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Rearend

19K views 107 replies 34 participants last post by  Groucho 
#1 ·
I read on another site about rearend whine and bolts falling out of it. Has anyone here had any problems??
 
#3 ·
Hideaway said:
My GTO has that rearend whine problem. My dealer is in the process of replacing my differential. The problem first became noticeable at about 1600 miles, and got proggressively worse during the course of a 1000 miles.

I just got my GTO back today, and it now handles like a completely different car. Because it is now handling like a GTO. I only have one thing to say, "awesome car!" :cool

The bad differential was sent back to GM, so it could be inspected by the engineers.
 
#4 ·
Hideaway said:
My GTO has that rearend whine problem. My dealer is in the process of replacing my differential. The problem first became noticeable at about 1600 miles, and got proggressively worse during the course of a 1000 miles.
I'll make this thread more active/current . I'm hearing the whine from 45-60 when pressing accelerator and no whine when coming off gas. Will visit Dealership with complaint and see what I can add...
 
#6 · (Edited)
The Service Manager heard the sound and Ordered a Complete Rear Axle Assembly . He said that Pontiac/Dana are still trying to determine the origin of these noisy pinions. The idea was to get a complete rear axle assembly to be sure the problem is fixed. Bad news is new Rear Axle Assembly needed @ 2000 miles , Good news is the dealership didn't play games and knew of this problem hitting some percentage of GTO's , also under warranty (think it's 3-4 large). They say +- 2 weeks for parts and then I'll go back in . The noise is a whining noise at 45-50 mph when giving gas , noise quits when come off gas. No Whining Noise at other speeds.

To Be continued...
 
#7 ·
Xcommuter said:
The Service Manager heard the sound and Ordered a Complete Rear Axle Assembly . He said that Pontiac/Dana are still trying to determine the origin of these noisy pinions. The idea was to get a complete rear axle assembly to be sure the problem is fixed. Bad news is new Rear Axle Assembly needed @ 2000 miles , Good news is the dealership didn't play games and knew of this problem hitting some percentage of GTO's , also under warranty (think it's 3-4 large). They say +- 2 weeks for parts and then I'll take it back in . The noise is a whining noise at 45-50 mph when giving gas , noise quits when come off gas. No Whining Noise at other speeds.

To Be continued...
Uh-oh. Mine does that. Is it like a whirring noise from the back that you can hear if the radio is down but not if you had it up? Also, I am getting this loud clunking noise from back there when shifting. It clunks the loudest when I am going into 6th gear at like 45-50. If I put the clutch in, nothing, but when I let it out *Clunk*. It will do it over and over again every time I let the clutch out. Its loud too, I heard it over the radio, louder than the whirring noise.
 
#11 ·
My GTO thunks and clunks...but whats worrying me is the whirring sound I hear @ 40-55mph from the rear. Not screaming, but its there. My car only has 550 miles on it. Great. Needless to say I'll be calling the dealership up this week. Not cool. :willy:
 
#12 ·
On my recent vacation, I noticed a deep sounding whine coming from the rear of my goat but it really doesn't become noticable until about 75 or 80 mph and not at the 45 to 50 mph point as most are reporting. At this point I am leaning toward tire noise on different pavement surface textures. Positive throttle position it is worse, decel position it seems to diminish a good bit.

Gonna keep monitoring this to see if it gets worse and continue hoping it really is only tire noise.
 
#13 ·
Pennsylvania Goat said:
My GTO thunks and clunks...but whats worrying me is the whirring sound I hear @ 40-55mph from the rear. Not screaming, but its there. My car only has 550 miles on it. Great. Needless to say I'll be calling the dealership up this week. Not cool. :willy:
Took mine in over 2 weeks ago for 45 - 55MPH whine. They've order a whole new rear and hope to have one in within another week or 2. It takes quite awhile. They are well aware of this problem and will just replace it.

But thats okay, because while it was in, the gas pedal sensor went and now my GTO has been stuck at the dealership for 18 days now! I'm really starting to hate this car - but then again, its been so long since I've driven it that I forget what it was like!
 
#14 · (Edited)
I have always bought my cars new , and there are always problems to be fixed under warranty. True a New Rearend as the fix (which I am also waiting on) is a big problem , my concern is what caused the problem (Dana was to research the issue from failed parts - but no news/info that I'm prive to has been reported). And aren't Dana's some of the best rearends available...

If this pinion problem (as I know the problem to be) can be solved then future GTO's will not have any concern. IF this pinion issue and the gas pedal sensor problem (drive by wire issue) are correctable then some of us will have had to step on gernades for the betterment of other owners. That is also why this forum is so popular with owners and non-owners alike.

As far as I recall when the Rearend is replaced and/or the gas pedal is replaced the problem is solved and doesn't occur again. If that is not the case then GM has a more serious problem. One of the deep frustrations is that the parts for our GTO's are slow to arrive and usually backordered. I even read that there is backorder on some colors of touch-up paints ??

Contrary to the majority of Rabbits on this forum some of us are turtles and just want the problems fixed so we can drive our stock Goats for many years...

:)
 
#16 · (Edited)
The whine I am waiting for a new rearend for is : Comes from behind rear passenger seats at 45to55+- with gas applied , come off gas the whine goes away , press gas again and the whine is there. Sounds like a failing fuel pump from other vehicles experience... The whine is not present at other speeds in the on/off gas test. But others say the whine eventually is audible at speeds other than this 45-55 range...
My Service manager drove it - heard it and ordered the parts , no discussion...
This time of year I always have the A/C on in FL...
 
#17 ·
Xcommuter said:
The whine I am waiting for a new rearend for is : Comes from behind rear passenger seats at 45to55+- with gas applied , come off gas the whine goes away , press gas again and the whine is there. Sounds like a failing fuel pump from other vehicles experience... The whine is not present at other speeds in the on/off gas test. But others say the whine eventually is audible at speeds other than this 45-55 range...
My Service manager drove it - heard it and ordered the parts , no discussion...
This time of year I always have the A/C on in FL...
Same thing I noticed..... Let off the gas and it goes away. Apply gas and it whines.... But is this a cause for concern?
 
#18 ·
Cottonfarmer said:
I am leaning toward tire noise on different pavement surface textures.
I've noticed that certain types of tire noise really transfer through the chassis and into the car. For the most part, the GTO is amazingly quiet -- but under certain conditions you'll get a noticeable harmonic buzz. Better than a noticeable harmonica buzz -- but it's still there.
 
#19 · (Edited)
GTO judge said:
Same thing I noticed..... Let off the gas and it goes away. Apply gas and it whines.... But is this a cause for concern?
Concern ?? , Can you live with this whine for the life of your GTO ? I don't consider this normal so I complain to dealer and they order parts . They must also think it can be corrected. GTODEALER says he removed whine by replacing
rearend fluid with syn. fluid , which I might haved tryed if it were out of warranty - I took it to the dealer. I continue to drive my GTO while waiting for parts to arrive...
 
#21 ·
Xcommuter said:
Concern ?? , Can you live with this whine for the life of your GTO ? I don't consider this normal so I complain to dealer and they order parts . They must also think it can be corrected. GTODEALER says he removed whine by replacing
rearend fluid with syn. fluid , which I might haved tryed if it were out of warranty - I took it to the dealer. I continue to drive my GTO while waiting for parts to arrive...
The noise is not constant. On some roadways I get no noise. I do not notice the noise however when the A/C is not on. The whine is not deep nor is it a high pitched noise... I have heard the same sound on other cars I have owned in the past. I am going to give this one though a thorough evaluation.
 
#23 ·
Xcommuter said:
Some of us have this whine from the rearend others have the clunk in the trunk , your a/c noise is a new one for me. Atleast these noises/whines don't put us into reduced power mode like the bad pedal sensor does...
I took her out for a run to concentrate on the whinnying. It will whine as soon as I hit 50 mph. The whine does come from the rear. With the windows down I cannot hear it, it's that faint. Of course there is air flow noise, but the sound is not noticeable. When I put the window up I can hear it. It comes and goes with the depressing of the gas pedal. It does it on concrete roadways, as well as asphalt. It does it with or without the air on. It is a slight whinnying. Not a deep, or even high pitched whine. It does it at 50 mph but when I get to like 55 or higher I can barely detect it. I am going to suggest to my service rep to change out the rear gear oil and replace with synthetic before I have them tear out the rear. It's just not that loud that I am concerned about it. But if it is an issue in the future I ought to get it done. That's why I ask if this is an issue that I should be concerned about, and if it will harm anything if left alone.
 
#24 · (Edited)
GTO judge said:
I am going to suggest to my service rep to change out the rear gear oil and replace with synthetic before I have them tear out the rear. It's just not that loud that I am concerned about it. But if it is an issue in the future I ought to get it done. That's why I ask if this is an issue that I should be concerned about, and if it will harm anything if left alone.
That's the whine I took in to complain about... Tough call on the future of this
problem if left alone , don't think anyone has lots of miles yet - maybe Goucho.
Hopefully the diff. fluid change will solve your noise. But if Dana is concerned and Pontiac is willing to eat the cost of a New Rearend - something is going on .
Maybe it's build date relative to a batch of parts ? As drastic as a NEW rearend is , the Dealer made the call and I'll take all fixes necessary during the warranty
period. My idea is to find and fix all problems during the warranty period and after that the decision process will change somewhat as I extreme commute...

Maybe your dealer will change the fluid and put you on the list to cover the delay factor in case it get's worse. Let us know how your dealer responds to the service call...
 
#25 ·
Xcommuter said:
That's the whine I took in to complain about... Tough call on the future of this
problem if left alone , don't think anyone has lots of miles yet - maybe Goucho.
Hopefully the diff. fluid change will solve your noise. But if Dana is concerned and Pontiac is willing to eat the cost of a New Rearend - something is going on .
Maybe it's build date relative to a batch of parts ? As drastic as a NEW rearend is , the Dealer made the call and I'll take all fixes necessary during the warranty
period. My idea is to find and fix all problems during the warranty period and after that the decision process will change somewhat as I extreme commute...

Maybe your dealer will change the fluid and put you on the list to cover the delay factor in case it get's worse. Let us know how your dealer responds to the service call...
I have her going into the shop tomorrow. They are attempting to eliminate a high pitched noise coming from the A/C which comes and goes. They are replacing the blower motor in the dash hoping this will correct the problem. I'm gonna have them check out the differential as well, I'll keep ya posted. :)
 
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