John in Norcal

My car has a very irritating whining or howling sound when I'm cruiding at speed. The faster that I go, the louder the sound. As the car slows down or stops, the sound goes away. It's almost unbearable and I'm a guy who enjoys loud engines and exhausts. Do you guys think it's a bad differential? If so, what is the cost to get this repaired at the dealer?

I took the car in for its annual low mileage maintenance at the dealer this week and took the shop foreman on a test drive. He heard the noise also and at first thought it may be bad wheel bearings but during the inspection he ruled that out. He now thinks that it may be additional noise in the transmission caused by my stage 2 clutch with LWFW or it may be a bad differential. Has anyone with a LWFW experienced this kind of noise? I don't think it's the clutch so I'm suspecting differential. Any helpful comments would be appreciated.

ltc

Have you read this?
https://rennlist.com/forums/996-turbo-forum/380988-high-pitched-whining-sound.html

ltc

And also look at this:
https://rennlist.com/forums/996-turbo-forum/381279-my-car-burned-today.html

rocketrider2

Well if the sound gets louder as you increase speed that may rule out the powersteering. I would suggest as you are out driving and the noise gets louder, push in your clutch and let the rpms drop. Is the sound still or diminished, maybe transmisson or clutch. If the sound stays the same then possibly may be a wheel bearing. BUTTTT I had a very similiar sound and it was my tires, Conti Sports. What kind of tires on your car?

manny_g

depress the clutch while driving at a low speed. if the sound goes away then its the p.s. oil resorvoir...if the resorvoir is the culprit get it reapired asap...

John in Norcal

I read the threads on the PS resevoir and ruled that out because the noise gets louder as I increase speed. When I push in the clutch at cruising speed and let the RPM drop, the noise is still there so I don't think it's the clutch (but what do I know). I have brand new Michelin PS tires all around with less than 1000 miles. I'm familiar with the sound of loud tires and I'm almost certain that's not it. The dealer ruled out the wheel bearings also after inspection. What could be left? Differential or something else? Thanks.

manny_g

John: this is just a suggestion. if your car is a 01 through 04 chances are that sooner or later you are going to have to replace the resorvoir. some times the symptoms are slightly different from one vehicle to the next but the cause might be the same. if you plan to keep the car for a while i would just change the resorvoir and see if the noise goes away. the dealer charged me 1k to replae mine, but maybe you have a good indy and can do it for less. like i said just a suggestion.

good luck and keep up posted..

rfl

Is the car still under original/CPO warranty? My steering fluid revervoir replacement was covered under CPO.

The whining sound would start if I was in low gear (1st or 2nd) and driving a constant rpm around 2500 to 3000 and would get louder as I slowed down -- which may have just been a function of the sound being more obvious as the noise of the engine itself diminished. Someone else on the Board gave me a very good way to see where the noise was coming from: open the hood and listen to the engine near the reservoir (upper right part of the motor as you are viewing it from the rear) and have someone rev the car in neutral to 3000 rpm for 30 seconds. The noise should be there and you can almost pinpoint with your ear that it is coming from the reservoir. Once you step on the clutch pedal the noise goes away completely and immediately. There is a TSB on this.

John in Norcal

Manny, if I could get rid of that noise by replacing the PS resevoir for $1K, I would be a happy man. I'm just praying that I don't have more serious and costly problems.

RFL, my car is out of warranty. I will do the test that you suggest to see if I can locate where the noise is coming from.

Thanks, guys.

J.Seven

Any news on this?

J.Seven

John in Norcal

Now we think it is the wheel bearings. Getting them replaced next week. Hopefully the noice will be gone. Will post update.

medici78

What made you ultimately decide it was the wheel bearings?

Oak

tires.

John in Norcal

I took my car to Sharkwerks and they were confident that it was bad bearings. They took it apart and indeed the wheel bearings were shot. It looks like the mystery is solved. I'm picking up my car on Friday and hopefully the strange noise will be gone.

medici78

How far did they take it apart to examine the wheel bearings? My car is making some noise and I can't tell whether its just amplified road noise from the combination of JIC coilovers with solid mounts and 19" wheels/tires. My mechanic checked it as best he could without taking anything apart and said everything looked normal.