After Torsen Swap, Whine/Drone from rear of car
 

So with my top up, I can REALLY hear my rear end droning/whining while cruising and I can't figure out why. Everything is tight, the fluid levels are GOOD. It seems to work right. I can't say for sure it is my differential, but I'm almost positive.

It is noticeable at speeds above 35mph especially while cruising. As I slow down the noise slows, then stops, or at least quiets so I can NOT hear it over my exhaust, and its not that loud.

Anybody have any ideas what would cause this? I put Redline in it. Torsen is from a 94 and came with axles, driveshaft, hubs, spindles from the same car with ~120k or so on it I think?

how loud is it? i wouldn't be worried if it was loud... i've riden in friends muscle cars and i can hear their differentials whining over their ls1 with straight pipes...

Did you mess with the backlash or pre-load before you installed it? Did the person that sold it to you mess with these?

I did my own backlash and pre-load on my RX-7 diff., and unfortunately it whines, too, although it's not bad...in fact, I have a hunch my exhaust is pretty quiet compared to some of you here :) But I probably wouldn't worry too much unless the sound/whine changes drastically in the next few trips. If it pretty much stays the same, I'd just try to learn to ignore it.

Thats what I was thinking, but I contacted him and he said it was just as he had removed it from the car and it didn't whine. I didn't touch anything and it does.

My friend had a pro-charged LS1 F-body, 3" Y Pipe to single dump before the rear axle...LOUD...you could hear his posi-unit whine, it is louder than his, maybe just because my car well, has an exhaust.

It has been doing it since I installed the new diff 2 months or so? I just got around to thinking about it since I changed oils AGAIN. It is a Type 1 Torsen and I thought they were NOT supposed to do that.

So it is ok? It doesn't really bother me, just makes me wonder if its going to blow up.

I'm not saying it's "ok," because it may be that the lash/pre-load was touched and isn't quite perfect, much like mine turned out. What I am saying is that if the tone/timbre/volume/pitch/etc. haven't changed in 2 months, it probably isn't going to blow up.

Could possibly be the driveshaft angle.... did you check to make sure that everything is lined up and at the right angles? I think the enthusiast's manual has that data.

I don't have the enthusiast manual...anybody mind checking?

And how would I change that? Changing the tranys position on the PPF because I KNOW the diff wont come loose of it.

well, I rechecked everything...its snug...changed gear oil out for some fresh stuff...

It is still droning and it is LOUD.

Here is the kicker, if you jerk it hard to the right, the noise stops, completely for a second or two..

When I swapped, I left the hubs that I got on his axles...think it could be a bad bearing or something since it is speed related..I'm out of ideas without ripping the gear out.

Yes, if you didn't mess with the preload or backlash, but you did re-use his hubs/bearings, that could easily be the cause of the noise.

i'd say if it was never opened, then the hubs and bearings should be OK too.

Did you remove the axle nuts?

I didn't touch anything...just installed as is. pumpkin, axles w/ hubs.

Should I look into buy new hubs (wheel bearing/hub is a single piece right) or search used...The nut is pretty rusted...looks like it might be a bitch to get off...big big breaker bar ftw?

Got the same problem when changing my 3.90 gear set for 3.63......backlash was too tight just a bit...but the noise was increasing over time....

I wouldn't sweat it, man. I installed a 1.8 torsen last year (complete w/ hubs) and immediately noticed a slight whirring noise when cruising. I tried three different oils (M1, Redline, and now on Royal Purple) with no difference. It's been nearly a year now with no change in the sound, so I'm not sweating it.

I don't think the Torsen unit itself has anything to do with this. In normal straight-line cruising, the differential is pretty much stationary. Well, it's spinning around, but the gears inside it are not moving. No different from an open diff in this regard.

But its LOUD...no slight...at cruise it is louder than my exhaust with the top up. Cruising on the highway between 55-70 is a bitch. everything does seem to work right, I just wish I knew exactly why it was doing that.

My vote goes to bearings.

I'll tell you one thing, it's not normal unless the pre-lash is out like you guys are talking about. I have a Torsen factory-installed in my '94 and it is whisper quiet.

I'd have to take it out completely and take it to someone to check the backlash and stuff right? I have no idea how to do that stuff...at all.

That is correct.

that sucks.

In worse news, I drove it up from Charlotte, NC to Newport News, VA today and that shit is loud...not sure if it has gotten worse or if it is just louder at higher speeds. :\