front diff

[Waynoh]

Hi all has anyone experienced and grinding noises in the front of a patrol , mine done it a while back mainly first thing in the morning. If i stop the car when it starts grinding it'll clunk as if it's just engaged the hubs in. I took it to Nissan and they but new hubs in and it stopped for about 6 months but it started again this morning. Bloody annoying sound and not a healthy sound either. Just wondering if i should get rid of the current set up of auto hubs and go back to the old lock in hubs instead. Cheers in advanced ... Wayne

[Waynoh]

forgot to say it's a 2011 st patrol

[threedogs]

How are your brake pads, are the pistons in the caliper free
Can you jack one wheel up and spin each one to isolate the noise

[Rumcajs]

Hi all has anyone experienced and grinding noises in the front of a patrol , mine done it a while back mainly first thing in the morning. If i stop the car when it starts grinding it'll clunk as if it's just engaged the hubs in. I took it to Nissan and they but new hubs in and it stopped for about 6 months but it started again this morning. Bloody annoying sound and not a healthy sound either. Just wondering if i should get rid of the current set up of auto hubs and go back to the old lock in hubs instead. Cheers in advanced ... Wayne

You can easily mod your auto hubs by prying auto clutch mechanism out and than you'll have free wheeling hubs. The whole job takes about 15 mins; lock the hub clutch manually, remove hub, attach in the vice, pry the auto clutch out, refit hub, unlock the hub repeat on other side. So "auto" position becomes free. Its cheaper than effin around with manual hubs as sourcing second hand genuine is difficult also they're not straight fit (you'll need spacer/washer/shim and set of shorter bolts from Nissan to set correct clearance) plus they're very pricey unless you don't care and get cheap Chinese knock offs. AVM hubs are rubbish.
The only disadvantage (possibly advantage as no one can fiddle with the hubs) is you'll need wheel brace to lock/unlock the hubs.

Cheers

[luxo barge]

So just leave out the 2 bits in the pic in each side then put back together ? so 4 bits removed total ?

[Rumcajs]

Yes, just those two bits as seen in the second picture. Here is what that auto hub clutch assembly looks like dismantled but that doesn't need to concern you.

[threedogs]

Still need to convince me its the hubs, surly new ones would last longer than 6 months.
mine are 200k old and still going strong.
Is the noise there in 4WD ?

[P4trol]

Does it make the noise when you Coast (clutch in)?

Is one hub locked in and the other still in auto?

[Rumcajs]

Still need to convince me its the hubs, surly new ones would last longer than 6 months.
mine are 200k old and still going strong.
Is the noise there in 4WD ?


Reading the info
mine done it a while back mainly first thing in the morning. If i stop the car when it starts grinding it'll clunk as if it's just engaged the hubs in.
sounds exactly like hubs, but it could be because the oil in the transfer case is too thick, some put ATF fluid in transfer case because of that, even Nissan recommends it if in colder climate.
In any case poster asked what he could do about the hubs. His problem might be something else too....

[FNQGU]

plus they're very pricey unless you don't care and get cheap Chinese knock offs. AVM hubs are rubbish.

What's wrong with the AVM hubs? I don't know much about them but was advised to fit the heavy duty AVM's when I made the switch to manual.

[Rumcajs]

Failure rate is unacceptable high and those lousy bolts holding them keep breaking.....yay. Yes, you'll need HD units as well but still those are nowhere near Nissan OEM strength.
I'd rather get second hand GQ manual units (hard to find) rebuilt them and have a fun.
Cheers

[FNQGU]

Ok, I accept your opinion, but what is this based on? I am not constantly hearing horror stories about AVM hubs? Am I not listening to the right circles? I wouldn't have chosen to go with Heavy Duty AVM hubs if I had heard bad stories about them.

[Rumcajs]

OK, I was looking in to buying those AVM hubs too. Couple of guys I know used them and they couldn't wait to piss them off and warned me not to bother. Possibly issues arise with those trucks they've got front lockers and are hard core. I have auto locker so I didn't wanna risk it.
Bolts breaking/snaping off was main issue. Not to mention T15 Torx size head on those bolts. Strip easily. Almost everyone hates those.
Now this was a few years back when I was chasing the hubs but TBH after I converted the auto to manual I have no issues. I only needed free wheeling hubs because of the autolocker.

If you are happy with yours thats fine. There could be a bonus to weaker hub, it means that no CV or axle will get snapped.
Standard AVM hubs are really weak. Some people don't understand that so not everyone goes after HD units.

Cheers

[FNQGU]

I have a Detroit Auto locker in mine and so far so good.