C5 Rear end growl
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C5 Rear end growl
I bought a 2000 C5 with about 26,000 miles and it has a low end growl from about 5 mph to 9 mph. I took it to a dealer and we had differential seal replaced, trans, serviced and they looked over the exhaust, brakes and rear end. Although they think it resides in the driver side (left) rear they have not been able to figure it out. I asked about the wheel bearing but they said they checked both for travel. This car likely sat in the garage for most of it's life. Dealer wants me to drive it until it brakes and they can fix it then. Any ideas?
Drifting
Joined: Mar 2013
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From: Little Rock Arkansas
Most C5s have "leaky butt" (what it's typically referred to if you search) that requires the service you have had done. The issue is that leaky butt can show up REALLY early in a C5's life, and often because it's not a full on fluid leak onto the ground many owners just leave it. My assumption if this was a garaged low mileage car is that it had leaky butt for a while and it simply was never addressed by the previous owner.
With that in mind though it's difficult to make an educated guess on what would happen if you drove the car. If it is a sound from the differential it may quiet with some driving. It may also get louder and grenade itself down the road.
If it's all sealed up and fluids were changed and serviced I'd just drive it.
With that in mind though it's difficult to make an educated guess on what would happen if you drove the car. If it is a sound from the differential it may quiet with some driving. It may also get louder and grenade itself down the road.
If it's all sealed up and fluids were changed and serviced I'd just drive it.
Last edited by Velocity_Vette; Aug 8, 2018 at 04:19 PM. Reason: Spelling errors; I need to learn how to type
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Probably driver side rear wheel bearing.
One way to test yourself is to drive maybe 35mph on an empty road and make a wide swerve to the right. That puts load on the driver side and you should hear the sound slightly louder. Then swerve the the left. That should unload the driver side and make the sound go much lighter almost gone.
If that’s the case then you have your answer.
Another way (you’ve got a crap dealer if they didn’t think of this) is to have the car off the ground on a lift, have someone give it a little gas, enough for 20mph is fine, and listen with a mechanics stethoscope (you can get them cheap for $20) with the needle on the left rear hub (not the spinning part, I’m talking about the aluminum knuckle you bolt the spindle to), the diff, the right spindle hub, the torque tube, transmission... you can tell pretty quickly where the sound is loudest.
One way to test yourself is to drive maybe 35mph on an empty road and make a wide swerve to the right. That puts load on the driver side and you should hear the sound slightly louder. Then swerve the the left. That should unload the driver side and make the sound go much lighter almost gone.
If that’s the case then you have your answer.
Another way (you’ve got a crap dealer if they didn’t think of this) is to have the car off the ground on a lift, have someone give it a little gas, enough for 20mph is fine, and listen with a mechanics stethoscope (you can get them cheap for $20) with the needle on the left rear hub (not the spinning part, I’m talking about the aluminum knuckle you bolt the spindle to), the diff, the right spindle hub, the torque tube, transmission... you can tell pretty quickly where the sound is loudest.
Last edited by ~Josh; Aug 8, 2018 at 07:05 PM.
Racer
Joined: Jul 2018
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I had a similar issue, though it was more of a howl than a growl. Turned out to be a wheel bearing on the rear passenger side. Try swerving right and left as Josh suggests to isolate the sound. If it stops when swerving to one side or the other, its probable that a wheel bearing is bad and needs to be replaced.
