Hi all,

just thought i'd make you all aware of a warranty job i'm about to have done. the entire differential is being replaced. i took the the car in for what i thought was a problem with the exhaust (i'm not too mechanically minded) as we had a high pitched dull resonance through the car at 40-70 km/hr (right on the normal speed limit in australia).

the sound wasn't too bad and the radio covered it at normal listening volume. however, when i got the car back they said the exhaust is fine but you need a new diff.

anyway,the reason for highlighting it is the new diff will cost $6,100 (australian), which is about 10% of the cost of the car.

I just thought i'd let everyone know in case you have a similar problem but haven't thought it was anything serious. get it looked at whilst you're still under warranty.

regards,
Brett from Oz

 

What's an Aussie dollar worth ! compared with American buck.

 

about 1 AUD = 0.75 USD.

 

Sorry, I know this post is old. I think I may have the same issue. Did you find that when you let off the gas the noise went away? Mine can be heard under light load at around 70MPH Dull high pitched whine. If I let off the gas it goes away. Back on it and it returns. Is this how yours was?

Thanks

 

What was the outcome of the differential swap? Did the noise you were hearing go away?

Yes, exactly. I have posted about the same issue elsewhere in this forum. The difference being is the noise I hear is more of a "low pitch hum", sort of like tire noise on pickup's/Jeep's/SUV's with over sized tires. At first I thought it might of been a fuel pump or something coming from the fuel tank located in the bulkhead behind the seats. After talking it over with my dealer, they seem to think it might be something with the differential. Have them check for you in the known problems section of their files�c and look under �gnoise�h. There are four or five documented noise issues, the differential being one of them.

I�fll be taking my car in for service in a couple of weeks and will keep you updated.

 

I thought you'd decided to trade in for an auto?

 

David... I wish but the deal fell through. They said they couldn't find a SSB car. They only had a graphite and blaze with the dark interior. I found two at another dealer nearby... the wouldn't match the deal on the new '04. The had a used '04 with 5k miles on it they would trade me. Problem being it looked as tho the car had been wrecked. The exhaust pipes were very obviously pushed off to one side. The rear bumper did not align properly and there was a huge gap in the rakes on both sides of the car. Needless to say I passed. I'll be keeping #2815... just wouldn't seem right driving another color.

Oh, can you believe the sales guy's last desperate effort to get me to trade on a different color? "If you get the same color, the neighbors won't know you got a new car". I rolled my eyes and Beth said, "we don't care if the neighbors know or not"... ha ha

 

There are alot of SSBs here but they have Gray/cedar interior.Almost traded for a Black/cedar/decided on Blaze.The SSBs are 6speed,with gray.

 

The whine humming is the rear Diff. M.Bs do that to a certain degree.if it is loged as a problem and not done under warrenty they will uaually honor later by same owner.

 

Mine does it in the high seventies. And ya, when I let go of the accel pedal, the very slight whine goes away. I think it is normal.

 

I finally got my diff replaced last week. there was a very obvious reduction in the noise and it feels like we've got a bit more get up and go, probably due to more efficient transfer of power to the wheels.

great service too, and no problem with a $6k warranty job. i'm very happy with my dealer at the moment (chellingworth motors in case anyone in WA is reading).

 

by the way, mine was more than just a 'slight whine' and occurred at 40 -70 km/hr (25-45 mph), not at 70 mph as some other comments above.

brett from Oz