U Joint / Drive shaft issue

[kookybeez]

I have an 06 M35X. I noticed a lite clicking sound at low speeds when I am breaking. I took it to the local mechanic and he said it's the U Joint which connects to the drive shaft. He also said I cannot replace just the u Joint - the entire drive shaft must be replaced. Part $725 - labor 2 hours. Looking at $900 total.

Has anyone else run in to this issue? Any advice on the repair?

Thnx
NB

[Quis]

I just had the same problem back in May. At first I would only hear the clicking sound only at 5mph, and lower. After a week or 2 it got louder up to 10 mph.
Finally I got worried, and decided to take it to the Nissan dealership since it was less than a mile away. They took a look at it and said that the drive shaft was bad. It cost me $997.00 to get it fix, they also replace a seal, but can't remember what kind it was.

[DeanM45]

Quis, did the dealership show you the bad U joint? Just curious because for those prices you could have had a custom driveshaft made with serviceable U joints. The Ms do have a rather radical driveshaft angle and I've wondered about the longevity of the factory U joints.

As for the seal that was replaced, I am not sure if we have a splined or flanged yoke but more than likely it was the transmission tailshaft seal they replaced.

[Quis]

Quis, did the dealership show you the bad U joint? Just curious because for those prices you could have had a custom driveshaft made with serviceable U joints. The Ms do have a rather radical driveshaft angle and I've wondered about the longevity of the factory U joints.

As for the seal that was replaced, I am not sure if we have a splined or flanged yoke but more than likely it was the transmission tailshaft seal they replaced.

They didn't show me the U joint, but they did show me the drive shaft and it was in really bad shape. Now that you mention it, it was the tail shaft that they replace.

[merlinq2]

other than the clicking, did you notice any other issues, like a wobble when you pull away, or a wobble in the gear shift lever when rolling to a stop or unusual road or tire noise. I have road noise that I think is coming from cupped good years GS-2.

[Quis]

other than the clicking, did you notice any other issues, like a wobble when you pull away, or a wobble in the gear shift lever when rolling to a stop or unusual road or tire noise. I have road noise that I think is coming from cupped good years GS-2.

Just the the clicking noise below 10 mph....above that the car behave normal.
The only time my gear shift wobble coming to a stop is when my rotors are warped, and need to be changed.
The road noise is likely coming from your tires if they have a lot of miles on them...........I know mine does after about 50% of the tread is gone.

[merlinq2]

Thanks, rear rotors are less than 2 months old and less than 300 miles. they are oem brembo rotors, front can use a change. I have to agree with the tires, I need tires, i will use these until next spring- have a full set of winters tires and wheels.

Thanks for the feed back

[JDMlove]

same problem happened to me! i damaged the U joint ( its a joint located at the end of the propeller shaft ) , if u will go to the dealer they will tell you to buy the whole propeller shaft which will cost more than 1.5K !!

take the part No. of the U joint and tell them its for FX 35, and get it! its cheep for around 50 USD!! and then take it to a normal mechanic and let him replace it!!

its happened to me coz of hard take offs i do with my M!!!

no worries!! its a simple issue!! and its only tick below 10mph because the AWD Attessa system automatically disengage after 10mph!

[kookybeez]

thanks for the input guys. I never had noise or vibration issues at high speeds - only clicking under 10 mph. The dealer said that's because the u-joint wasn't totally shot - just close to it. I had the part replaced by the dealer - bill was $900. They also replaced a seal. noise is gone now. i used the dealer instead of my local mechanic b/c the dealer warrantied the parts and labor for 12K miles or 1 year and they matched the labor rate from my local shop.

[kookybeez]

Quis - what was the mileage on your M when you had this issue? I have 150K on mine.....curious when others had this problem.

[Quis]

Quis - what was the mileage on your M when you had this issue? I have 150K on mine.....curious when others had this problem.

I have 121k now, but it happen at 119k.
I guess once you're over 100k the u-joint is likely to start to fail.

[blingkid]

I have the same problem but mines has been clicking for a while., I had to change my transmission the other day and the mechanic suggested i changed the drive shaft as well while it was up, but me being cheap and not bothered by occasional clicking decided to wait. But now it seems my drive shaft is totally shot. Crazy amount of wobbling. A friend of mines is trying to give me his drive shaft from his 08 M35x awd for my 06 but he is having a hell of a time getting it out.

Is there anywhere i can find instructions to remove the front drive shaft for a 08 m35x awd?

[svard75]

Sorry to resurect this thread but have a question which may be related. Since lowering my car (Not yet aligned) I am experiencing a wobble but only during takeoff from standstill. Do you guys think that could be a driveshaft issue or could it just be the alignment is necessary. I was hoping it's the front wheels toed in a bit since the lowering.

Thanks

[merlinq2]

I have the same issue/feeling, not the alignment, might be the drive shaft, but not sure- I only notice it every know and then. Technicans have looked at it and all is in spec- nothing they can see that would result and replacement.

So let us know

[merlinq2]

MY Pc locked up before I could finish my note- I have been told that I have a Radial Tire pull now, that tire pull is causing wandering and some wobbling. Are you installing new tires soon. I say this because the wobble went away when I installed my winter tires and rims. The last thing you want to check is that all of your wheels are installed straight and torqued evenly. The issue you are seeing could be related to the spacers that you have installed.

[svard75]

Ahh good point. Unfortunately I am not seeing any issues driving at higher speeds where you would think (if the spacers were an issue) one would feel a much greater vibration there. I will recheck my spacers but I believe they are okay. I feel it more when I accelerate quicker than normal but not flooring it.

When I first installed my wheels I didn't pay attention to the direction markings and accidentally reversed the two rear wheels. For about 1 month I drove around with backwards tread tires

I corrected it but perhaps I screwed up the tread??

Get rid of the PC!!! haha JK upgrade to Windows 7.

[atlM35]

The fix to my click:

post6409138.html?hilit=splines#p6409138

[svard75]

The fix to my click:

post6409138.html?hilit=splines#p6409138

LOL that's awesome! Thanks. I have a torque gun and the impact bits large enough for the rear axle bolts. I'm gonna try this myself. When you take the rear axles out does the diff leak? Maybe I should just leave it in.

Maybe I'll do a writeup about this as well. Thanks atlM35!

[svard75]

Quick update. The wobble during hard acceleration is no longer present since an alignment was done. I still hear the ticking and is more pronounced when switching from D to R but know how to fix it now.

Cheers