94redrag

I have a high pitched whine/humming coming from my car only when I hit the accelerator. I think i have narrowed it down to right under the shifter someplace.. The whine only occurs when I hit the gas pedal and is higher pitched in 3th 4th 5th and 6th gear. Anyone have any idea what it could be? I have an RSD Snap shifter. Its only been doing this for the last month or so.The car only makes this noise driving and not in neutral if you rev it any. Hoping to make the repair a winter time project. Hopefully its not a major repair. Any help is appreciated.
Thanks.

oharal

Its your differential...mine was doing it too. I thought it was coming from the shifter hole, but the vibrations travel up the torque tube and you hear it there. The whining is your ring/pinion gears dying. Mine got so bad you couldn't hold a conversation. My understanding is they all whine some, and the one I replaced mine with had 84k miles and whines. My diff was trashed. The axle outdrive bearings got ultra loose and let the gear lash move around killing the gearset. Eventually, its a major repair.

El original

There should be a sound deadening mat above shifter box. Not much of one but the difference with or without is huge. The mat may have been left off when putting in aftermarket shifter as it has to be modified to fit. I am betting this is the problem. My Corvette is dead quiet but remove this mat and it is a different story. I know as I did a retro fit shifter to MGW and drove the car without mat in place when trying out the MGW. Good luck.

94redrag

Thanks for the information gentleman.
The car is an 02 with only 54,5xx miles. I'm really hoping its not the transaxle.
I installed the RSD shifter a couple of years ago and I did put an isolator around the base. I'm hoping that the isolator just worked its way loose over time and replacing it will be the answer.
I guess its time to pull the console and check things out.

94redrag

Ok. I finally got around to pulling the console and its not the isolator.
So it looks like its time to replace the differential.
Any suggestions on the best place and price for a new or rebuilt on?
I have a lift in my shop but not sure I want to tackle this job myself as it looks to be a major repair. Any advice?

Thanks.

Vetteman Jack

Moved to C5 Tech.

oharal

Its a major repair but the remove and replace is actually not quite as bad as one might think. I did this with a friend on his half height lift and we got the transaxle on the ground in 5 hours after never doing anything like it before. (I had to redo it later, long story, and got the transaxle on the ground in 2 hours with 3 pairs of hands). I got a used diff from an 84k mile car and it whines a bit too so it's probably not long for this world. I recommend getting yours rebuilt. Mine was too rough to be salvaged which is why I went used market. Before you do it all, drain the diff and examine the fluid as well as the magnetic drain plug looking for glitter. Pop one axle out (I think you'll need to detach the upper control arm from the frame to do this) and grab the outdrive with your finger. If its loosey goosey the diff is trashy trashy. If the fluid is okay and the outdrive is relatively tight, you may look elsewhere for noise.