VisualEchos

Friday night on my way home from work I heard this sound from my diff that I've never heard before. The best way I know how to describe it is a blast from the past. Did any of you ever tape playing cards to the frame of your bicycle when you were a kid so that when the spokes hit them it made this trippy sound? If not, you can think of the wheel on "Wheel of Fortune" (that's probably a better descriptin anyway). It sounds like that only deeper, and I'm not certain it's coming from the diff, it just sounds like it's from the back but not located on either side. It's not a "snap", nor does it sound like a "clunk" or "thud", it just has this "dunk, dunk, dunk" sound to it. The sound slows down with the slowing speed of the car. Here's some other weird things...

The sound only seems to be audiable decelerating from about 14 MPH to 5 MPH...then it quits. If the car is in gear that whole time I can't hear the sound . It's like it's only there if there is no load on anything. If I take the car out of gear or leave it in gear (with no load) at about 30 MPH I can hear it too, fast of course.

If anyone has any idea what I'm talking about, or if you've ever heard such, please reply so I have some idea what I'm talking about when I go to the dealer (the last time I took the car to the dealer and explained the MAP sensor problem they wanted to order a thermostat , so I unhooked it and tapped on it a few times and the car has run perfect ever since).

The car has 19,700 miles on it .

Thanks guys...

Andrew

JLabonte

Yes, my car actually just started making that "fluttering" sound too very recently.

I have a 2001 and it has only 11k miles on it. This sound is most prominent around 3k-4500RPMs, over 4500 rpms the engine gets too loud and drowns the sound out.

I'm going to take mine into the dealership as well to have it investigated. I do know there was a TSB out for clutch rattle but I wouldn't describe this noise as "rattle", your analogy of the playing card in the bike wheel is a much better one, mine sounds almost exactly like that too.


Good luck.

boiler

Andrew, it sounds like it could be a bearing in the differential or perhaps a CV joint in one of the axles. Does it make noise going around a right or left turn and not the other way? It could be something as simple as the boot on the CV joint. They can make terrible sounds.

Good luck,
Bob

VisualEchos

Thanks for the replies.

It only makes the sound when I'm slowing down and out of gear Bob, never when I turn. I'm pretty familiar with LSD's , and this sound is not supposed to be there, but you may be closer to the problem with your reference to CVJ's or Axels. Interestingly enough,the car will not make the sound in reverse.

I've had another sound in my rear since I got the car, mostly audiable on the highway, but it's one of those things that's just impossible to explain (even to a tech riding in the car), and it never hurt anything that I could tell, so I just let it go.

I also had the "snapping" or "clicking" sound when backing up or on first take off (that Honda told me was "brake-pad shift" , but this is much different.

I'll see monday when the monkeys get to play with my car .

Let me know what your dealership says JLabonte.

One more thing, I did change my diff fluid at 10K miles because everyone had been saying that when they looked at theirs it was horrible, better safe than sorry....