99 Pathfinder - Grinding Noise

crhipsher · Jul 7th, 2005, 02:51 PM

Hi everyone! My name is Cindy and I'm new to this forum. I have a Silver 99 Pathfinder and for the most part I've been very satisfied with this truck. However, about 2 months ago I started noticing a grinding noise from under the front of the truck (sounds like it's coming from passenger side) when I accelerated from 0-30 mph, once I hit a higher speed the noise would go away. I've taken it into the local Nissan dealership twice now (it's there again for the 3rd time) in hopes of fixing the problem. I know that unless the noise is duplicated for them it is hard to diagnose. The first couple of time they thought it was something loose with the heat sensors and they tightened up something down ther. Today I was told they are ordering a rear caliper bolt. I'm confused...if the noise is coming from the front why would they be replacing a rear caliper bolt? Since they "fixed" it the first couple of times, the noise has never gone away and now seems to be happening more frequently. Does anyone have any ideas? Thanks so much!

am3rican · Jul 7th, 2005, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crhipsher

Hi everyone! My name is Cindy and I'm new to this forum. I have a Silver 99 Pathfinder and for the most part I've been very satisfied with this truck. However, about 2 months ago I started noticing a grinding noise from under the front of the truck (sounds like it's coming from passenger side) when I accelerated from 0-30 mph, once I hit a higher speed the noise would go away. I've taken it into the local Nissan dealership twice now (it's there again for the 3rd time) in hopes of fixing the problem. I know that unless the noise is duplicated for them it is hard to diagnose. The first couple of time they thought it was something loose with the heat sensors and they tightened up something down ther. Today I was told they are ordering a rear caliper bolt. I'm confused...if the noise is coming from the front why would they be replacing a rear caliper bolt? Since they "fixed" it the first couple of times, the noise has never gone away and now seems to be happening more frequently. Does anyone have any ideas? Thanks so much!

grinding noise could be happening in gears 1-3 of your transmission. Just throwing out a possibility.

Animal · Jul 7th, 2005, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crhipsher

I'm confused...if the noise is coming from the front why would they be replacing a rear caliper bolt?

Could be that they meant "the rear bolt on the caliper", but the bolts are more top and bottom, so could be that they are clueless and are replacing parts at random starting with the rear caliper bolt. Or maybe they noticed the bolt was bad (not sure what would be wrong with it, but) and are replacing it so you won't have a problem in the future (hey, it could happen).
If we took a poll, you'd probably find that most folks on this forum do their own maintenance. Saving money is likely the main reason, but, the inability to find a good honest mechanic would probably be a close second.
If you can provide more description of the "grinding noise" you may get more accurate responses. Also, does the noise change pitch or get louder as you speed up? Do you hear it when you slow down from 50 to 30 or just when you are accelerating? Is your Pathy auto or manual trans? Is it 2 or 4 wheel drive.

lewisnc100 · Jul 8th, 2005, 08:25 AM

When they said they tightened the heat sensors I'm betting they were talking about the heat shields. Those things just rust away on the pathfinders and most end up taking them completely off to eliminate the noise. It usually is more of a rattle noise at about the same speeds you are talking about, but when you first hear it it can sound like transmission or transfer case noise.