[SkyFalcon]

2500+ Miles Whining from differential (Limited Slip Diff)

Had my SKY for about 2 months with about 2500 miles on. Everything else is great on the SKY except that it has developed a whining noise (heard it also referred to as an harmonic howl somewhere on the Solstice Forum ) most likely from the differrential when cruising along. Noise gets worse as car gets to normal operating temps and comes when there seems to be a slack in the diff i.e you are not really throttling up or down just coasting along in gear. Noise can be heard in any gear but more noticeable in 3rd and 4th.

This noise only started after I passed 800 miles or so and has been steadily getting worse over a period of a month or so. No leaks though.. and I have already taken it in to the dealer 3 times. The dealer keeps saying that its is a problem Saturn and GM are aware of and are working on but no fix yet. I am trying to be patient with the dealer but the noise can really get in someones nerves..

This is a problem I noticed a good number of Solstice owners experienced(one of the links below) where they refer to it also as the 'carrier'

http://www.solsticeforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16017&highlight=diff

I am curious to see how many SKYowners have experienced this problem also. Please share any thoughts or experiences on this.

 

[REDLINE]

Keep us posted

just the facts:thumbs:

 

[SkyHope]

Can we whine, too?

We have a whine - began at under 200 miles. :banghead: Whine remains with us now at 1600 miles. No leak. Auto trans. Speed related - between 48 and 52 mph. Sent email to dealership earlier this evening. Will report what transpires.

 

[sky looney]

rearend noise

Mine has the exact same condition. Took the dealer tec for a 45 minute ride with his listening device on both the trans and the rearend. determined it was rearend. When it was on the lift, I couldn't hold my hand on the rearend it was so hot. Tec said either new rearend in order or at least a new ring and pinion. Waiting to hear????
Looney
Vin #1066
1800 miles

 

[MOMDRAE]

My Husband noticed a whine in 4th going 40-45. Took it in. I couldn't hear it. But...now with warmer weather I started hearing a whine. But...only when the fan is on high. ?????

 

[SkyFalcon]

Thanks for the Feedback everyone

I will keep you posted on what happens with mine when I take it back to the dealer again.

I have a feeling that this a problem that many more SKY owners are going to experience even if they have not experienced it yet.

The Solstice forum has a significant # of the Solstice owners who have experienced this loud whining from the differential (or 'carrier') and in several cases their dealers recommended replacement diffs although when reading between the lines it looks dealers are now being told by GM NOT to replace them.

With no official communication from Saturn or GM so far on this problem we better keep a close eye on it.

 

[Devoking]

Just returned from the dealer after having the differential replaced on my Sol due to the whine. So far so good, the whine is gone and the whole driveline feels tighter. There was an old and a new part number for the carrier on the Sols, but I would think that most Skys have been built after the change. The new carrier has different bracing to make it stiffer. Will let you know more after it has been in for awhile.

Oops, I forgot to mention, just over 6,000 Mi.

 

[TexSon]

Is it at about 2000 rpm? I have a bit of a whine that seems to be there about 2000 rpm in any gear. Have to turn the radio off to hear it.

 

[Inwo]

I wonder what gears they use in the LSD... I know the Richmond 3.73s properly installed in my 10 bolt whined horribly and they were supposed to be the recommended gear by GM...

 

[sky looney]

rearend whine

Sky looney back . Went to dealer today to check on my repair status for the rearend. was told they ordered new carrier( ring and pinion set) . also told by tec that proper breakin will avoid this problem.

Looney
vin1066
Red
1800 miles

 

[sky looney]

rearend noise

My Husband noticed a whine in 4th going 40-45. Took it in. I couldn't hear it. But...now with warmer weather I started hearing a whine. But...only when the fan is on high. ?????

Needs to be driven so the rearend gets warm, heat expansion causes gears to wear hard.
Looney

 

[SkyHope]

Sky looney back . Went to dealer today to check on my repair status for the rearend. was told they ordered new carrier( ring and pinion set) . also told by tec that proper breakin will avoid this problem.

We did exact instruction on first 500 miles - varied speed, never went near 70, no cruise control... What the heck more could we have done? Heard rear end whine from the second day on the road, so about 300 miles on it max.

 

[Oakvillesky]

Had my SKY for about 2 months with about 2500 miles on. Everything else is great on the SKY except that it has developed a whining noise (heard it also referred to as an harmonic howl somewhere on the Solstice Forum ) most likely from the differrential when cruising along. Noise gets worse as car gets to normal operating temps and comes when there seems to be a slack in the diff i.e you are not really throttling up or down just coasting along in gear. Noise can be heard in any gear but more noticeable in 3rd and 4th.

This noise only started after I passed 800 miles or so and has been steadily getting worse over a period of a month or so. No leaks though.. and I have already taken it in to the dealer 3 times. The dealer keeps saying that its is a problem Saturn and GM are aware of and are working on but no fix yet. I am trying to be patient with the dealer but the noise can really get in someones nerves..

This is a problem I noticed a good number of Solstice owners experienced(one of the links below) where they refer to it also as the 'carrier'

http://www.solsticeforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16017&highlight=diff

I am curious to see how many SKYowners have experienced this problem also. Please share any thoughts or experiences on this.

No relation to this car but on early X-type Jags this was a common problem. The symptom was a whine at certain speeds. In the Jag it was between 90km and 110km. Was there for a bit and then went away but very noticeable.
Turned out to be the propshaft. You might want to get the dealer to check the alignemnt of the propshaft.
Cheers
OAKVILLESKY

 

[Trebuchet]

I started getting a similar noise. Not sure but it seems to appear when it gets humid. It's a howl that comes when cruising around 40mph and the RPM is at 2000. Seems to me to be more related to RPM and not speed. If I hear it, I can either goose the throttle by 100 rpm or drop it off by 100 to make it dissapear. Does not seem to be in the tranny (can't feel anything through the stick). Really seems to be coming from the front.

I was thinking it was intake related because the change in rpm does not effect the speed, and it really is pronounced on humid days... Thicker Air making a harmonic when feeding in at just the right speed?

Thoughts?

EDIT: I just searched the Sol forum, and my noise is definately NOT what they are describing. They refrence clunk and a whine at high speeds and only in Manuals. Mine is definately a Howl, (Like blowing over a bottle top) and almost certainly from the front... Guess I'll have to put in a CAI to test my theory.

Stock Intake
Auto Trans
LSD

 

[Chip]

Sky looney back . Went to dealer today to check on my repair status for the rearend. was told they ordered new carrier( ring and pinion set) . also told by tec that proper breakin will avoid this problem. Looney

There is nothing in the history of this problem that indicates there is anything that an owner can do to prevent this problem. GM has had this ongoing problem on at least three different "Badges" and at least two different platforms for some time. It is about time for them to own up to the issue and redesign a fix. There is a growing number of Solstice owners that are going to have to replace a carrier in their Solstice. There is one owner on his second replacement carrier.:banghead: This is a bad problem that will have long term owner consequences...GM can little afford to turn away possible repeat buyers because of issues like this.

 

[RedSky07]

No whinning

I have the LSD option and have just over 1200 miles on the car. I can't say I've heard a noise. Yes the fan has an annoying sound but that is not what we are talking about here. I check it out on way home tonight.

 

[azzhauler]

We did exact instruction on first 500 miles - varied speed, never went near 70, no cruise control... What the heck more could we have done? Heard rear end whine from the second day on the road, so about 300 miles on it max.

Just another tid bit, don't do extended trips either. That gets too much heat built up, it needs to warm up and cool down, and repeat.

 

[SkyFalcon]

Hi Trebuchet.. I have the CAI already on mine but the whinining or howling does not seem in any way related to the Air intake. To me it sounds like definately something from the drivetrain.

Either Diff or Tranny because when the whining sounds starts at a specific speed and you step on the clutch (manual trans) while keeping your foot at the same position on the throttle the noise instantly dissapears but as soon as you let the clutch up again or engage it the sound comes back right away.

This would seem to suggest that the whining sound I was referriing to comes when there is a specific amount of load on the drive train.

Most likely it is the diff because I read several threads on the Solstice forum where the noise went away after getting a replacement (revised diff with new mount part #15825073) and the noise went away however it has not been established yet if it went away for good or came back after several hundred miles.

Any more thoughts for those who have the noise will be great..

 

[SkyHope]

Just another tid bit, don't do extended trips either. That gets too much heat built up, it needs to warm up and cool down, and repeat.

Did that, too. Made several stops, varying from minimum of 30 minutes to over an hour - s/b plenty to cool down I'd think.

 

[Devoking]

EDIT: I just searched the Sol forum, and my noise is definately NOT what they are describing. They refrence clunk and a whine at high speeds and only in Manuals. Mine is definately a Howl, (Like blowing over a bottle top) and almost certainly from the front... Guess I'll have to put in a CAI to test my theory.

Stock Intake
Auto Trans
LSD

You didn't look far enough, there is plenty of discussion about the "Whine", 3rd and 4th gear when just cruising and a constant rpm usually around 2,000 to 2,500. I had it and they have replaced the carrier with the new part number version yesterday. I will have to wait and see if this fix will hold up in the long run but for now everything seems much tighter and quiet.