I have been chasing a strange noise on my 07 350Z. Sounds like it's coming from the left rear. Not a clicking or grinding noise but more like a rubbing sound. Almost sounds like some kind bird warbling. Happens whenever the car is rolling regardless of road condition.

I jacked up the back of the car and started playing around yanking on stuff. I backed off the calipers and rotated the axles and got no noise at all. The bearings seem tight. I can't rock the tires and I can't hear any noise when I rotate the axles with a socket on the axle nut. I started the motor and ran it in gear on jack stands, no noise.

I did notice that I can grab the passenger side axle and move it back and forth. The drivers side will not move back and forth. My thinking is there should be be some play to allow the axle length to change with suspension travel. Do I need a new axle? Is one of the CV joints stuck? Seems like I should have the same play in both axles. All of the boots are fine.

Thanks in advance.

Gary

 

I had a similar issue. Turned out my axel nut needed to be torqued more. Before I did it the wheel had a little play but after I tightened it to 200ft lbs it fixed the play and the noise issue

 

My torque wrench only goes to 150lbs. I did take the nut off yesterday. I torqued it to 150 then got the breaker bar with a piece of pipe to extend it and cranked some more. Don't exactly know what it's torqued to at this point but it's got to be at least 175.

 

So I replaced the axle even though I didn't think I needed to. I had the wheel bearing out on my bench and it is smooth and silent. Also backed off the parking brake a few clicks to eliminate that rubbing. Got the rear rotors turned. Cleaned and lightly greased all moving parts including the axle splines. Also tried swapping my back tires since they are non directional.

I still have the noise.

I actually rode in the back of the car with the hatch open while my wife drove. The noise is definetely driver side. Happens on smooth or rough road. Accelerating or breaking or coasting on neutral all make the same noise. Seems like I have eliminated all rotating issues.

Still looking for suggestions