Differential Chatter
Thread Starter
1st Gear
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Differential Chatter
The differential in my C6 really makes a fuss on sharp turns in cold weather. Just wondering how many of you have the same problem, and does changing the lubricant and putting in the additive really resolve the problem?
Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 3,488
Likes: 27
From: Long Island NY
Check out the first several posts at the below link.
You will hear an assortment of answers to your question... the full range from some reporting success just by merely putting in extra additive to others having their clutch packs changed and STILL having chatter. So... there is no definitive answer and probably never will be.
Some people have experienced chatter after a few thousand miles of ownership and others have reported going past 30k miles or so and zero chatter. The whole chatter issue seems to be luck of the draw.
I started hearing chatter in my car... I changed the oil and additive in my differential exactly per the GM TSB and the noise went away immediately. Noise has been gone for probably about a thousand miles now or so and everything is fine. Others who have also changed the oil / additive have also reported initial success but then the noise returning after about 2k miles though. Some have reported better results. Again, luck of the draw.
It is quick, easy and cheap to simply change the oil and additive in your differential... I'd say start with that and see how it goes.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1497063
You will hear an assortment of answers to your question... the full range from some reporting success just by merely putting in extra additive to others having their clutch packs changed and STILL having chatter. So... there is no definitive answer and probably never will be.
Some people have experienced chatter after a few thousand miles of ownership and others have reported going past 30k miles or so and zero chatter. The whole chatter issue seems to be luck of the draw.
I started hearing chatter in my car... I changed the oil and additive in my differential exactly per the GM TSB and the noise went away immediately. Noise has been gone for probably about a thousand miles now or so and everything is fine. Others who have also changed the oil / additive have also reported initial success but then the noise returning after about 2k miles though. Some have reported better results. Again, luck of the draw.
It is quick, easy and cheap to simply change the oil and additive in your differential... I'd say start with that and see how it goes.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1497063
Burning Brakes
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 922
Likes: 0
From: Nova Scotia Canada
Mine had it the instant I took delivery, they changed the oil & added the additive but I don't have a chance to drive it as it's still winter/salt. Tech said to drive it 800 km or so to see before they contemplate changing out the clutches.
Incredible for it to be like that right from the factory.
..jack
Incredible for it to be like that right from the factory.
..jack
Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 3,488
Likes: 27
From: Long Island NY
Actually... how many miles on the car when you first took it out? Maybe the additive had not even been well distributed between the clutches yet. If the car had not seen much turning (such as 90 degree turns or figure 8s etc) since it was put together, perhaps this is the reason you had chatter so early. If your car had like 5 miles on it when you got it, I'd bet all you had needed to do was just run some figure 8s and it may have been ok after that... just a speculation.
When I changed the fluid and additive in my differential, the rear still chattered upon first taking it out... I then did figure 8's and put the car away... next day, chatter totally gone and has been gone ever since. The oil and additive needs to be mixed well and distributed into the clutches.
When I changed the fluid and additive in my differential, the rear still chattered upon first taking it out... I then did figure 8's and put the car away... next day, chatter totally gone and has been gone ever since. The oil and additive needs to be mixed well and distributed into the clutches.
Platinum Supporting Vendor
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 3,665
Likes: 341
These are some of the symptoms of a Posi Traction unit. Usually you can change the oil or add some slip additive and it will go away. Changing the clutchs is not going to make a difference. There are only two ways to solve it and they both require allot of work if the oil is not doing the trick. You can have some of the carrier machined where the clutchs go in, we do this to fine tune our race clutch setup but it could also be done for a street car to help with chatter. The second is we can install a torque biasing carrier which you would never have chatter again. Both of these are very expensive options, in the end the chatter is not going to hurt anything mechanically, it is more just a issue with the driver thinking something is wrong.
Platinum Supporting Vendor
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 3,665
Likes: 341
No not at all, it just has some side affects and a little chatter is one of them. You guys have felt nothing, you to see when it happens in an older Vette, you think the entire back end of the car is coming out.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 6,709
Likes: 1
From: Pacific Northwest
St. Jude Donor '06
Thanks for that information jabbott.
I've asked several times on this board whether the chatter would actually do any harm and have never received an answer.
Like you, I get a slight amount of chatter when backing out of my garage in the morning but don't notice it otherwise. I think I'll just let it go until I take it into the dealer for something else and have them put in some additive.
Thanks again.
I've asked several times on this board whether the chatter would actually do any harm and have never received an answer.
Like you, I get a slight amount of chatter when backing out of my garage in the morning but don't notice it otherwise. I think I'll just let it go until I take it into the dealer for something else and have them put in some additive.
Thanks again.
