Hi all,

I recently had a driveline noise develop in my 2006 RWD Pathfinder. At first, I thought it was the brakes, but I did a brake change (pads and rotors were due), which didn't solve anything. I used anti-seize and put the anti-chatter clips in the front rotors. I also did the parking brake shoes. I don't believe this is a brake-related noise because it goes away when the car is put in neutral.

The noise is most prominent in reverse and only happens when you actually have the car in the reverse gear. If it rolls backward in neutral, there is no noise. Here is what it sounds like: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/mgrkosv75HA

The second noise is in the forward gears and only happens when you coast off the throttle. Again, the noise goes away if you put the transmission into neutral while coasting forward. Braking does not impact the noise except to maybe slow it down based on vehicle speed. It was hard to capture the noise, so you might not hear it in this video. I would describe it as very fast clicking/squeaking - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/LQ2RZl74rRY

Thoughts?

When you replaced the caliper brake pads, did you check to be sure that the caliper guide pins are freely moving and lubricated? If a pin is seized in its bore (typically from rust) the outboard brake pad will behave badly by pulling into the rotor crooked but never quite engaging properly, if at all, and even making noises like what I think I heard in your video.

mdmellott wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 13, 2023 11:54 pm

When you replaced the caliper brake pads, did you check to be sure that the caliper guide pins are freely moving and lubricated? If a pin is seized in its bore (typically from rust) the outboard brake pad will behave badly by pulling into the rotor crooked but never quite engaging properly, if at all, and even making noises like what I think I heard in your video.

I didn't, but does it make sense that the noise is dependent on the car being in gear?

If it only does it in gear and particularly in reverse, the first thing I'd check is the U-joints.