[CCfrontman]

Hi. My 2007 Frontier XE 2wd has been sporadically making a sound that I decided to call nest of angry bees or something like that. It's been popping up for years, only when the engine is cold. I've asked Nissan mechanics about it but drew a blank. I didn't have the nest of angry bees description at those points. I think they thought I didn't know how to use a clutch and was just grinding gears. It's not that. A while back someone told me they had a similar sound coming from a very new Frontier and it was caused by the fan hitting the fan housing occasionally. That's my guess but I don't see evidence of it yet. Plus the sound only lasts 10 or 20 seconds certain mornings and never returns after I take off driving. It just so happens I'm usually in reverse backing out of my driveway so I stop and shift into 1st gear and go forward a bit then back again and then it stops making the noise. Lately it lasts longer and it seems I might need more RPM's to make it stop. I plan to take a closer look around the fan housing but I am wondering if this noise rings a bell with anyone?

Andrew

 

[CCfrontman]

Sorry. Didn't realize I was in Drivetrain Discussions, wrong forum, although I did have one mechanic suggest it was possibly something with the clutch.

 

[Grampy Matt]

throw-out bearing maybe?

 

[RamTest]

I never quite heard of that description before, but:
an alternator bearing on the way out can make a high-pitch shrill for a moment when cold;
an idler or tensioner pulley can also get noisy, though they usually don't go for years.

 

[Cozz]

Heat shield clamps on exhaust system one or more might be loose allowing a heat shield shield to vibrate or buzz. Tap heat shields with a mallet or fist see if anything is loose. Replace bad clamp with a good SS clamp.

 

[CCfrontman]

Darn. Lost my so well written reply because I wasn't signed in!! I'll try to recreate quickly. So I said I don't thinks it's heat shields because I've had those noises before and fixed or removed the heat shields. This is more like an actual rotating part is contacting another. Goes up and down directly with rpm's, gets higher pitched and louder or vice versa. Then stops. The pulley or bearing noise would probably come up more than just just the10 seconds when cold. This has never made the noise for a mechanic, even in the a.m. when left over night at the shop. It knows when I have my cell phone on video record too, lol. It won't perform! Luckily it hasn't been a big deal. I thought others might have heard of the fan hitting the fan housing because I know someone who had that issue with a brand new truck, which he traded back for a van so he could make a camper.

But this truck has too much rust now and I'll be trading or selling it. The differential cover is leaking through the rust and a rear cross member ( round and supporting the brake lines) is almost completely gone. Just noticed this yesterday. Probably will change the cover but not much help for the frame rust.

Thanks for the ideas
Andrew

 

[smj1974]

IF that happens when you press the clutch petal, its the throwout bearing. Mine does it. Then it stops. Then it happens once in awhile if that makes any sense. It stops and starts so Im not that interested in fixing it. I have had thoughts about getting under there and ... maybe finding that rubber cover on the bellhousing and spraying some silicone onto that bearing. Just a thought and I have not done that yet. Replacing that will be expensive. You have to remove the transmission to get to it.

 

[CCfrontman]

IF that happens when you press the clutch petal, its the throwout bearing. Mine does it. Then it stops. Then it happens once in awhile if that makes any sense. It stops and starts so Im not that interested in fixing it. I have had thoughts about getting under there and ... maybe finding that rubber cover on the bellhousing and spraying some silicone onto that bearing. Just a thought and I have not done that yet. Replacing that will be expensive. You have to remove the transmission to get to it.

Mine only does it first thing upon starting but even when I and backing down the drive or pulling forward so I'm starting with clutch pedal down and then it continues in gear moving for a short time. Like yours it's never been a problem other than the noise. Thanks!

 

[shift_RUSH]

Is your XE a 4 or 6 cylinder? How many miles?

 

[CCfrontman]

Is your XE a 4 or 6 cylinder? How many miles?

4 cylinder 144,000

 

[RiceFrontier]

try taking a video and posting it up.

 

[shift_RUSH]

My old '00 Gen 1 4-cyl/5-sp manual made some occasional/intermittent hellacious noises from the transmission for a short time around 140K-ish miles on odometer. Freaked me out! Then, it all mysteriously went away never to be heard again. Sold the truck to a family member @185K miles back in '15. He recently sold it and never once said anything about hearing this noise. Factory clutch was still in it. Only thing I did religiously was change the trans & rear diff fluids every 30K miles.
I'm not recommending you not look into this, just relaying my story, fwiw.

IIRC, the sounds I heard were more akin to marbles in a metal coffee can kind of whirring sound. It was not continuous, but seemed most evident when the truck was cold.

 

[CCfrontman]

My old '00 Gen 1 4-cyl/5-sp manual made some occasional/intermittent hellacious noises from the transmission for a short time around 140K-ish miles on odometer. Freaked me out! Then, it all mysteriously went away never to be heard again. Sold the truck to a family member @185K miles back in '15. He recently sold it and never once said anything about hearing this noise. Factory clutch was still in it. Only thing I did religiously was change the trans & rear diff fluids every 30K miles.
I'm not recommending you not look into this, just relaying my story, fwiw.

IIRC, the sounds I heard were more akin to marbles in a metal coffee can kind of whirring sound. It was not continuous, but seemed most evident when the truck was cold.

That sounds very similar to mine. The noise is hellacious and then goes away until the next time it decides to come back.