I don't like this new noise!

Howdy all,

The other day I shifted from first to second (on bitumen in 2wd) and when the clutch was depressed it made a weird noise, best way to describe it would be a quiet rhythmic / regular low chatter / rattle, maybe like a tuk tuk tuk tuk noise....

It happened a few more times and not just between 1st and 2nd gears, then it went away for a few days (couple of hundred K's distance), including a day out at Julimar with some good mud and hill climbs, gave low and high range 4wd a workout without any problems.

The noise was not very loud, and not present / noticeable at all when the clutch was up and driving along. Last night though I noticed the same noise, 1st to 2nd gear while clutch was pushed in. Clutch up and drove along, noise didn't come back during that drive.

So I'm thinking clutch / bearing? (It doesn't do it at standstill with clutch depressed), which from previous clutch replacement experiences I know is neither fun nor cheap... Only thing is all my previous experiences with clutch bearings have been whirring kind of noises. I have also noticed on a couple of occasions a squeak from under the car when depressing / releasing the clutch.

Does anyone have any ideas what this could be, (and should I be cancelling our trip this long weekend to avoid an out of town breakdown)?

Sorry I know noise diagnosis is not easy, particularly via an internet post, (I did try googling but I couldn't really find this issue mentioned) maybe someone has had this problem before?

Thanks very much.

Thrust bearing?? Can't think of anything else that only operates when the clutch is pressed. Sounds like it will either get better or worse before you can locate what it is, so cancelling your trip would depend on where you are going and who will be with you.
A bit of a wild suggestion, but are there any breathers or drain holes blocked and a build up of crap in the housing?

Yeah I did think dirt on or around the thrust bearing, we did hit a LOT of mud holes on the holland track a couple weeks ago... I'll have to climb underneath and have a look


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Well there is a drain hole, with a rubber plug. It appears the plug has gone hard so now part of it is torn off and some of it is stuck in the hole [emoji35][emoji35][emoji35][emoji35]
Next is to hope the remaining part doesn't somehow find its way into the clutch and I have to try and pry out the remaining part without pushing it into the housing [emoji35][emoji35]grrrrr and dammit. I suppose I may need to contact Nissan about a new plug before any more mud holes too



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