Hello. I just bought a 2004, and I need help diagnosing a problem that the dealer isn't having luck with. There is a squeak/squeal which sounds as if it's coming from the rear. You can hear it over the radio. It stops when you make a LEFT turn. Some facts about the car: 49,000 miles. It just had the gas tank replaced; I have only driven it about 10 miles since the replaced gas tank. After the tank repair, it was in to have the transmission adjusted, as it wouldn't go into reverse from drive. If anyone has any hints I can pass along, I would greatly appreciate it!

 

And when did this noise start? If it started after any of the listed repairs, then the dealer should investigate what they disturbed....that is precipitating the squeak.

 

The noise started after the transmission repair, I think; I didn't notice it before the transmission repair, but it might have been there before, since I only drove the car about 30 minutes after the gas tank repair, and before I took it in to have the transmission adjusted.

The dealer is investigating; they have had the car since Thursday morning, and are not having luck finding the source of the noise. They said there were going to use "chassis ears," but I don't know if they have done so yet. I was hoping someone might have a suggestion I can pass along to the mechanic.

I have had the car for 28 days, and it has been in the shop for 22. Most of it for the gas tank repair, and now the two problems which have arisen from that work. Frustrating!

 

Fixed. Control arm was tighted with suspension, causing bushings to creak. Control arm has to be tightened while the car is on the ground.

 

Not fixed. Still squealing.

 

If doing that re-tighten on your suspension temporarily stopped the squeak, that is a pretty good clue that the squeak is indeed coming from that area. Has your dealer put the car up on jackstands or etc. and then put a bumper jack under the tire/wheel on the squeak side? Maybe raising and lowering the tire/wheel with the jack will cause it to squeak and then the squeak can be located. Good luck.

 

Could be a dry balljoint as they have no grease fitting, but at that low mileage, it's doubtful. The dealer needs to install the electronic chassis ears sensors to various rear end parts to isolate where the sound is coming from. Good luck!!!!

 

Called a guy who only works on 'Vettes. He said that it was likely that they broke the transmission brackets when replacing the gas tank. Told the dealer...we'll see if they find the same thing.

 

What are these "transmission brackets" you speak of....that if broken, would precipitate a squeal type noise?

 

Thanks for helping guys. I appreciate any advice I can pass along to the dealers...they seem to need all the help they can get.

Lucky, I may not have adequately described the noise: it's a squeak/squeal/tweety noise, sounding like a huge hamster wheel. It is a constant sound, even while the car is in park. Sometimes it's louder, sometimes it's quieter, but it's there, except when you turn or go around curves. Strange. It emits from behind the seats, not from the engine. Keeping the gas tank replacement in mind, and the fact that the transmission had to be adjusted leads me to believe that the transmission is somehow involved. When I picked it up the other night, they SAID it was fixed after they tightened the control arm, but the hamster sound was still there when I picked the car up, and sounded worse today.

The guy my husband called today is a mechanic who owns a specialty corvette store in Pensacola, FL. I'm not sure what a transmission bracket is, being a schoolmarm. I can tell you why your eighth grader hates you, but I can't fix a car. I would assume that it is in proximity to the transmission, perhaps holding it in place, and the transmission is making noise because the transmission is not properly secure. But you know what they say about assumptions...

 

Ugghh..a girl....now i have to behave....

Not sure what to tell you. The fact that it makes the noise stationary (in park), should make this very easy to locate....especially with a lift.

Perhaps the mechanic had a childhood like mine.....never having the luxury of pets ; thus, not knowing what a hamster wheel sounds like...

 

Lucky, I'm a middle school teacher. I can take anything you guys can dish out! We have to be thick-skinned and a little bit mean. I am considering putting the "technician" in a hamster wheel. You would think the noise would be easy to locate...especially coming from the rear. Considering the engine and stuff in the front, there's not that much back there!

 

If you suspect the bushings, try lubricating the bushings just to see if that makes the noise go away.

 

Here's an update, if anyone has the same problem, and wants to know what it was: After seven....SEVEN days, the dealer finally found the problem. The bushings in the left-side transmission mount have deteriorated, causing the squeal.

When the customer service rep told me that, I said, "Is this the part when I get to say, 'I told you so?'" One guy diagnosed the problem over the phone, and we told the dealer it was transmission brackets...and it still took them seven days to come to the same conclusion.

You can bet that if anything else goes wrong with this car, it won't be going to the dealer.,,

 

Could you post a pic of the transmission bracket ? I just can't envision where it is.

 

Lucky, I will try. They will be picking up, repairing, and delivering my car back to my workplace when the part comes in. I guess I get the red-carpet treatment because of the time involved to find something which I told them when I brought the car in. I will leave my camera in the car, and ask if the tech will snap a picture during the repair.

I can tell you this...one mechanic called it a "transmission bracket," and the dealer called it a "transmission mount." The noise was on the left side, and once he had pinpointed the location to the left side undercarriage, he didn't have to drive the car to make the squeal; he could just push on the exhaust, and they'd hear it.