Mrdeli

Great stuff. Thanks for the quick reply

I note that once warmed up the idle on my car is around 750rpm, but increases to around 850rpm if I turn the air con on. Is this significant? Thanks mark.

Does it sound any good? Just joking - like wow!!

Yep mine click free still too

Ha, that's great stuff - I think the click has been sussed at last. Enjoy

Yep don't worry you should be fine. It seems that the cv joints were initially blamed as the clicking seemed to suggest this, but actually it is the mating face. Many in the USA have done just what your dealer has done and have had 2+ years without the problem returning. I have actually read quite a few posts where drive shafts have just been loosened and retightened as this has fixed the problem. It would seem that when cv joins have been replaced, it is just the removal and refitting that is curing the clicking rather than the cv joints themselves being faulty. The click certainly seems now to be traced to the 'mating' surface as you put it.

My local Nissan dealer did mine a few weeks back for £139.99 and that included mot and 12 months rac European cover. Defo shop around.

Ps. I might try to get to the chirk meet so perhaps may be able to compare other cars there as I've never been in another 350 before.

By harsh I mean it feels like it would rather I changed up earlier rather than chasing the red line. It seems this was ironed out in the rev up facelift from what I read. Just thought I'd check there wasn't an easy 'fix'

Yes on looking round it seems most pre 2006 are the same Better get used to It I guess!!

Please can someone tell me the benefits and pitfalls of decatting? Thanks mark.

No, all standard.

I'm on tesco 99 so that's not it. Thanks though

Hi there, I tend to pretty much change up at around 4000rpm, even when I'm pushing on. The odd time I've revved out to around 6000rpm I've noticed that the engine gets a little harsh sounding - defo nothing to worry me about, but I was just interested to hear whether this is the character of the engine or are there any tips to improve this? My car is running 10w40 oil - is a different oil likely to make any difference? My car is 2005 with 79k. As I say it's not a big concern, but sometimes I compare it to my brothers 135i which is sliky smooth at all revs. Thanks mark.

I'm not 100% sure as I took the figure from the american thread (are US lbs different maybe) - however a early post on that thread states: "I just did this yesturday. All I did was pop the axle nut off (32mm, you can rent the socket for free at autozone), pushed the axle in as far as I could, squirt some brake greese (that I got from autozone for a dollar) where the axle meets the hub, and retorque the nut down (fsm states 177ft lbs but my torque wrench only goes up to 150 so I just went a little more than that with a breaker bar) and no more clicking now. " May be worth reading through the US thread - there is a link to this in my first post. Good luck - regards, Mark

Oh thanks - ill give that a try Thanks mark.

Sorry can't agree that it comes solely from the splines or the hub/shaft interface, like i said the first point being that the hub should be clamped firm enough by the hub nut to prevent any movement, ( you dont torque the hub nut to 152 to 205 ftlb for nothing) and the second being that there should never be enough movement between the shaft and the hub splines to make any noise, in the first place. Nissan just like any other car manufactures make **** ups, either due to their own over-site, or other third party supplier's **** ups, so recalls are common, the clicky axle problem not only affects the JDM, UK and US 350Z, it also affects the JDM Skyline 350GT, and the Infiniti G35, as they use the same running gear, i suspect with that amount of global clicky axle problems, they would have been somewhat diligent in finding the correct cause. I had the click on my Skyline 350GT, and acquired a replacement stock joint and fitted it,(with no grease on the splines) result no more noise. I will be interested to know how many people this helps (discounting the US) and if it works for more than a couple of hundred miles. I think the collar gets a little corroded and this is what causes the click as it changes the tolerance slightly. I guess replacing the part as you did, resets it to how the car was when left the factory and of course one would expect this to cure the click - otherwise every z would do it as it left the factory! I guess there are several ways to solve this and all I am doing is reporting what has worked for many in the USA and also for me. As I say the down side is 30 mins and a tenner, but I fully expect it to last for several years if not more as others have experienced. Anyway I will comment again if the click returns, but so far so good. To my logic, if it wasnt the problem, I can't see why it would have fixed it as I have not replaced any components. Regards mark

The products I used are as follows: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Amazon-Parts- ... 0843430568 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lucas-Extra-X ... 0849485140 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LARGE-ARTIST- ... 0934092440 Regards mark.

I'm happy to pay £5 ;£)

Sometimes a leap of faith is required! I don't think it's the splines - it's the friction between the collar and the hub - the blue and red area on the last photo I posted. I understand why so many people are drawn to the cv joint as it seems very logical and seems a perfect fit for the noise. All I can say is I did it after reading about the fix that ALOT of owners in the USA had achieved. As I said, my car was absolute classic axle click. As for incorrect torque, as I know my car (one previous owner who I know) - unless Nissan set the torque wrong at the factory, this is not the case. For me, my suspicions that the cv joins where not to blame was based on the logic that so many cars were effected - some at very low miles. Why really would Nissan continually churn out faulty cv joints - they are hardly cutting edge tech. Anyway it will be interesting to see how others get on.... but for 35 mins work and virtually no cost I think it's an essential place for most to start.

Whilst I think on. If the axle nut is difficult to get off, it may be worth removing the split pin, then putting the car wheel back on (removing the centre cap on wheel before) and lowering the car back down. This will then let you apply a good force to loosen the axle nut as the car tyre will stop the hub spinning and also of course the car is more stable when trying to loosen the nut whilst the car is on the ground rather than jacked up. Once loose - wheel off again and proceed as before.

Hi Rob, I am very confident this will work for you. Good luck, let me know how you go.

So in the picture below we can see the collar in blue. The photo shows the outer face of the collar (we want to lubricate the inner face of the collar - so that lubrication is provided between the inner face of the blue area and the red area of the hub). Grease needs to go around the circumfrence of the inner collar edge. On the other forum thread (link provided in my first post) - some have also lubricated the splines - but I'm not sure this makes any difference with respect to the clicking - it seems the collar area is where the problem comes from. Hope this helps. Mark

PPS. Just be be clear I think its the lubricating of the collar rather than the splines which solves the noise - i'll try and post a clearer pic of this.

My pleasure - I've followed a few guides on here - so nice to be able to help others back. PS. The best thing about doing the fix this way is that nothing actually needs to be unassembled, just loosening - so it could hardly be any easier! (and of course its virtually free).