What's the consensus on differential clunking during sharp turns?
Thread Starter
7th Gear
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 7
Likes: 0
What's the consensus on differential clunking during sharp turns?
My 05 coupe has been doing this since i got it with 6000 miles on it, took it to Chevy they said this VIN already had the special limitied slip oil in it, plus there was a leak at the left output shaft and they changed some o-rings, fixed that. But their mechanic told me that since this was a high performance car, the diff was built with racing in mind, and at lower speeds the wheels would lock up on tight turns and skip or cause the clutch packs to slip and make thatnoise. It gets very annoying and embarrassing as everyone first asks " Whats that noise?" Any one had any positive fix on this? Clutch pack replacement? Should I just ignore it and live with it? Thanks for any ideas.... Andy
Safety Car
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 4,711
Likes: 3
From: Middle of No where AK
sounds like dealer bs i wouldnt put up with it. ive never heard of any other vette clunking while turning. somr dealers will tell you all kinds of crap cause they know vette owners can be picky and they dont want to deal with it. i suggest getting another mechanics opinion or taking it to another dealer untill your satisfied.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 6,905
Likes: 205
From: Kern County CA
Here's the proper procedure. Initially when I brought my car in, the tech showed me the way GM wants this fixed. The dealer will change the diff fluid, you drive for 500 miles and if the noise is still there, they will change the clutch packs. For my car, the fluid change alone eliminated almost all of the noise. However, I wanted all the noise gone, so they replace the packs. Now all's quiet, well, except for the sound of the cam, 
but that's another story. Good luck!
but that's another story. Good luck!
Instructor
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 196
Likes: 3
From: Glendale Arizona
Clunking noise from rearend when turning sharp!
When I picked it up, I was informed that the mechanic decided to change the plates and add the special fluid. I have almost 14000 miles on it now and haven't had a problem since they performed thier work.
Of course they screwed up one of my rocker panels with the hoist, but thats another story!!!!
Safety Car
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 3,563
Likes: 2
From: Dallas Tx
Go back to that same person and ask him if he knows how to do a bulletin search.
If he needs help, slip him the number 07-04-20-002A.
That bulletin tells all the knuckledraggers how to fix it. And it includes all 05-08 vettes. There is no VIN range in 05 that this bulletin doesn't apply to.
The procedure is to change the fluid with the new Dexron LS Gear Oil part # 88862624. Then go to a parking lot and do about a half hour worth of figure 8s to work in the fluid into the clutches.
Most techs skip that last step, so do a bunch of figure 8s yourself when the car comes back.
That noise is nothing serious, just annoying. Its the clutches doing a little stick/slip pop when the LS additive wears out. The new fluid is supposed to have better LS stuff. It's worked good for me on the couple I have done. The key is lots of figure 8s on the fresh fluid.
If he needs help, slip him the number 07-04-20-002A.
That bulletin tells all the knuckledraggers how to fix it. And it includes all 05-08 vettes. There is no VIN range in 05 that this bulletin doesn't apply to.
The procedure is to change the fluid with the new Dexron LS Gear Oil part # 88862624. Then go to a parking lot and do about a half hour worth of figure 8s to work in the fluid into the clutches.
Most techs skip that last step, so do a bunch of figure 8s yourself when the car comes back.
That noise is nothing serious, just annoying. Its the clutches doing a little stick/slip pop when the LS additive wears out. The new fluid is supposed to have better LS stuff. It's worked good for me on the couple I have done. The key is lots of figure 8s on the fresh fluid.
8th Gear
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
From: Fountain Inn SC
Rear end noise
Had the same problem. Dealer changed fluid in rear end. Noise came back after a few thousand miles. Took in again and dealer said a later service bulletin recommended a different type of fluid. Only been a short while since last replaced. So don't know if latest change was successful or not.
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Advanced
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 56
Likes: 0
From: Safety Harbor FL
Rear end noise
I had the same problem on my 05. Dealer told me that they had to change the fluid twice before it would stop. They did and it did, it's been 10,000 miles since and still no noise!
Intermediate
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 47
Likes: 0
From: Tacoma WA
Here's the proper procedure. Initially when I brought my car in, the tech showed me the way GM wants this fixed. The dealer will change the diff fluid, you drive for 500 miles and if the noise is still there, they will change the clutch packs. For my car, the fluid change alone eliminated almost all of the noise. However, I wanted all the noise gone, so they replace the packs. Now all's quiet. Good luck!
Mine started at 6000 miles. Fluid change helped temporarily. They then changed clutch packs and there is ZERO noise at 18000 miles.
Advanced
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 83
Likes: 0
From: Quilcene WA
Sounds like you all were pretty lucky. My story is the same with the dealer finally replacing the clutch packs. However, during the process they discovered that the differential has casting flaws bad enough that the dealer replaced the entire differential. Haven't heard this one before but at 14K miles no noise. The work was done at 3K miles.
Keith
Keith
