Well, I have the rear end whine at 80 mph. Stops immediately when I let off the gas and starts back immediately when I reapply the gas. Went to the local dealer and they have one XFire tech. Took him for a ride, and when the noise starts, he turns up the fan and turns on the radio. He says Chrysler has a noise limit and if you can't hear the noise with the radio on and the fan on it is not loud enough.
Well, when we still heard the noise, he said it was gear whine and alot of cars have it. I proceeded to tell him I had never had a car with it and then what I had read on this forum and he asked me what were other dealers doing about it. I told him "complete change of the rear end" then he said to bring it in and he would look at the differential.
The really scary thing is he talked about checking backlash and clearances and it sounded like he wanted to tear into the rear end. He then told me if he did, the sound could get worse.
What is the best way to handle this? I would like to be prepared before I take it in.
They are also going to look at my hazed up head lights. Funny, I have a 2005 Ram that is in the weather all the time and they still look like new.

 

I would take it to the dealer. Your not happy with your car as is. I think before they start a part by part tear down you will more likely get a new replacement 3rd member unit & be on your way. May take some insistance on your part if any band-aid adjustments they try don't work but hang in there & be moderately forceful. Good luck.
Crossfireone

 

Boy that sounds like a load of horse manure from your dealer!

 

Man, my B.S. detector needle just pegged all the way on "BULL" and bent!

You, sir, are being lied to.

They do have to check backlash and preload etc. to diagnose the problem but he's right - if he takes it apart, it's pretty unlikely it will get better by plain adjustment. It will stay the same or get worse. The only way to "cure" it is to replace the ring, pinion, and set it up properly. You've got a better chance of a Jeep mechanic doing it right than a car shop that probably doesn't do them very often.

Go find another dealer - that one is getting ready to bend you over and start shoveling more B.S., while they help themselves to your wallet.

 

http://www.4x4now.com/gt0699.htm

This describes things pretty clearly. Send it to your dealer as a refresher course. (Or in their case, a revelation)

 

I had the same noise. I took the tech for a ride, he said it was wind noise, but they would check it out. I pickup the car the next day, and they said it was fixed.

So I took it on the freeway home and the noise was still there, I called them immediately, and the service writer told me that their tech can't drive the car over the speed limit, so he was never going to hear the whine.

So I went back, got a new tech, the one that would actually be working on the car, and I took him for a ride. I asked him if I could drive the car over 70 mph with his butt in the passenger seat He said yes! So away I went. He heard the whine, first said it was wind, but asked if he could drive my car. So he had it up to 85mph (me saying to him, I thought you guys couldn't go over the speed limit), lol

This tech was honest with me. He didn't have the tools and had never worked on a Crossfire to fix the rear end, so when we got back he told the Service Manager to order a whole new unit. It was changed immediately, and the noise is gone.

So don't settle for anything less........As for the headlights, one of my was really bad, and they changed it out, and will change out the other one when it gets a little worse. The service Manager said, Chrysler wants them to be pretty bad to change them out at no cost to us. So stay on them.....

OH! and I'm a Female, did this without any guy with me, told them they were going to listen to me, since it's my car, and I know how it sounds and runs and guys think were stupid! ")

 

The above linked article says the differential will eventually fail (see last paragraph). That strongly implies that this noise isn't "normal."

 

I thought the fix was to just turn up the radio until you couldnt hear the noise anymore. Or was that, till you couldnt hear anymore?? ROFLMAO. Those are some very 'special ed' mechanics your dealing with. Dont give in to them and good luck.

MikeR

 

I'm looking at Crossfires and test drove 2 of them last weekend. The first was a 2004 with 35K miles on it. It's Chrysler certified, so it supposedly has been thoroughly checked. When I got out on the freeway I noticed the same thing that you are reporting. When I gave it gas at about 70+ mph I heard a pronounced whine from the rear end which got louder as the speed increased. When I let off it went away, so it clearly only did it when it was under a load. The salesman didn't have a clue, but I told him I thought it sounded like the powertrain. Their reaction is that it's certified so whatever is wrong will be fixed under warranty. I'm not that trusting. I drove a second Crossfire at another dealership that has about the same mileage on it. No sound of a whine at all.

All of that makes me wonder how frequently that happens. This is the first mention of that problem that I've found on this forum. Has anyone else out there had this same problem?

 

I know its a bunch of crap. I was really trying to be diplomatic and not **** him off until at least he looked at it in the shop. I was hoping for a tech with a little sense that would listen to reason, what I got was one that tried to impress me with his infinite knowledge. After questioning him (in small talk) about the xfire in general, I found he really didn't know his butt from a bull whip.
This dealership is a Jeep dealer as well, so that may help, but I'm afraid with the financial crisis Chrysler is in, they may not be real anxious to replace the differential.
The guy mentioned he had never been into a xfire rearend, asked me if mine had a spoiler, and didn't know that the cup holder was where it was, plus, there are very few xfires around here, so he is more than likely a xfire tech in name only.
Oh, and they won't get anywhere near my wallet-still under warranty..........

 

Do a search for "rear end noise" you will find more, thats what I did.

 

Good to hear it's under warrantee. Truth is, it is probably cheaper to replace the whole part in one piece than to try and fix a bad one. And Jeep dealers generally don't do any more differential work than any other car dealers - it's the aftermarket Jeep guys that typically do all that stuff - putting in lockers and high-ratio gears with beefier axles and so on. Some of them do it all day every day and get awfully good at it. Some of them are just as bad as those who don't get any practice...

Hope you get a whole new assembly - your diplomacy will probably pay off...

 

See my thread on this same issue. Its a manufacturer defect with the differential. Other members have had this problem also and I have directed them to my story.

https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...hlight=humming

 

Update....new rear end ordered-under warranty.

 

I just bought a certified '04 coupe a couple of months ago. I was hearing a whining sound from about 40 mph on up when it was under load. Take the foot off the gas and it would go away. It's now being fixed on warranty. The new differential will be in early next week. The posts on this forum helped me to identify the problem and get it taken care of without any BS.

 

I have a 2004 coupe bought new. Replaced the rear diff at 10000 miles, and the second one at 30000 miles. Tech said he did not hear any noise. Took the service manager for a ride, and showed him. Same kind of story as your guys, noise when you are higher than forty mph. Goes away when you lift the pedal. Bearings are loading up under load. Good to hear you guys got results as well.

 

The solution for my car was a new under warranty differential.

UPDATE 8/29/08

Lake Norman Chrysler called me today told me that the rear differential has a problem and they are ordering a new one under warranty. I will update after picking up the car. I was told it will take a few days to receive the part. Anyone else have this happen to their Xfire or am I just the lucky one to find out about it now at 17,500 miles?

Thanks
Don

Recently I have noticed a metal pop noise coming from the rear end of the car. I have 17,500 miles on the car. It happens when I am decelerating at least that is when I can hear it. If I am not playing the stereo I can hear it quite clearly.

No driveablility issues are noted, there are no loose parts noticible and the shifting is smooth. It comes from the rear area of the car.

My car is a Ltd, autostick.

Thanks

Don