Worrying Noise, Micra K12 1.4

[Scottb88]

Hi everyone,
Just wondering if anyone can shed some light on this.

Just been having a look at a Micra K12 its a 1.4 SE 2003 reg with 104000 miles we have been offered it from a friend for cheap as they need it gone ASAP so its now on my driveway (not paid for it yet). When I went to reverse it onto the driveway which is on a bit of a hill, as i bit the clutch and added some revs we heard a single loud "crack" noise. To me it sounded like a plastic crack a good example would be something like....snapping a big ruler.

This noise can be replicated every time you bite the clutch "aggressively" if you need to set off on a hill for example (1st gear or reverse).

It also drives absolutely fine after the noise, so i doubt its engine related.

I checked the CV joints which look ok.
Gearbox + clutch seems fine, drives and goes into all gears fine, no slipping or dragging.
Engine seems fine, no timing chain issues, well maintained not noisy.
No warning lights.

There is also a receipt from 9 months a go with £300 of work done to it ( front arms, tie rods and service)

 

[Scottb88]

If anyone read this and wondered what the problem was..

After leaving it a couple of days and having a better look i found out that it was the gearbox, it was leaking gear oil through the input shaft bearing/seal. Upon further testing, the cracking noise was it crunching out of gear. Although the gear changes weren't noticeably bad and the clutch wasn't slipping which threw me off. We found oil leaking out from where the box meets the engine, don't know how long its been driven like this, but the leak was quite bad (considerable puddle of oil after 3 days). It also had a very lumpy and noisy clattering start from stone cold so suspect the timing chain will be the next problem.

Interior also smells awful..

To the scrapyard it goes

 

[plmval]

If anyone read this and wondered what the problem was..

After leaving it a couple of days and having a better look i found out that it was the gearbox, it was leaking gear oil through the input shaft bearing/seal. Upon further testing, the cracking noise was it crunching out of gear. Although the gear changes weren't noticeably bad and the clutch wasn't slipping which threw me off. We found oil leaking out from where the box meets the engine, don't know how long its been driven like this, but the leak was quite bad (considerable puddle of oil after 3 days). It also had a very lumpy and noisy clattering start from stone cold so suspect the timing chain will be the next problem.

Interior also smells awful..

To the scrapyard it goes

The K12 is well known as a bottomless money pit once things start going wrong at about 8 years old onwards and off to scrap recycling with it is the most common best decision.
Better luck next time with its replacement and may suggest Toyota Yaris is superior when compared and much less trouble then another K12.

References: https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/toyota/yaris-1999/?section=good

https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/nissan/micra-k12-2003/?section=good