So I just bought an 07 Nissan Frontier SE 2wd. ATM i'm am really pissed off at my truck.

As you all should know the Midwest OK, KS, etc got hammered with about 8 inches of snow. Right now at this second my truck is stuck in my driveway. My Fontier cant even move one inch in reverse or drive. It just spins.

While spinning I hear like a grinding noise or popping noise in the front of the truck. Does anyone know what this sounds means? It seems like my front brakes or something. It doesnt make this sound while driving on a good surface when I dont spin. I did have an s10 before this truck and it would drive easily on this stuff.

Do I need weight in the back end?

Has anyone had any problems like this?

I'm just seriuosly disgusted at my purchase at this time.

That is an odd description of the sound you gave.

A grinding or popping noise...it you had 4WD I would say it's your hubs or front differential.

(Is your 2wd a standard transmission?)If it is you may need to inspect the clutch and throw out bearing.

If it's an automatic it could be the lock up clutch in the torque convertor trying to engage. (Did you have the truck pinned when this noise occurred?)

Or it could be the LSD in the rear diff trying to lock up and that can also make a grinding noise which I personally have heard on my 2000 Xterra when I put the pedal to the metal on ice and snow. (At least our Canadian winters are fun for that sort of thing) The noise will sometimes sound like it came from the front of the truck.

Just about any 2WD truck would have difficulty in 8" of snow, especially if there is no weight over the rear axle and you tires are not rated as Snow Tires. Get some weight over the rear axle and you will notice improved traction almost immediatley, even if your truck rolls on all-season skins.

Big-Bird, think it could be the VDC (dynamic control) limiting the output of the engine due to the wheels spinning?

I can't imagine why that would make a popping noise, but since it's a brand new truck it tends to lean away from other possibilities...

-Dan

You have a vehicle with about a 65/35 front/rear weight distribution...inherent in almost all pickups. You're clearly used to front drive cars which have the weight over the front wheels. As for the S10...if it was a 4 banger, it was probably so under powered that it actually worked to your advantage in slick conditions. A powerful 2wd pickup is just about the worst vehicle you can have for winter driving conditions. Perhaps you should have thought through your purchase a little more. Trucks are rear wheel drive, and yes, you can help your situation marginally by putting 200-300 pounds of weight over the rear axle or towards the rear of the bed.

I don't know if the VDC could cause this particular noise condition because he VDC cuts power at the engine by limiting the fuel. No matter how hard you pin it the VDC will not let the wheels spin while it is in control.

My Quest has this feature and it can a real PITA when you need wheel spin to get moving. (thankfully the Nissan designers gave the 04 Quest a swtich to shut this feature off. )

But until the poster fills in the details we can only guess since we're not under the hood or standing beside it to hear the noise for ourselves.

I have the same noise, except mine isn't in the snow. My noise was ran down by the dealership - it was the anti-lock braking system limited slip thing. Someone correct me one exactly what it is - but it was the brakes and limited slip transfering power. It sounded horrible and I thought I broke it.

Joel

Thanks to JFordBronco for jogging my memory......Now that you mention the ABS system this did make me think of something that is so basic I don't know why I didn't see it before.....I feel so dumb!

The noise you described Xtreme00 is most likely the ABS system. The ABS pumps are noisy and sound like they grind when they activate, which is NORMAL. The computer must have thought you were skidding and started to the activate the ABS pump.

(Did you have the brakes applied while you were spinning the rear wheels? And do you have the TCS ( Traction Control System) on your SE?

Dam I feel stupid.

yeah, its the ABS. i buried my 06 in the mud and snow about a week ago and it made the same noise. (by the way, the beast pulled out -- WOOHOO! cept now i have a lot of mud to clean off)

sorry to call you out this bad, but dude you simply cannot get pissed at a 2wd pickup getting stuck in 8" of snow. honestly, i'm not even 100% confident my 4wd would roll no prob through 8" (hell, its only got 10" of ground clearance, hit a bad swell and you could be buried). no stock 2wd truck (without weight in the bed, and even then) will make it no problem through 8" of snow.

Here's what you should do. Shovel all the snow from your driveway into the bed of the truck for weight, THEN, drive BACKWARDS and boom, instant FRONT WHEEL DRIVE!!!!

Snow in the back is great... when you don't need it, it's hot out and it melts away... no need for you to remove it or store it.

hsckris wrote:yeah, its the ABS. i buried my 06 in the mud and snow about a week ago and it made the same noise. (by the way, the beast pulled out -- WOOHOO! cept now i have a lot of mud to clean off)

sorry to call you out this bad, but dude you simply cannot get pissed at a 2wd pickup getting stuck in 8" of snow. honestly, i'm not even 100% confident my 4wd would roll no prob through 8" (hell, its only got 10" of ground clearance, hit a bad swell and you could be buried). no stock 2wd truck (without weight in the bed, and even then) will make it no problem through 8" of snow.

i dont know about that. i have made it through about 10" of snow going up hill by my house in a 2wd toy with the 4 banger. and was making it no prob (no chains or weight on back. while 4x4's were coming down with chains and snow tires.

DDelambre wrote:Here's what you should do. Shovel all the snow from your driveway into the bed of the truck for weight, THEN, drive BACKWARDS and boom, instant FRONT WHEEL DRIVE!!!!

Oh shyt that made me laugh out loud and I'm at work LOLOL