I need some good advice. I have a whine in my rear. The dealer road tested the car and claims that it sounds like a pinion bearing. He suggested I get a remanufactered rear, all in cost $2,800. Claims that would be cheaper than taking it apart and repairing whatever is wrong.

Sound reasonable?
Take it somewhere else?

Thanks for your input.

 

That sounds a little pricey... Contact Rick (forum member and supporting vendor RKT56). Website is rkt56.com

 

Thanks

 

Might take a look here.

http://www.performancebydte.com/c5-street-series.asp

 

Thanks

 

So how long can I keep driving it? What's the worst that can happen since I have to replace everything anyway, why not wait until it craps out?

 

I always wait until catastrophic failure, before I make a repair.

 

OK, its early, I'm still slow, but you have been kind enough to help me out in the past. How come I think you are pulling my leg?

 

I certainly am. You are betting the farm on one diagnosis, and if you let it go until failure.......it is guaranteed to happen at the WORST possible time. Personally, I would not wait......JMO.

 

Noise in a rear-end is a sign of some sort of abnormal wear or hard part damage.

What caused the wear/damage????

Was it out of the blue just driving down the road normally, hard driving,,,,,abuse,,, low gear oil??????? How is the car normally driven?

Start by draining the rear end and examining the lube. Look for hard parts, metal shavings, burnt fluid etc............

If you find none, I would be surprised.

How do you drive your car? Drag strip? Daily Driver? Auto Cross, spirited driving on a daily basis.....Normal sane person driving?????

That will dictate what level repairs you need to keep the rear together

I think what LUCKY was trying to get you to understand is: If it’s a hard part that on the edge of coming apart and you continue to drive it, that may result in catastrophic damage that cannot be recovered from without TOTAL REPLACEMENT and may even cause transmission output shaft destruction. Seen too many differential cases split wide open and the trans output shaft broken off!

If you have a worn ring and pinion, the rear can easily be rebuilt for a lot less cash than total replacement case and all.

BC

 

Yeah, the word "catastrophic" was my first clue.

The car is basically a weekend machine, and occassionally to work but the car already has battle wounds from inconsiderate (sp) "professionals" in the parking lot so I try not to use it too much for that. The wine just came on about a week ago.....flippin drive me nuts, although as I like to drive it, no air, windows down, you can't even hear it. Windows up and radio off, then you can hear it. Nothing more than an occassional "spirited drive".

Rick, recommended above, has already given me what I believe to be a good deal, but I have to chew on it. That would be a 400 mile round trip cruise to Baltimore. Any follow up would be the same.

I just once again want to thank everyone for their input. This forum is a great resource and worth the bitch slappin you get every now and then.

 

It was good talking with you today. Just remember there is a core charge if for any reason the diff is damaged. All rebuilders including myself have to have a "rebuildable" core.

 

Rick


Where are you located in Maryland. Im from Baltimore...(Dundalk) I live in CT now but visit MD every once in a while.

May have to stop by when Im in the area. If your going o Carlisle,, I will see you there!

Bill

 

PM sent.

 

...its not the rear at all. Its the hub bearings. That fix, both sides although only one failed, and change the oil in the rear is about $1k. Thanks everyone for all your help. I pick the car up on Tuesday.

 

 

/Sorry for bumping this old thread but it may help someone in the future./

What sound was yours making? Was it constant, or only during acceleration? Mine is whining to, and I'm hoping that it also turns out to be the wheel bearings...I don't think I'll be that lucky tho. I haven't had the time to swing by my local shop to have it fully diagnosed as I work full time and attend college every night! Rick has provided great insight and pretty much guaranteed it was the gears/pinion bearing by the description I gave him. ...this is just a last ditch attempt to make myself feel better I guess, $2,500 for a differential is a TON of money that I'm not sure I'm able to shell out right now.

I've considered purchasing one from GMPartsHouse.com for $1,500 and putting it in myself, that will probably be the best thing for me as I don't have plans to beef this car up or beat the crap out of it on the strip/track.

 

Mine was constant, beginning around 40 or 50 miles per hour. Over time, the noise would comen on at lower speeds. Dealer said rear, one mechanic said rear as well and take it to the dealer, but it is possible it might be the hub bearings. I finally couldn't listen to it anymore and took it to Cartek in Garwood NJ, ready to fix it and put in 3.9 gears and actually got a little excited about it. Once they got their hands on the car they called to say it was the hub bearing and changed out both sides. I was sorta disappointed at that. One tip along the way was to listen for an increase in loudness when taking turns. Hope this helps. The dealer was way off base for $3,000.

 

Look at the bright side, it was cheaper than a new rear diff rebuild and you can still get the 3.90s later on.