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Droning noise from rear.

M

martinxjan

In Second Gear
Just a bit of advice needed. My Freelander has a droning, bearing like noise from the rear. Wasn't too bad when I bought it but getting worse. I have removed the complete propshaft assembly but the noise is still present. Mileage is 174,000 and I have no evidence of the vcu having been changed. The rear diff could have led a hard life but could it still make a noise when not under load. What would be the best way for me to investigate this further. I have a spare diff taken from a petrol model that was scrapped due to engine failure.
Regards
Martin
 
Maybe a wheel bearing? Or it could be a diff bearing. I think you have probably diagnosed it correctly already. I would be inclined to get allfour wheels off the ground and run it in gear so that I could listen to where the noise is coming from. You'd need to put the prop back on to do that.

If you are doing that and especially if you are getting under it, making sure it is TOTALLY secure on the supports is critically important. Getting it up on a wheels-free ramp is the ideal way to go about it safely.
 
Thanks for your advice. I always suspected it was the diff, but people in the trade have said it would only be noisy under load. I will do more investigating when time and weather permit and will post the results here.
Regards
Martin
 
The pinion or carrier bearings might be rough and I'd think they could be noisy all the time, just like any bearing would. Worn gears would probably vary under load.

When my son bought a secondhand Mazda there was a noise from it when we were driving it home that I thought could have been a gearbox problem but once we got it up on the wheels-free we could hear it was the wheel bearing. We could also compare it to the silent one on the other side and that remove any doubt about what was needed. Hopefully you will find that it's obvious when you can hear it close up.
 
I've had a few days off work combined with some dry weather, so have investigated further. With the offside rear corner jacked up, I can spin the rear wheel and there are no unusual noises. However doing the same on the near side results in a rumble/bearing type noise. This is coming from the diff rather than from the hub, so i think I've diagnosed the problem. The previous owner may have fitted a new wheel bearing as the hub nut on this side is shiny and new. Will post more information when I have the time. Thanks for the advice you have all given.
 
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