Originally Posted by
beasticles
I have not been back to this forum in a very long time, but I got an update you posted in this thread and came back to respond! This forum was always good to me and even though I no longer own a Crossfire, I can help.
To answer your questions in order:
1) There is no differential in the front, only the rear (hence why it is called a "rear wheel drive" vehicle)
2) If it sounds like a hum/drone tied to acceleration speed and only occurs in certain speed ranges (you may want to post up at what speeds you notice it), it likely is coming from the rear differential. Difficult to diagnose without hearing it. Because the rear differential is not very far behind the passenger compartment, it could be easy to confuse where the noise is coming from. If the noise is consistent at all speeds, this is likely not your issue.
3) I wouldn't call this a major *problem* but it is certainly a fairly significant repair. But depending on how handy you are, it is certainly doable. You need to swap out the rear axle entirely, preferably with a 2005+ axle since Chrysler fixed the defective clearances in the pumpkin after issues with the early model 2004s. There are tons of junked Crossfires out there - search eBay for pricing.
3.1) You can drive with this as is- likely for a long time. It's just annoying. To be safe, you might want to change your differential fluid since it is easy enough to do and will make sure your fluid is fresh.
Thank you very much for taking the time to answer.
Oddly enough in my case, it doesn't only happen at certain speeds. Rather it makes the noise at all speeds BUT only when the engine is engaged. In other words, regardless of speed, it will make the noise if I'm in gear. But if I put the clutch in or put it in neurtral, then it stops, and it doesn't make the noise if I'm just sitting parked, even with the engine on. It makes the sound at low speeds and at high, at high speeds I simply don't hear it as much due to engine and road noise but its still detectable if listened closely with music off.
I don't mind the noise too much, I just want to make sure its not a sign of something bad. I just had the oil leak issue fixed(fairly common apparently) and put new tires on it so I don't want to put more money in it atm.