There's nothing worse than having an unexplained and irritating noise coming from your vehicle. You're not entirely sure what's causing it but you believe it's coming from your differential. You would like to be able to talk with your auto mechanic about this to see what their advice is, but you don't know where to start. What do some of the most common issues sound like?

1. If you get a howling noise when you are decelerating, when you have not noticed anything strange up until this point, it may indicate that you have a loose pinion bearing preload.
2. If you notice a howl accompanied by a low rumbling sound or a whirring noise when you are accelerating from any speed, this could indicate that your gear set or rear pinion bearing is worn and on its way out.
3. If in this situation you notice the howling noise but without the accompanying rumble or whir, then this could simply mean that you are low on lubrication and should get this checked as soon as possible.
4. Do you notice that you have a low pitched rumble which seems to be present at all speeds apart from when just starting out from stationary? In this case you may have worn carrier bearings.
5. Worn pinion bearings could be the issue if you notice a strange whistling sound either during deceleration or acceleration at very low speeds.
6. Alarmingly, you may notice a clunking or banging noise while you are attempting to make a turn or you are rapidly decelerating. This particular noise may get more pronounced in warmer weather. This is likely due to worn clutches or spider gears.
7. If you notice crunching or banging when you are making a turn, but this particular noise is not affected by any temperature, then the chances are that you have badly worn spider gears.
8. Next, do you notice an intermittent clicking or banging noise which seems to occur only every couple of metres when you are either decelerating or accelerating? This specific noise is likely tied to a cracked pinion gear tooth.
9. If the same type of noise only appears intermittently every several metres instead, then there is a different diagnosis. This is likely due to a broken or damaged ring gear tooth.
10. Grinding or squeaking at any speed when driving can indicate that you have damaged or worn universal joints
11. However, clicking or rumbling that seems to get much worse when you are making a tight turn likely means that you have wheel bearings on the way out.

What to Do Next

If you're able to narrow down the problem area now, then you should get on the phone and talk with your auto mechanic for further advice.

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