Hello all. This question is a hard one, so I hope you all have your thinking caps on....... I have a growling noise coming from the rear of the car.... at first I just thought it to be road noise.... like a knobby tire would make, even though I do not have knobby tires lol. So we put it up onto a lift and spun up the tires to 50-60 mph and the noise was still there. First thing we thought was wheel bearings, so we changed 'em, but after putting new ones on, the growling was still there. Please help.... its not that bad, but it would be nice to have a quieter ride.

 

Check to make sure your differential oil isn't low. Otherwise it's likely to be worn ring & pinion bearings, leaving the gears with a bad mesh.

 

Well... we drained the diff. oil, but didn't check how much was in it originally, but the amount of metal flake on the magnet was minimal so we figured nothing was wrong. When we put it back after changing the wheel bearings we filled it up, and there is still noise. Now our only other guess is that yes, those bearings might be bad..... but like I said it didn't seem like it when we had it apart.

 

Have you checked the u-joints to see how they feel? If they're running dry, the needle bearings can lock up and leave chatter marks on the trunnions. That can cause noise and vibrations to make you think you have a bad bearing somewhere.

 

If it is not the universal like camaro 69 said. I would think it is in the rear. possibly carrier bearings? The noise as you described would be a sign of ring and pinion wear. I had a suburban that absolutly howled going down the road. I did the same as you, emptied the fluid and took a look. Not much metal on the magnet. About a month later it started making a clicking noise. I took it to a mechanic and he told me I was lucky the axel didnt come out why driving. A clip that holds it in had broken. I hope you problem is not this bad.

 

Well thanks all.... I will have to have a look at all the above and make sure it is none of those.... hope it doesn't end up being too much either. lol

 

You changed the wheel bearings and that did not help, which leaves the U joints or the differential. The U joints are cheap and easy to replace. If the problem is in the differential, then the assembly will have to be taken apart and, bad parts replaced and the gears reset to spec. There is no easy fix for the differential.

 

Ok.... well it sounds like I still have some fixin to do..... Thanks for your input!

 

Sure sounds like the Diff. to me -- had both my Camaros' differentials bearings replaced due to that similar growl/whirring noise... Much quieter now!

 

We ( my father and I ) believe we found the solution... that being there might be too many shims, causing too much pressure pushing on the Diff. bearings, causing them to burn out. We bought new bearings and are going to replace them and see about adjusting the shims. This should solve the problem, with all I have heard.... this sounds like the right thing to do. ... Also! i might be getting another 02 from an auction fri and take the better of the two.... So if this happens and anyone on here would like an 02 with 90k on it..... it might be up for sale soon!