYI, just wanted to post an update on this - the issue was likely caused by grease having leaked out of the cracked CV boot - so it turned out to not be brake related at all I think (so hard to diagnose source of these noises that happen only at certain speeds and only when car is in motion). I think it's been like this for years now ... anyway, will tell you if a new boot and grease was the fix after a few hundred more miles of driving!

Wow, a couple of years with that thunk didn’t drive you crazy?

Anyways, it’s amazing you don’t have that much mess, every time my boots leaked, it’s like slimer from ghostbusters exploded in my drivewell.

casperfun wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 26, 2022 9:38 pm

Wow, a couple of years with that thunk didn’t drive you crazy?
Anyways, it’s amazing you don’t have that much mess, every time my boots leaked, it’s like slimer from ghostbusters exploded in my drivewell.

Yeah, I had it for 4 or 5 years! About 25k miles; I don't drive much. I didn't even notice until my driver side CV boot broke and leaked everywhere. The passenger side had been cracked for years and had only a fraction of the grease as the driver side. I think that's how it came - it never leaked - just had a lot less grease I think.

I’d replace that shaft. These things are so cheap now days it’s not even worth trying to rebuild. Carquest premiums are top notch as far as aftermarket. Whatever shaft you buy, go new, not rebuilt. Oem is crazy expensive but lots of folks only want genuine parts.

Yeah, I got quotes and OEM was ~$700 with taxes and aftermarket was $100-200. When I got quotes from mechanics, all but one of them said they don't change CV boots - they just put in an aftermarket axle with 1-2 year warranty but labor was 4h per side! But the one guy who said he only uses OEM CV axles told me to only do aftermarket if I was going to sell the car in a year or so ... the sticker shock pretty much killed me cuz it was $1,200 (aftermarket) - $2,200 (OEM) for both sides.

Then I called the Nissan dealership and they said they would recommend changing only the CV boot unless there is damage to the axle but that's also ~$1,200 for labor + CV boot. But if they find that the CV joint is bad, they would not replace just the boot and I'd be on the hook for the full $2,200 and they would only use OEM CV axles.

All these are big numbers for me so I watched some YouTube, got some CV boots and tools and spent about 10h doing the drivers side and another 5 for the passenger side (spread out over a number of days with the car undrivable ... used my wife's car). This job was WELL above my skill level so I screwed up a bunch of things - bent the control arm, destroyed the ball joint trying to take off the axle without having to do an alignment - it still won't come off, broke both clips that came with the thing so ordered some the other ear style clamps and a $30 tool to install it. And on top of that, sprained my thumb pretty bad because it slipped on the boot with all the grease.

Anyway, the thing runs now but am waiting for the control arm to change that from the one I bent because I damaged it. But I think the driver side axle is in good shape - and the passenger side seems fine with all the grease I squeezed in there ...

After I messed up 1 boot repair, I ordered an oem part and found the most affordable labor between 2 Nissan Dealerships which ended not being the place where I bought my Rogue.

I saved nearly $200 compared to your quote or nearly $400 if I did both sides. I only needed 1 side since my passenger cv boot repair was all good.

Even though my decades old cv axle only needed a new boot, I just decided to get a new oem one since we up in there. The other side with 13 yr old axles are still golden.

Maybe vstar can chime in here as I’ve never replaced a rogue cv shaft but did do one on my 09 Altima. From pulling the car in to backing it out it was roughly an hour. I’ve had a car quest on the driver side for around 40k and not a whisper of trouble. In fact the boot itself was twice as thick as the oem that came off. Maybe half the front has to come out but 10hrs is engine swap labor and seems extremely excessive.

And I disconnected the strut so I didn’t have to beat the hell out of the control arm. I have lifetime alignments on all my cars (Ohio and Michigan roads) so wasn’t worried about saving on an alignment.

D1dad wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 28, 2022 5:37 am

Maybe vstar can chime in here as I’ve never replaced a rogue cv shaft but did do one on my 09 Altima. From pulling the car in to backing it out it was roughly an hour. I’ve had a car quest on the driver side for around 40k and not a whisper of trouble. In fact the boot itself was twice as thick as the oem that came off. Maybe half the front has to come out but 10hrs is engine swap labor and seems extremely excessive.

The passenger axles on gen1 Rogues are a complete PITA, much dicier than an Altima. The bracket for the carrier bearing is the problem, especially if the bearing is seized in the bore. There's simply no room in there. We always warn the customer that extra time may be required. BUT, with proper tools that makes it maybe a 2.5 hour job instead of 1.5. Anybody quoting more than 3 hours is either a thief or a know-nothing.

Thanks, all. Just to clarify, all the mechanics quoted me 4h, but in their hands it may indeed have taken 2, and they may have passed the savings to me - I don’t know. The 10h is the time I took because of my own lack of experience! I spent 5h trying to bang out the ball joint, failing, breaking the ball joint press tool because of improper positioning, giving up on that and then shoving the partially out but stuck ball joint pin too far up with a sledge hammer because I could not get it back up in there (incorrectly put a jack stand on the control arm and lowered the car trying and failing to get it past the half way mark) and then banging the 18mm nut (if the ball joint is too far up, the nut won’t go in) and then sledge hammering the control arm back down 2-3mm just to get the 18mm back in … it was a mess.

Then after I gradually eased the 18mm bolt back in, I put grease into the now destroyed boot and wrapped it with Teflon tape, which is where it is now until I get my new control arm (ordered the Moog R value series from Amazon for $100 - 3 year warranty and non-serviceable ball joint unlike the C and K series with the lifetime warranty).

The 10h was actually actually spread out over 4 days over 2 weeks because I needed to buy better quality tools like the side ear crimper, snap ring pliers, Teflon tape and ear clamps (ended up buying Knipex)!

And I have to say - after an alignment the car runs fine even with the messed up control arm and Teflon taped ball joint - but once I hit 75+ I start feeling the vibration in the floor and steering wheel loose.

I’ve had the car for so long I know this is not normal - it has a sluggish acceleration and struggles to go past 95 but that’s because of the 4 cylinder engine and infamous Jatco CVT8, it never had this steering wobble and vibration so I figure it is the busted ball joint.

Don’t drive with a busted ball joint please. The Fer let’s loose and you’ve got a whole other set of issues.

D1dad wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 02, 2022 4:46 am

Don’t drive with a busted ball joint please. The Fer let’s loose and you’ve got a whole other set of issues.

Sage advice. Beware, this could be you:

Hahah yup - I don’t doubt it! Replaced it this weekend and the vibration and steering jiggle are gone now.

Quick question - how much grease needs to be packed into each CV joint? Each boot came with 10.5 oz but I only put about 5 oz into each one (and even that seemed overkill and kept coming out) so I have a full bottle left over. Do I need to squeeze in all 10oz into each joint?

No. About 4-1/2 ounces on the wheel side, 7-1/2 ounces on the tranny side. See FAX-26:
https://www.nicoclub.com/service-manual ... %2FFAX.pdf

VStar650CL wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 02, 2022 5:38 am

D1dad wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 02, 2022 4:46 am

Don’t drive with a busted ball joint please. The Fer let’s loose and you’ve got a whole other set of issues.

Sage advice. Beware, this could be you:


Broken Ball Joint.jpg

Lol. That literally happened to me when I was 17 driving a Renault alliance. Blast from the past. I was making a left hand turn, in town luckily and got the one hell of a surprise. The car only had 22k on it which was par for the course with those turds. Dad was pissed at me even though there were no prior symptoms. The ball joint just literally flew apart.

VStar650CL wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 02, 2022 6:17 am

No. About 4-1/2 ounces on the wheel side, 7-1/2 ounces on the tranny side. See FAX-26:
https://www.nicoclub.com/service-manual ... %2FFAX.pdf

Oh wow, thanks! I thought 5oz was too much because at least 1oz came into the boot when I shoved the joint in. So the CV cup is about 10oz in volume and the CV joint takes up 3-4oz so the rest should just be packed with grease, I guess?! Am I now going to open it all up to squeeze in another 2-3oz of grease?! Hmmmm …

If you check out the manual, the outer boot capacity is really for reference. The R&R instructions for the outer boot are "full to the brim", the inner says use the specified amount. See FAX-15 and -16.

aaa OK, thanks. I think I'll wait a year and squeeze in another 2-3 oz into that boot ...

logster wrote: ↑

Sun Aug 14, 2022 7:09 pm

aaa OK, thanks. I think I'll wait a year and squeeze in another 2-3 oz into that boot ...