strange noise from rear end

[casperfast]

i have a 95 tsi, just last night i was driving it and i had to slam on the brakes real hard. after that i have a humming sound coming from the rear end which increases with speed. and engine rpm doesnt afect it. somone said it might be the diff, how can i diagnose it?

it is a low humming noise like others have said, it get kinda loud at 50+mph. i want to fix this quickly while i have a little bit of money before i drive on a trip

 

[forcefed4]

Could be your wheel bearings, or even something with your brakes. If you have a lot of miles I would suspect the wheel bearing. Lift up the rear end and see if there is any play on either wheel.

 

[casperfast]

it isnt affected by cornering at all, the noise starts at 30mph about and gets louder with speed, but not like screeching. just a low hum. im going to put the car on the lift tomorrow and inspect the rear end. im also going to change the diff, and tranny fluid. i am planning on driving on a trip in 2 weeks and i dont want it to break in the middle of nowhere. would it be the inner on the diff, or the outer on the hub? or maybee the cv axle?

 

[steve]

Did you lock up the brake and skid the tire? Maybe you flatspotted the tire.

Is the sound coming from one side ot both?
Does the sound continue when your coasting out of gear?

 

[casperfast]

i was just thinking that on my way home from work. i can hear it from 30+mph in any gear, and when coasting and gets louder with speed. but it sounds like both rear tires more to the passenger side though. ill look at them while i have it on the lift tomorrow. this is probly a way over thought problem i need to KISS keep it simple stupid.
thanks

 

[casperfast]

well thinking simple wasnt the problem. i rotated my rear tires to the front and front to the back and still got the noise from the rear end. it get louder the faster i go. i inspected my u-joints, cv axles and rear brakes. i couldnt find anything. i still dont know what this noise is. any help would be greatly appriciated. anyone ever had this sound ? like i had really large tires on it. the way a lifted trucks nobby tires sound on pavment almost

 

[steve]

Did you check the fluid level in the rear diff, transfer case, and trans yet?

 

[casperfast]

it is coming from the rear end. i even changed out the fluid. i know its in the rear because i shut the car off in neutral while i was going 50 mhp and i still heard the sound. i put all new tires on today and i still hear it. i an going insane!!!!!!!!!!

 

[forcefed4]

anyone ever had this sound ? like i had really large tires on it. the way a lifted trucks nobby tires sound on pavment almost

That is exactly the way I would have described the sound when the rear wheel bearings on mine went out. I have a fwd, but I would think the noise would be similar on an awd.

 

[casperfast]

ive had the thought of wheel bearing on my shoulder. but is it the ones on the wheel hub or the differential? and can i use fron or rear wheel bearings out of a normal 95 eclipse?

i didnt think it was the bearings because i pushed and pulled on the wheels while the car was on my lift, no play at all. can they be bad and not have ply?

 

[casperfast]

i dont want to order the part and find out i got the wrong one. which one would it be, how can i tell?

 

[forcefed4]

I'd bet it is the ones on the hub. you can not use the ones from a regular 95 Eclipse, you need the ones fron an AWD. You might try pulling them out before you order new ones, mine did not have much play in them, but when I pulled them and tried to turn them, they didn't turn as easy or as smooth as the new one. You could feel them grab once in a while when you turn them and they were a little noisy. I hope this helps some

 

[casperfast]

today i put chasis ears all over the rear end. the noise is most deffinatly coming from the right rear wheel. but there is absolutly no wobbly or ply at all, so im kinda nastolgic about it. i pulled apart the braqke thinkning it might have been the e-brake....nope. im just gonna replace the hub assembly. what can happen if i keep driving it like this though?

 

[forcefed4]

Worst case scenario would be locking the wheel up. If you can afford it I would change both sides, how many miles on the car?

 

[casperfast]

i cont afford it right now, the parts are $200+ a peice, the car has 130,000

 

[casperfast]

i drove it 40 miles today, when i parked i felt the wheel hubs to see if they were hot from the friction of a worn bearing, but they were cold to my surprise

 

[forcefed4]

Any update?