I think I have the same problem now guys, a clanking noise at low speeds, but I can still hear it when 4x4 is engaged. I am leaning towards this U joint issue.

Any ideas how much the dealer would charge me for this?

How much was the actual part for replacement?

When I replaced the u-joint on the front drive shaft, the u-joint part itself was $15 from NAPA

that's cheap online its around 70 and its Nissan oem.

I got my super strength UJ's at NAPA for around $20. OEM prices are crazy high, and your simply reinstalling the same part that failed in the first place. Go with aftermarket.

I hear a click mainly when driving over a bump at an angle or swerve the car. Otherwise there's no other noise. Is this still the u joint? Can I continue to drive the car with no implications?

Just changed one of my U joints, the front to be exact. Apparently this didnt fix my vibration and 60mph, and I am pretty sure its the u joints. The one I replaced was shot, so I thought it would solve the vibration, but it maybe another one that is shot and didnt see it.

Does anyone now how many u joints are in the front and rear?

It should be four in total, cant remember right now and I did the one this weekend. they are different as well correct?

Just wondering if the new U-joint fixed the problem?

I've got 2 noises and I don't know if both can be blamed on a bad u-joint(s):

1. Vibration / noise at 80-100 km/h, similar to an unbalanced tire except noise seems to come and go when flicking between 2WD and AUTO

2. Clicking noise audible outside vehicle at low speed. Clicking sound get faster proportional to vehicle speed. Drivers side, front wheel area. Worse when turning. Can hear it in 2WD. Goes away in 4WD.

Its a 2006 with 30,000km. Not off-roaded, but in 4WD a lot during winter.

Also, jacked up front dvr side. In 2 WD. Spun the front wheel by hand and it turned the driveshaft...is that normal? I would think that the driveshaft would only spin in 4WD? There was also about 1/2" - 1" of play in the driveshaft. That would make a single click/thunk, but some the same type of noise as the clicking when driving.

Sorry for gravedigging an ol' thread. Truck is booked in for service on Friday and I want to give the mechanic a lead on fixing it.

gcdavidson wrote:Just wondering if the new U-joint fixed the problem?

I've got 2 noises and I don't know if both can be blamed on a bad u-joint(s):

1. Vibration / noise at 80-100 km/h, similar to an unbalanced tire except noise seems to come and go when flicking between 2WD and AUTO

This sounds like a u-joint, likely front.

gcdavidson wrote:2. Clicking noise audible outside vehicle at low speed. Clicking sound get faster proportional to vehicle speed. Drivers side, front wheel area. Worse when turning. Can hear it in 2WD. Goes away in 4WD.

I once had a bolt in one tire that made a noise like that. Check the obvious. Short of that, if your front u-joints are that worn, its possible your driveshaft may cause the click.

gcdavidson wrote:Its a 2006 with 30,000km. Not off-roaded, but in 4WD a lot during winter.

Also, jacked up front dvr side. In 2 WD. Spun the front wheel by hand and it turned the driveshaft...is that normal? I would think that the driveshaft would only spin in 4WD? There was also about 1/2" - 1" of play in the driveshaft. That would make a single click/thunk, but some the same type of noise as the clicking when driving.

The 4WD is clutched at the transfer case, so your driveshaft spins regardless of whether you are in 4WD or 2WD.

You should be able to tell whether the problem is before the diff, or after the diff judging by the number of time per wheel rotation you hear the noise.

For instance
1 noise per tire rotation = problem between diff and rubber
3-4 noises per tire rotation = likely the U-Joint, TC or driveshaft itself.

I'm with disallow though. Sounds to me like classic U-Joint failure.

ravrunner wrote:Just changed one of my U joints, the front to be exact. Apparently this didnt fix my vibration and 60mph, and I am pretty sure its the u joints. The one I replaced was shot, so I thought it would solve the vibration, but it maybe another one that is shot and didnt see it.

Does anyone now how many u joints are in the front and rear?

It should be four in total, cant remember right now and I did the one this weekend. they are different as well correct?

4 is correct. 2 front, 2 back. while the front 2 are the same (part number wise), they are different from the rears (which themselves share part numbers)

Also, keep in mind that even if you changed out a defective unit up front, you may also have a bad unit on the rear shaft as well. I seemed to be one of the rare "lucky" ones who had a seized joint on both shafts.

Would something like this be covered under the extended warranty? I just noticed this on my 08 Pathfinder (~64,000 miles)

Just had both front U-joints replaced, vibration is gone. Thanks to all here who helped diagnose.

Also, had the brakes 'inspected / cleaned' and the clicking is gone. Don't know if it was the UJ's or the brakes.

Joints covered under powertain warranty.

Sorry for asking a (maybe) novice question, but I just recently started doing maintenance myself so I'm not all that familiar with car mechanics.

Is there a way I could check this myself? I am experiencing the clicking problem intermittently - brought it to the dealership but they told me everything was fine / couldn't be duplicated. I specifically mentioned this thread and it's written on the service order to check the u-joints, but I'm very close to the end of my extended warranty, so I could see them ignoring the issue just to get out of doing "free" work.