Whining Diff

[e30bemer]

Morning people!

My diff has started to whine, is there anything like i additive that will get rid of it.

Im gonna jack her up, and drain the old oil.
Whack some fresh stuff in. Might do the trick?

Any help here would be grateful!

Cheers

Adam

[clubfx2]

It could be the beginning of the end... :S

[grimbo]

This is a bit of a coincidence - I was about to make the exact same post. I get a whirring noise from my diff that increases with the speed.

what causes this and what are the remedies? - it's a 325 sport.

I don't know if this is related, but, at about 70 mph i start to get a strange rumbling/vibration/resonance that I can feel through the floor. It's hard to pinpoint, but from my perspective ti seems to be from the drivers side rear wheel. It gets worse as speed increases. It's not constant, it's a rythmic vibration that cycles pretty fast, i'd say about 5 seconds.

Not sure if I'm explaining it too well - but you kinda need to experience it. I'm hoping someone will just recognise it!

I have new tires on it that were balanced and all that.

Thanks!

[Brianmoooore]

It could be the beginning of the end... :S

It probably is, but the end may be several tens of thousands of miles away yet!

[grimbo]

I assume it's not the "end" end!?!? Can it not be replaced?

[smithy318i]

Anyone know where to get a new gasket from? mine has started to leak.

[e30bemer]

It could be the beginning of the end... :S

looks like a trip to the breakers!!!

but first will try and replace the oil, and find a addative!
who knows it might work?????

only time will tell

[aceraf]

what exactly happens when the diff fails?

i fear mine will do so as it seems it's either had a leak, or whoever topped it up last decided he'd coat the outside of it aswell!

[Endless325]

I saw an additive last time I was a Halfrauds

[march109]

what exactly happens when the diff fails?

i fear mine will do so as it seems it's either had a leak, or whoever topped it up last decided he'd coat the outside of it aswell!

Worst case scenario is your driving very fast and one wheel or both lock up very tight very fast.

But mine got very very loud before I replaced it and the old one never completely went.

Like brian said if its just started you've got 10's of thousends of miles left in it (if it has oil!)

Fresh oil won't hurt tho!

[boxclever1753]

got to say i have a bit of a whine as well and also have the vibration/rumbling thing... should i be majorly concerned and stop using the car until it is sorted?

i haven't done a long trip since i bought the car but am due to do about 1000 miles in the next week or so.

any help appreciated...

rich.

[aceraf]

what exactly happens when the diff fails?

i fear mine will do so as it seems it's either had a leak, or whoever topped it up last decided he'd coat the outside of it aswell!

Worst case scenario is your driving very fast and one wheel or both lock up very tight very fast.

But mine got very very loud before I replaced it and the old one never completely went.

Like brian said if its just started you've got 10's of thousends of miles left in it (if it has oil!)



I drive 60 miles 3 days a week for my college commute....
although the wine isn't that loud...i think i'll give it a top up

Fresh oil won't hurt tho!

[march109]

I can't comment on the vibration rumbling thing as that never occured on mine even when it was very bad,

On the motorway it was so loud I had to turn the stereo up to just over half way not to here the annoying noise!

Have you checked no bolts have come loose??

[e30bmlover]

Morning people!

My diff has started to whine, is there anything like i additive that will get rid of it.

Im gonna jack her up, and drain the old oil.
Whack some fresh stuff in. Might do the trick?

Any help here would be grateful!

Cheers

Adam

might do the job mate, if the oil has not been changed in a while.

[Brianmoooore]

Vibration/rumbling is something else, and needs investigating.
Diff on one of mine whined for years, until one day the whine became much louder. Don't know what would ultimately have happened, as I changed it within a week.

[Dr Firefly]

Could the rumbling be a wheel bearing as he said it's localised to one side? Can't really think what else - CV joints wouldn't cause vibration would they? Binding brakes? And has it come on since the tyres were put on? Because it could be you've got a bad tyre, even though it's new - my friend had one nice balanced and everything, brand new, but the tyre wasn't totally round, had a deformation in one side.

[Dr Firefly]

Oh and have a look at the state of the oil. If it's got visible slivers of metal in it, I don't think that's good

[SK360]

i think my one whines a little aswell. how much are diff's to refurb? what parts would need replacing when rebuilding? would the cheaper alternative be to buy a re-conditioned one?

S.K.

[grimbo]

I had the car up on stands and ran it til I heard the whirring noise. So I don't think that the bearings could be the cause. I had a look at the oil and it was really clean - looked like it had been changed recently. I've only had the car a few weeks. I didn't drain it from the bottom though so I suppose any metal may have settled and wouldn't be floating in it.

I've got a nail in the tire back there, it's only about a week old - pretty pleased with that. So i'll be in the place today to get it fixed, I'll mention it to them then. Can they check whether it's totally round or not there?

[Kilo]

If you've got a whirring noise from the differential, take it from me that it's well worth investigating. I had the same earlier this year, and upon dismantling the diff I discovered various internal bolts snapped...



Ultimately I sourced a new diff. Much more on this here:

http://mukerji.co.uk/car/wol/project.x?blog=1&entry=37

[march109]

If you've got a whirring noise from the differential, take it from me that it's well worth investigating. I had the same earlier this year, and upon dismantling the diff I discovered various internal bolts snapped...



Ultimately I sourced a new diff. Much more on this here:

http://mukerji.co.uk/car/wol/project.x?blog=1&entry=37

However the minute ou've taken it apart I don't think you can use it again unless you get it refurbed by a pro. Which costs more than a replacement anyway!

[Kilo]

However the minute ou've taken it apart I don't think you can use it again unless you get it refurbed by a pro.

Not sure - the preload on the bearings is set by the spacers on each side - in theory so long as they're put back in correctly everything will be as it was. In any case - you can check that all the bolts are present and correct just by taking the back off.

[cliffybabe]

Anyone know where to get a new gasket from? mine has started to leak.

make one out of gasket paper

[grimbo]

Back to the rumbling guys, Anyone experienced this and come up with an answer?

Any suggestions on how to test for it? given it only appears at about 60-70 mph?

Thanks again!

[Dr Firefly]

To be honest mate, I think it's trial and error. If it doesn't sound like it's coming from the wheel bearings or CV joints on the half-shafts, there isn't much else back there. I would get a garage's confirmation that it doesn't seem to be the wheel bearings first though, as it'll save you the hassle of changing the diff for no reason (which I did).

No chance of binding brakes or knackered half shaft CV joints? My E30 had a combination of knackered rear subframe bushes, leaking (and therefore knackered) rear shocks, worn-out O/S rear wheel bearing, and a diff with loads of slack in it, a knackered O/S CV joint, and binding rear drum brakes. Could be a combination of things - the only way I sorted it was having a look at each thing, deciding whether it was knackered, and changing it. Gradually all the symptoms have disappeared as I've fixed each problem. (just wish I wasn't having to potentially start that all over again now after a stupid woman ran into the back of my parked car and totalled all the rear running gear )

The fact that it only appears at 60-70mph probably is a bit of a red herring - that's the speed you tend to start noticing anything... when you're going round town at 30 or 40 it's easy to be distracted by everything else, and the noise'll be much quieter anyway, it's just when you get out onto a motorway or open road that the distractions are less and the noise starts mounting up...

[Dr Firefly]

Ps for what it's worth, I'm doing a medical degree, and cars seem a lot like people. Younger cars have definite faults that can be easily diagnosed and fixed, because everything else is pretty much alright. But the older the car/person gets, the more everything is just generally getting knackered, and you end up getting confused because everything muddles together into one big mess that's harder to separate out what exactly the problem is, especially if they haven't been well maintained (not enough servicing in cars/too many fags and booze in people)

I think most E30s are entering their late 50s in people years - the age where some are fine, eat healthily, still go out joggin every day and could climb Mount Everest, while some the same age are in hospital beds and in the early stages of dementia from a combination of social deprivation and self-neglect. Only difference is that you can rescue a car from any condition if you're prepared to spend the money.

[tailoutcharlie]

nice analogy firefly, i have this same vibration thing going on, gets worse from 70 upwards. have been advised i need new bushes at the rear, this could be worth lookin at, also got my wheels balance and the suspesion alignment checked, this helped a bit.

as firefly said, keep fixing bits till it goes away and start with the easiest/cheapest first.

good luck fella

[grimbo]

I appreciate the input!

MY exhaust is incredibly noisy. So for starters I'm going to to get that replaced. At least it should allow me to hear the various noises better.

I think I will book it into a garage and get them to diagnose the problem. Though I'm nearly sure the diff should be replaced.

Will also get new bushes for it and probably replace the suspension at the same time. It looks like the original shocks are on the car so they could do with be replaced I'd say.

As you say it's probably going to be a bit of trial and error!!

[Chris]

My diff whines when off power or at neutral throttle (noise disappears when on the the power) Dad (who owned the car since 1991) Says hat it has always done it. could this be normal?

[Brianmoooore]

My diff whines when off power or at neutral throttle (noise disappears when on the the power) Dad (who owned the car since 1991) Says hat it has always done it. could this be normal?

Wouldn't say it's normal, but it's certainly not unusual.
Always more noticeable in a touring.

[Chris]

I thought it might be, it's not a harsh noise or anything. Sounds more like a slightly dry meshing of the gears, still quite slick though.

I'll stick some fresh oil in soon anyway.

Incidentally, what oil should i be putting in there?

[march109]

Diff oil, ask BMW to qoute ou for it, and then pop down local motorfactors or www.opieoils.co.uk and buy the same stuff cheaper!