Axle Shaft problems of the 2004 Nissan Titan

Whilst driving in bad weather I had my 4 wheel drive engaged. I was driving 5 miles an hour on a straight gravel road, when I started hearing a grinding noise. Before I could get stopped safely to see what the issue was there was a large thud and my entire truck shook. It was then pouring gear lubricant out of my front differential. After taking the truck apart to find the damage I discovered the axle shaft (Nissan part no. : 38220-8s11a) had been stripped of its splines on the end. The part looks as if it was machines perfectly cylindrical. The metal shavings from the shaft slightly marred up the seals so I replaced the seals and shaft, spider gears seemed okay to reuse.

Rear axle seal leaks are a recurring problem on this vehicle. I have had mine replaced 4 times at various points over the past 12 years and they are leaking again. It has been 12 months since the last repair, at which time I also replaced the rear axle shafts in an attempt to resolve the issue once and for all. Fluid leaking from the rear axles directly onto the wheel hub, tires, brake pads and discs and all surrounding areas, saturating them completely, is a significant safety concern, in my opinion, and I believe is grounds for a safety recall. I believe both braking ability compromise and fire hazard are potential results of this issue. As leaks develop, they become both static and dynamic, which is to say that fluid leaks while driving and while parked. Large puddles of diff fluid form under rear wheels after being parked for any significant amount of time. Nearly all of my driving is done on-road so I don't see this issue being related to off-road driving damage possibility. Regardless, this safety issue needs to be addressed and rectified by Nissan.

Driving down a main road when I felt an odd vibration coming from under my feet. Pulled over immediately to see that my axle shaft has pulled out of the differential. After getting the vehicle home I researched online to find hundreds of the same problem. The front differential on these trucks is and will always be a safety issue until they decide to recall the problem. Nissan definitely knows this diffential is not strong enough for the engine. Needs to be recalled before more people get injured!.

This is the second time in over several months that my driver side drive axle for my 4x4 has pulled its self out. It was fixed once on my dime and is now going to be fixed on my dime again it is a dangerous failure that could cause my suspension to lock up an rip my wheel off then leading to a serious accident. It needs to be addressed and the NHTSA has done nothing to pursue this. Another problem that Nissan will not cover is the rear axle seals that blow out due to a faulty design which may also lead to a serious accident, they will not address any of these issues under a recall an there are thousands of people that are suffering from these issues from 04-010 for the axle seals and model years 04-08 for the axle shaft pulling out from the 4x4 causing serious damage to internal and external parts. This needs to be addressed an the NHTSA is doing nothing about it.

Driver side bearing failure seal failure causing axle oil to pour out and axle shaft to fall out. Emergency brakes failed due to being covered in oil.

Discovered the driver's side rear axle oil seal leaking. Vehicle maintenance has been accomplished in accordance with Nissan maintenance schedules. Discovered Nissan technical service bulletin (TSB)ntb10-032 stating entire axle shaft assembly (axle, new retainer, axle bearing, oil seal, bearing cage, and abs rotor) be replaced on 2004-2008 models when oil leaks are discovered to correct the problem. The TSB did not elaborate why the entire assembly is to be replaced. It can only be assumed that all parts of the assembly are considred defective and require replacement. I presented the TSB to my Nissan service department and they said they only need to replace the oil seal, axle bearing, and spacer contrary to the prescibed service procedure in the TSB. Within 200 miles of replacement, the new oil seal leaks indicating the cause of the seal failure has not been resolved. Unresolved axle seal leaks will result in axle failure and brake failures when pads are soaked by gear oil leaks.

I have now only owned this truck for one year. I am only the second owner. I have had multiple drive train issues now with this truck and it is only currently at 75,000 miles as of 11/20/2011. 04/22/11 turned a corner from a four way stop to hear a light grinding noise that turned to a heavy clunk and tire hop. Took it to a local trusted auto repair tech to find that my e-locker deteriorated and literally grenaded my whole carrier assembly. The only fix according to Nissan is to replace the whole rear differential as in new case fully assembled w/ rotors and all. Local shop did research and said this is a common issue they have a lot and Nissan does not sell individual parts to replace. Local shop had to build whole new custom rear end from seals in w/ a detroit true trac mechanical locker. At the same time shortly after found gear oil in driveway from front pumpkin to find drivers side c-clip broke and axle shaft is not engaging (in other words no dependable 4wd) had that all fixed in 05/2011 and seemed okay never had used the 4wd. Now 11/19/11 went to go find a christmas tree and turned on the 4wd again just in case. Once again a broken c-clip out of nowhere. I have now had two broken c-clips within about 6 months of each other w/o 4wd being used. Bought the truck for $16k and have now put in almost another $4k in front and rear end repairs. Nissan is losing a lot of customers by not owning up to their mistakes and design flaws.

The events leading up to my front end axle failure was due to slight use of the 4wd in mild snow conditions the first time. I had it repaired by a factory Nissan authorized dealer and had the same problem occur less than 30,000 miles later. Nissan is saying its not their fault but I was not abusing the 4wd simply just using it. Basically the front left axle breaks a clip and the axle shaft going into the differential slides down. Over time unnoticed I'm sure this could be detrimental to the front end components until a catastrophic steering/wheel failure. I will be trying to contact Nissan to get their story of why this keeps occurring.

After approx 38,000 miles the driver side rear seal required replacement due to excessive leakage. At 43,600 miles the rear axle has failed, one mechanic thought it was as simple as the clutch plates sticking which caused the rear tires to turn the same speed when turning causing the inside tire to spin out. Loud banging started to occur about 60 miles before total failure, in 40 mile before, when leaving a gas station the truck had shaken violently on take off then subsided as acceleration increased. With any small turn, the loud banging returned. On sharp turns the truck seemed to pull in both directions, even at speeds as low as 20 mph. I decided to put the truck in 4 wheel drive, which helped somewhat, probably taking some of the loading off the rear axle, but the drive wasn't easy. I had a mechanic look at my Titan and after raising the rear end and spinning the tires he said the spider gear was shot and the vehicle was not safe to drive. Towed to a Nissan dealer 50 miles away, dropped the truck off because they were closed but did have the chance to speak with the service department earlier. The service rep guessed the rear of my truck before I could say anything other than that I thought something was wrong with my rear axle. The following Monday the service rep called me and said the rear axle needs to be replaced. Also, when the first mechanic looked at the problem, I noticed both seals on the axle were leaking, the driver side excessively. I use my Titan for everyday commute and often tow my 4,000 pound travel trailer. When towing and turning sharply, sometimes the inside wheel would spin out, I thought this may be normal but I guess when under load the differential does not release properly causing the spin. When final failure occurred, the rear end would slip or skip as if gears were missing. When I parked the truck for the last time it had moved several inches back until another gear engaged.