Almost imperceptable diff whine
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 19,304
Likes: 85
From: San Diego CA
Almost imperceptable diff whine
According to the buyer of my 53,000 mile C5, there is a slight diff whine at 62 MPH and very light throttle. I could not hear this noise, so I was a bit surprised when he told me about it. He believes it is a bearing, but is not sure. A drain and fill did not show any signs of internal damage, but he is concerned about having a catastrophic failure, such that safety is a concern.
So,
Has any of you had a catastrophic diff bearing failure under these conditions? Do you think that this should be a major safety concern?
Thanks.
So,
Has any of you had a catastrophic diff bearing failure under these conditions? Do you think that this should be a major safety concern?
Thanks.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 32,910
Likes: 2,402
From: Anthony TX
CI 6,7,8,9,11 Vet
St. Jude Donor '08
NO! You will have to hear a LOT more noise before you get worried about a catastrophic failure. Of course, any time you have wheel hop or shock the drive line the wrong way, your asking for catastrophic failure. Whine or NO whine!
I have had friends that have had whine so loud that they didnt want to drive the car on long trips and still drag raced it with out any issues.
If a drain and fill did not show any heavy metal wear, in my opinion, DRIVE IT and enjoy it.
Most of the time, the whine is caused by ring and pinion gear wear but a worn bearing can also cause noise.
How much back lash do you get when you rock the wheels CW and CCW?
The differential bearing are pretty heavy duty. Unless the fluid was pretty nasty or run low, i dont see it being a bearing.
Here are some post to show you the insides of the diff:
- C5, ragtopws6 , Upgrading your C5 rear with C6 Z06 guts, : http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...-z06-guts.html
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- C5, Its_Go_Time, Output Shaft Install - Left and Right: http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-t...post1573407966
- C5 Differential Seal replacement: http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...on-photos.html
I have had friends that have had whine so loud that they didnt want to drive the car on long trips and still drag raced it with out any issues.
If a drain and fill did not show any heavy metal wear, in my opinion, DRIVE IT and enjoy it.
Most of the time, the whine is caused by ring and pinion gear wear but a worn bearing can also cause noise.
How much back lash do you get when you rock the wheels CW and CCW?
The differential bearing are pretty heavy duty. Unless the fluid was pretty nasty or run low, i dont see it being a bearing.
Here are some post to show you the insides of the diff:
- C5, ragtopws6 , Upgrading your C5 rear with C6 Z06 guts, : http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...-z06-guts.html
-
- C5, Its_Go_Time, Output Shaft Install - Left and Right: http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-t...post1573407966
- C5 Differential Seal replacement: http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...on-photos.html
Last edited by Bill Curlee; Jul 21, 2014 at 08:36 PM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 2,606
Likes: 355
From: Rochester New York
I've driven hundreds of Corvettes and a good portion of manual transmission Corvettes have a slight whine heard only at certain loads/throttle positions. Slight whine I would consider normal.
