Hi all

I own a 2008 g37S m6 with 110,000kms (roughly 65,000 miles?) I have what seems to be a clicking noise from the front passenger side of the car. Best way to describe the sound is like when you were a kid and you would put a playing card in the spokes of your wheel on your bike. Now this only seems to be on deceleration in either first gear or second going at very low speeds like 5 mile an hr or less. At first I thought it might have something to do with my clutch because once I push it in,the noise goes away. So really,it just happens when it’s under load. Now I did raise the car up an inch( guy before me had coilovers installed and slammed it) then I had it realigned. But I’ve noticed the driving characteristics haven’t changed much. The car still wanders a bit at highway speed and I’m always having to correct it. Follows ruts badly like someone is pulling on my steering wheel. This makes me think it’s suspension related. So I really started to try and dig into this a little more. I threw a jack under the car and got the wheel to where it was free spinning. Checked for any play in the wheel to see if maybe bad hub or wheel bearing. Seems to be pretty solid. Inspected the coilover. Tight and firm in there with no signs of leaking and seems to be installed correctly. I visually inspected the upper and lower control arms and they seem to be in good shape. Boots on all the knuckles look good. Same with the end link. Not sure what else I can inspect. Now I did read up that if the car wonders a bit on the highway and tracks ruts bad, that it’s a good sign the sway bar end links could be shot. I went ahead and ordered two new moog end links because they are relatively cheap,I can do it in my driveway and if it’s not the problem,well I have new end links. Any thoughts or suggestions? I’d appreciate some feed back.
Thanks

 

I’m not great with mechanics so take my opinion lightly, but I’d like to add my .02 cents.

is it a singular click? Or is it multiple clicks in a row?

The reason I ask is with my car(modified, but with some of the best parts on the market, and only touched by an extremely qualified garage) on some days and weather conditions, I will get a singular click sound from the passenger side area the second I let off the throttle. Just one slightly audible click.

I’ve never really worried about it as modifications usually bring some noise and I bought the car stock, but if I did buy it with mods I could easily see your concerns.

Are the steering bushings modified? I have a set of modified ones, and that is what really brought some noise in my vehicle.

I would really look into the wandering, but I wouldn’t worry to heavily about the click unless it is persistent and multiple clicks.

 

Hi fallenblade,thanks for responding. Yeah the noise is continuous. On deceleration at real low speed, if I don’t push the clutch in or I just let the car engine brake itself,the noise is there until the car is free coasting. What I mean by free coasting is the car is in gear,but no load on the gear like it’s in neutral. If that makes sense.
funny thing is you would think the noise could be replicated over speed bumps or braking or reversing,but it only does it in the above posted conditions. I wonder if the coilovers being as stiff as they are that it doesn’t allow the suspension to flex as much to be able to replicate it any other way.
Other then that,I love the car. I bought it expecting I might have to do a few things mechanically to it,being 13 years old now. If it still does it after the end links are replaced then I’ll just start replacing suspension stuff in sets of two until I get it. I’m going under it today to give it a really good look and see if I didn’t miss something the first time around.
Thanks

 

Ahh, mine is automatic transmission, but I used to ride a motorcycle, so I know engine breaking all to well.

that does indeed sound like an issue then, and I hope you find the source of it.

it’s truly a great car when you break down the value to cost and have fun with it.

 

Are you sure it's not your axles clicking? When mine was doing it before I fixed it it was hard to tell where it was coming from. Just have someone switch between reverse and drive while you hold your ear to each wheel. Not saying that's the issue but couldn't hurt to check.

 

Thanks for the response guys.
@mummy2 my car is rear wheel drive so it doesn’t have front axles. Unless you were meaning it might not be the front,but possibly the back. I do like your idea about having someone drive it while I listen for the noise as I am pretty stumped on what the issue is. I had it on stands today going over everything In the suspension,but everything is super tight. No play that I could feel. I’ll eventually figure it out and report back what I find. Thanks again😎

 

That's what I meant because when my rears were clicking I couldn't tell where it was coming from until I put my ear to the wheel. Sounds under the car bounce off the ground and the metals and it's hard to tell sometimes where specifically they originate from. I meant while the car was stationary have someone shift the car. That's how I nailed it down. Also check to see if something is caught inside the rotor. I once had a screw stuck in mine

 

So any updates?

 

was it the torque converter maybe? mine is starting to make some click sounds now when the car is warmed up and when accelerating from a stop.