Differential whine
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Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 2006
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From: The Beautiful Inland Empire WA.
Differential whine
I had a brand new 3.73 differential installed in my 98 Corvette A4 about a month ago. The first thing the mechanic did after taking it down off of the rack was to lay about 35 feet of dark black rubber in their parking lot --- to make sure that everything worked........
OK, guess what? the diff whined like crazy for the first couple of 100 miles then began to get quieter. I now have about 1000 miles on it and it is probably 20% as loud as it was at first. I did replace the lube after 600 miles.
The whine is still noticeable if I have the windows up and the radio off, but otherwise not too bad. If I am listening to the radio at even moderate volume, I do not hear it all. It does not whine at all at cruising speeds, only on moderate acceleration and decelleration.
My question is this --- I KNOW that once they start to whine they will always whine. BUT what about 10,000 miles from now or longer? Do they get noisier? The mechanic admitted that he did not read the warnings that came with the diff to take it easy for 350 miles (which I did for the rest of the time....). I really like the shop I took it to, and would hate to stick them with a $2,000 repair bill if it is not going to get any worse than it is right now............opinions please?
OK, guess what? the diff whined like crazy for the first couple of 100 miles then began to get quieter. I now have about 1000 miles on it and it is probably 20% as loud as it was at first. I did replace the lube after 600 miles.
The whine is still noticeable if I have the windows up and the radio off, but otherwise not too bad. If I am listening to the radio at even moderate volume, I do not hear it all. It does not whine at all at cruising speeds, only on moderate acceleration and decelleration.
My question is this --- I KNOW that once they start to whine they will always whine. BUT what about 10,000 miles from now or longer? Do they get noisier? The mechanic admitted that he did not read the warnings that came with the diff to take it easy for 350 miles (which I did for the rest of the time....). I really like the shop I took it to, and would hate to stick them with a $2,000 repair bill if it is not going to get any worse than it is right now............opinions please?
Last edited by C6NRED; Jun 4, 2007 at 04:24 PM.
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I had a brand new 3.73 differential installed in my 98 Corvette A4 about a month ago. The first thing the mechanic did after taking it down off of the rack was to lay about 35 feet of dark black rubber in their parking lot --- to make sure that everything worked........
If it gets worse, dont feel bad about having them replace the rear. It was cause by their incompetance.
Race Director
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 19,304
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From: San Diego CA
No offence but you really need to evaluate this shop working on your Vette.. Thats the absolute worst thing you can do with a new set of gears.. If it gets worse, dont feel bad about having them replace the rear. It was cause by their incompetance.
If it gets worse, dont feel bad about having them replace the rear. It was cause by their incompetance.
They made a terrible mistake and now they must make it right.
Drifting
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,314
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From: Chicago Illinois
What kind of mechanic is he if he did not know to take it easy with new gears. Secondly, if he laid a 35 foot patch with my car I would have his job! It sounds like the mechanic is just a grease monkey. I would take it back and tell them to fix the whine!!!! The longer you wait the harder it will be for the place to repair it. Whinning is not normal. You dont hear it on a brand new car.
Last edited by robert123; Jun 5, 2007 at 11:28 AM.
