How to tell if the rear differential is bad?
A bad rear differential will develop a series of strange noises. It could be a whirring noise, a humming noise, growling noise, or whining noise. However, the most common sound of a bad differential is whining or howling noise, indicating a damaged or worn-out ring and pinion gears.
How to tell if you have a bad rear end?
Here are the most common bad differential symptoms to look out for:
- Your vehicle is quickly going through oil.
- Difficulty steering.
- A loud front differential noise, such as the grinding of gears, clunking, or a “howling” sound.
- Rear differential noises.
- Extensive and inexplicable wear and tear on your tires.
Why does my rear differential make a clunking noise?
If the pinion bearings are the problem, they create more of a whirring noise than a rumble because it turns several times faster than the carrier assembly. Regular clunking every few feet can also be an indicator of a broken pinion gear and/or chipped and damaged ring gear.
What’s the difference between wheel bearing noise and rear differential noise?
Thankfully there are a few simple things that can help distinguish between rear differential noise and wheel bearing noise. Wheel Bearing Noise. Simplest check to identify a failing wheel bearing is to suspend the car so that the wheel does not touch the ground. Then grab the wheel and wiggle it back & forth.
What causes a howling sound in the rear differential?
Broken teeth on the axle gear can result in complete loss of power when turning in any direction and eventually reaching a point where the gears don’t engage at all anymore, bringing the car to a complete standstill. There are various situations which can create rear differential noise. For example, howling of gears is a sure sign of wearing.
What happens when the rear differential goes out while driving?
Depending on the vehicle and the issue the rear differential has, what happens when the rear differential goes out while driving varies in severity. If you have broken gear teeth or badly chipped teeth then you will experience a soft of “skip” in power or vibration that increases with speed.