Rear end rotational noise

[mrfomoco]

Hey guys, a few months ago I bought my '03 Cobra with 21k miles.

It had this rotational noise coming from the back and so I thought maybe it was this bearing deal that everyone talks about. So I ordered a deep socket 36 mm and just today got around to trying to tighten up the drivers side retaining nut.

To me it seems tight as a button...but I've been wrong before. I've got 26k miles on it now and this noise is driving me so nuts that if I can't figure out this noise I'm trading the car in.

Any advice?

 

[mrfomoco]

I forgot to mention the dealership put some really CRAPPY tires on when I bought it.

I looked 'em up and they're like 80 bucks a pop. Maxis or some crap.

 

[Savn4Mods]

Does the car have aftermarket gears installed? Can you give us a scenario on when it does it, like acceleration, deceleration, turning, etc....or does it do it anytime the car is moving?

 

[mrfomoco]

Does the car have aftermarket gears installed? Can you give us a scenario on when it does it, like acceleration, deceleration, turning, etc....or does it do it anytime the car is moving?

Sure sorry about the lack of info.

I just put the car back up in the air and had my hands at the 9 and 3 position and neither wheel had any play at all.

The noise is there under any cruising speed (even 20mph) and remains whether the clutch is engadged or not, accelerating or not. Its just there.

I would call the noise a "rotational noise."

I'm thinking about pulling the rear wheels off of my wifes '07 GT and put 'em on for a cruise around the block...I know they're not the right offset, but would that work?

 

[Juruense]

Take it back to the stealership that you got it from and raise hell, bring up the tire issue also.

 

[mrfomoco]

The stealership is 1250 miles away

And it was 3 months ago..and the stealership people were effin a-holes anyhow.

 

[Juruense]

Sounds are difficult to diagnose on the internet. If it was me I would take it to the local stealership, pay their diagnostic fee, and then post here what they said.

My guess would be pinion bearing but it could be a lot of things.

 

[BlownShift]

try swapping the wheels

check the rear brakes and see if anything seized up.. look for uneven pad wear, different pad thickness between each other, chewed up rotors, etc

 

[Savn4Mods]

Swapping tires/wheels with your wifes car would definately be an easy thing to eliminate if they will fit. A tire that is separating will make noise. As was said above it is very hard to diagnose over the internet and might be worth letting a qualified mechanic take a listen or a buddy who might know. A bad bearing is a pretty distinct noise to someone who knows what to listen for. It could also be something with the brakes as BlownShift said. Try pulling lightly on the E-brake while driving and see if the noise changes.

 

[mrfomoco]

Just swapped the tires and no luck

Guess I'm taking it to the stealership in the morning

Thanks for the replies guys.

 

[BlownShift]

there's a checkbox on the workorder form at the dealer.. make sure that they check off the "lubed" box and bring something to bite on as it's going to hurt

with the low miles it's probably just the brakes...

My first guess would be the parking brake sticking. Put the car in gear, chock the tires with your kid's favorite toy or wife's favorite shoes, then release the parking brake. If you climb under the car from the back, locate the lever where the parking cable goes into and with pliers, pull the lever back towards the rear of the car. If the lever moves, then parking mechanism in the caliper didn't release or the cable binded.

 

[Jefe]

I get the same thing, only in 5th/6th gear and it only makes noise when I accelerate. Something rotating fast back there and makes kind a whining noise....hmmm

 

[Juruense]

there's a checkbox on the workorder form at the dealer.. make sure that they check off the "lubed" box and bring something to bite on as it's going to hurt.

Maybe, maybe not. The stealership I go to only charges $35 for diagnostic.

 

[mrfomoco]

Mine charges 89...and they said its the bearings in the rear-end.

$1200 bucks plus tax.

POS

 

[BlownShift]

Maybe, maybe not. The stealership I go to only charges $35 for diagnostic.

I took mine in under warranty and got charged a diagnostic fee...
They checked off the "dry" box ..... trying to sell me a complete brake job when only one caliper's pads were shot (sticky caliper). Then they blamed it on bald tires... :dw: I was yelling at the jiffy lube dropout "mechanic" that they had.. .. good times

 

[Juruense]

Mine charges 89...and they said its the bearings in the rear-end.

$1200 bucks plus tax.

POS

Which bearing? Also, do not let that number scare you. Do you have mechanic skills? Now that you have narrowed it down the goal is to find the cheapest way forward. People here can recommend a good Mustang shop near you or you can take it to a cheaper shop in your town or you can attempt to do it yourself.

 

[BlownShift]

Mine charges 89...and they said its the bearings in the rear-end.

$1200 bucks plus tax.

POS

I would research your area and find a reputable shop and then have them confirm that.. I'm not up on labor prices but it should cost less than half that to replace all of the bearings - parts/labor

did they tell you which ones were bad?

 

[racebronco2]

I would never pay that amount. I would can another center section for around 400.00 and do it myself. You should be able to have local shop do it for a lot less. It would be a good time to install gears if you were thinking about it.

 

[Juruense]

Yep, it is going to be no where close to $1200 to get this fixed.

 

[Spawn]

Here is a simple try. Get a bottle of the "ford friction modifier" and put it in the differential and see if the noise goes away. it runs about 5 bucks and worth a squirt to see. its only a couple onces but sure cuts down on noise issues.