2004 G35X. Car started making a loud rotational clanging noise in the front end. Not a constant grind but it would make a quick sound every rotation of the tires it seemed like. So I pulled over and had it towed back to the house.

At home doing some diagnotstics now. All suspension components are tight and good. CV axle looks good and I just replaced it a few days ago so could be part of the problem but it doesnt appear to me that it is. Moving on. When the front right wheel is jacked up and the left front wheel is still on the ground I can't get the right wheel to make a full rotation. It locks up at a certain point and then I can rotate it backwards to the same point where it locks up again. When both wheels are in the air they rotate perfectly with no sounds.

For two weeks prior to this the AWD light was flashing ever since I got new tires on the front that were different sizes than the rear (I assume that's why it was flashing) Rears are 215 55R17 and fronts are 215 50R17.

I tried searching the forums but didn't find anything exactly like my situation because I don't know what keywords to search. Any help is appreciated.

 

Not sure what the issue is but Im just curious why u got different sized tires on an AWD car??

 

You probably broke the front diff or the transfer case, you CANNOT run different size (height) tires on an AWD car. The car was telling you for two weeks that something was wrong.

I would suggest unbolting the front driveshaft/propeller shaft from the front differential, see if the tires will spin properly. This will help narrow down whether you broke the diff or the xfer case. Hopefully it was just the differential because that's only about $250, the transfer case is quite a bit more expensive.

 

I drained the transfer case and this came out

 

To identify, you can download the FSM from nicoclub and look at the exploded diagram for the transfer case. Attached is the diagram from my 2006 sedanX (RIP) FSM.

 

thanks I found out its just part of the drain bolt. I don't know how it got torn up like that though.