DIFF WHINE- Holden doesn't want to know

[RAWKUS]

Hi Guys, My first thread on here.
A little while back when having my car serviced and warranty items fixed at my local Holden Dealer, I brought up the subject of a noisy diff in my VY11 SS wagon. They did the road test during that day and came back with an answer that it was not that bad but if it got any worse, let them know. My service contact there is generally pretty helpful, so I relunctantly agreed to take his advice and try to live with it. Within a couple of weeks it was really starting to piss me off. :cussing: Other people don't notice it, but it's my car and I NOTICE IT.
Sitting in 5th or 6th between 80-90kmh, upon throttle the whine resonates through the cabin, but disappears when taking the foot off. The diff is 3.46 ratio LSD, GS9 spec.
I went to a dealer close to my work for a second opinion and I insisted they look into it further. A factory rep came down a couple of days later to check it out.
The official line was "it's within factory tolerances":teach: . I was informed that if the dealer was to replace the diff with a new unit and after the factory takes it back to their test bench and they consider it to be "within tolerances", I would be charged with the cost of the new diff and fitting: circa $2500!:deal:
I would not even get my old diff back either apparently.
My next move was to get a louder exhaust to mask the sound, but being a "family car" with a baby onboard at times, this is not really the ideal solution.
Does anybody else have a similar problem with their's?

[gasguz]

Hi Guys, My first thread on here.
A little while back when having my car serviced and warranty items fixed at my local Holden Dealer, I brought up the subject of a noisy diff in my VY11 SS wagon. They did the road test during that day and came back with an answer that it was not that bad but if it got any worse, let them know. My service contact there is generally pretty helpful, so I relunctantly agreed to take his advice and try to live with it. Within a couple of weeks it was really starting to piss me off. :cussing: Other people don't notice it, but it's my car and I NOTICE IT.
Sitting in 5th or 6th between 80-90kmh, upon throttle the whine resonates through the cabin, but disappears when taking the foot off. The diff is 3.46 ratio LSD, GS9 spec.
I went to a dealer close to my work for a second opinion and I insisted they look into it further. A factory rep came down a couple of days later to check it out.
The official line was "it's within factory tolerances":teach: . I was informed that if the dealer was to replace the diff with a new unit and after the factory takes it back to their test bench and they consider it to be "within tolerances", I would be charged with the cost of the new diff and fitting: circa $2500!:deal:
I would not even get my old diff back either apparently.
My next move was to get a louder exhaust to mask the sound, but being a "family car" with a baby onboard at times, this is not really the ideal solution.
Does anybody else have a similar problem with their's?

Both my diffs in the SS & R8 are fine & I have never had a problem with them

Holden & warranty, the 2 really dont go together do they, unless pushed. I notice that you say you sit in 6th when only doing between 80-90k. I dont use 6th gear until I am at least doing over 100k as I find it makes the engine really labour a bit. I use 5th gear for anything between 75 to 100 then switch up to 6th once I break the 100k mark.

The testing Holden does astounds me, for a noisy engine all they do is cold start it for 30 seconds & if the noise goes away in this time frame then it is fine. No machine just a dude standing there listening to the car. I wonder if the test for the diff is the along the same lines. If you are not happy with the service give Holden a call direct & they can log a case for it to be examined properly. They will also follow it through for you as well.

I would also take it to an independant diff specialist & get them to check it out & give a diagnosis. If they turn around & find problem with it get it in writing, then also inform Holden you will be charging them for getting the diff looked at as they failed to identify the fault originally, see how they like that 1. How would Holden know it was within tolerances just from a road test???

Keep pushing because as soon as the warranty period is over they will not even listen to your concerns & will just say the car is out of warranty so nothing can be done by us, see you later we are not interested even more so now that the warranty has run out.

Dont worry to much about a loud exhaust with kids, I bought my new born home 12 months ago in the SS that has a loud 3 inch system on it, once inside the cabin she has no problem at all. It can actually put her to sleep also which cant be a bad thing on longer trips. Does not like it if it is started while she is outside it though, so I just make sure that she has been put in the car seat before starting.

cheers

[RAWKUS]

Thanks GasGuz, I'll look into it a bit further.
The wagon makes things a bit louder though.
BTW, I usually shift to 6th above 80kmh on a flat road or downhill.:driving:
I can actually increase speed and revs in 6th at 65-70kmh, not that it pins me back in the seat!

[gasguz]

Thanks GasGuz, I'll look into it a bit further.
The wagon makes things a bit louder though.
BTW, I usually shift to 6th above 80kmh on a flat road or downhill.:driving:
I can actually increase speed and revs in 6th at 65-70kmh, not that it pins me back in the seat!

Mine will also as should everyone elses, I have about 280rwkw in the SS (soon to be more when the new heads are installed) so it is not the fact about the power or increasing speed or revs is a issue. The engine just labours more as it is only sitting on about 1300 revs when I am doing 110, so I would hate to imagine what it is doing down in the 60k range. Going down hills I stick to the gear which will keep me at the speed limit without always touching the brakes, which in most cases is 4th. But hey we all drive differently & just because I dont use 6th gear while doing 65k does not mean you shouldnt.

Hope you get your problem sorted out mate

cheers

[RAWKUS]

What ratio are you using in your diff? 1300 rpm at 110 sounds pretty tall.

[gasguz]

What ratio are you using in your diff? 1300 rpm at 110 sounds pretty tall.

standard 3:46 in a M6 VX SS, anywhere between 1300-1500 revs between 100k & 110k in 6th gear. This is just maintaining speed not adding

[chillicatqld]

65 klm/hr in 6th gear!!!!!
6th isnt for anything below 110klm/hr with standard 346 gears I would reckon. Mine used to labour like a mongrel below that speed - but each to their own driving.
Good luck with ya problem...

[RAWKUS]

I don't make a habit of 65kmh in 6th! :werd: Only use 6th when up to 80kmh or Highway speed. Was just stating my experience.

[ssgirl2]

BTW, I usually shift to 6th above 80kmh on a flat road or downhill.:driving: I can actually increase speed and revs in 6th at 65-70kmh, not that it pins me back in the seat!

I normally save 6th gear for 110kmh +. I don't think my baby has even been in 6th gear more than 10 times total in the last 4 years.

Hope you sort your problem out.

SS :)

[8throttlebodies]

standard 3:46 in a M6 VX SS, anywhere between 1300-1500 revs between 100k & 110k in 6th gear. This is just maintaining speed not adding

3.46 diff ratio, you will be doing 1500rpm in 6th gear @ 100km/h
3.91 diff ratio, you will be doing 1620rpm in 6th gear @ 100km/h
8tb

[volt]

Have you tried changing the oil and additive in your diff?

My diff used to make all sorts of noises (not whining at a constant speed however, just when turning corners or reversing) until I had the diff oil changed, now it's really quiet.

[macca33]

As people have stated, 6th shouldn't be used at all in these things unless you are at 100kph+ - you will put way too much strain on the engine, as well as the actual gearbox - they are not designed for that style of driving with a 0.5 gear ratio.

As for the diff, if it is whining at a certain speed, then there will be a problem. I'd be pushing it a lot harder - we all know that these diffs can be mongrels of things and I am personally aware of plenty of V8 diffs that have been warranty replacements over the years, so fight on.

Cheers,

Macca

[breakthelaw]

My 04 Monaro does the same thing. Diff whine at low revs at 90 or so KPH. Its going to a dealer again tomorrow to have them check it out.

I'm going to put the problem in writing to them in case they say it is acceptable because my warranty runs out in a couple of weeks and I want some written record that I brought the problem to their attention in the warranty period.

Will report back on the result.

[RAWKUS]

We'll get a class action going! My warranty is up in June, so I'll be pushing hard for rectification prior to then. The service manager at South City Holden told me about the diffs that have piled up as replacements in his workshop until Holden tightened their arse and cracked down on it because of what it cost them. The quality of Dana diffs has gone backwards since they have been making them in Mexico. Dana also made diffs for trucks and Valiants, but in the good 'ol USA. Holden should have stuck with Borg Warner, but GM America bends Holden over nowadays. All the drivetrain comes from south of the border...the cheap pricks.

[mickeyVX350]

Mine turned out to be tyres!

[Uncle Tone]

Does anybody else have a similar problem with their's?

I had the same problem with my VY, with exactly the same symptoms as you. The factory rep came out and said the diff was OK. I did not accept this. My reasoning was that it was not making that sound before, so if everything was alright, why is it noisy? Something has changed in there.

It helps if you insist on seeing the holden rep face to face. Insist on going for a drive with him and pointing out when it makes the noise. Make sure you drive so you can replicate the conditions correctly. There reps have a habit of driving the car in such a way that the noise cannot be heard. I had the rep driving my car first and there was no noise. We swapped seats and the noise appeared. Get him to look you in the face and tell you that you are imagining things. From my experience they won't.

And he didn't! :thumbsup: Got my diff changed that week not a problem.

[RAWKUS]

Thanks Tone and the rest of you guys. I am never satisfied with accepting unacceptable problems with a car still under warranty. I'll let you know how I go.:nutkick:

[The_Plague]

Odd, seems to be a major issue.
However, its not related entirely to the type of diff, it may be a general thing really.

I used to own an old Torana that was pretty heavily modified, the ford nine inch diff was built by an apparently reputable company who will remain nameless, lets just leave it at that.

Upon actually taking it to a company that new what they were doing, Promac Engineering in cardiff, they done some "renovation" work on the diff and actually made it work decently for once, prior to this is had the "whine" at a certain speed, despite being completely rebuilt essentially and with Lucas diff oil residing and motorsport additive in with it, it still had a hint of a whine, nothing serious, just there, was it damaging to the diff?
Several 200+km/h jaunts, continual drag racing, a shitload of tyre screeching and burnouts and having to deal with about 700nm of torque daily, it lasted until I sold the car, that diff was rebuilt in 2003 and is still going strong from all reports.

Lesson, dont get Holden to do it, get a real professional to actually look into it, not the work experience kid.

[breakthelaw]

As I posted the other day my Monaro has exactly the same whine.
Good news is that Llewellen Holden have now agreed to replace it under warranty - so I'm greatly relieved.

I put the problem in writing and also noted that another mechanic (my local guy that I get to service my other cars) had driven it and said that the diff needs rectifying. I put his name and business in the letter. I don't know if it made any difference but they have now agreed to replavce the diff. Oh, by the way, I'm a lawyer and I put it on letterhead too. ;)

[pauls350]

Its the usual problem with holden, have to chase down a rep myself, face to face, cause the hsv mechs cant find a problem, even left the car overnight and let one of the dealer reps take it home, no problems they said, still has a vibration at different speeds ranging from 0 to 140+, worse when every thing is cold, sometimes its rather bad.

Chase the bastards till you get the results you need

[will_menz]

i have always been taught from drivers nad my senior mechanics that a gear shouldnt be used if the revs are lower than 1500rpm. if you use gears at a low rpm the gearbox bearings begin to chatter which isnt good news. plus generally an engine will be more fuel efficient around the 1500rpm speeds

also there isnt really any machines to check for engine noise if an engine is pinging a diag computer can pick that up from the knock sensor but as for general engine rattles, and any rattle/whine/noise anywhere machines dont pick it up.

I havent had any dramas with my diff but you could try dropping the diff oil and using the castrol 85/140 wt oil (its fully synthetic) do a few laps of the block doing left turns only then do a few laps doing right turns only, drive the car normally and sensibly for a week then do a burnout or even better a doughnut. sounds stupid but it gets the fluid into the lsd centre and the thicker oil should eliminate the whine. One of my mates has a vz ss and holden actually asked him to fit a standard exhaust just so they could hear the whine better. funny thing is he bought the car as it is from that dealer.

[Waughy]

Just wondering, I have had my wagon for a couple of months and have noticed from when I got it that there is a noise in the back that sounds like the diff whining, though it's not incredibly loud, I can easily notice it. With the boot space of a wagon would it amplify the noise making it sound worse? I had it looked at by the Holden dealer I bought it from and they said they found a loose hose clamp on the power steering pump (they were checking on an engineoil leak), which was letting it leak and putting air in the pump, causing it to cavitate a bit and be noisy. They then said with this that the noise often travels through the chasis of the car so you might hear it coming from a different area. I said okay then, and took the car, what's the first thing I noticed when I left, yep, the noise in the back.
I know diffs aren't meant to be dead quiet but being a wagon, would it sound louder compared to a sedan whereyou have the back seat to block some of the noise? Talking serviceable diff here. It's due for it's next service so I'll book it in soon and make mention that the noise I reported last time is still there. Note, the noise is there when driving straight and is speed dependent as to the tempo of the whine. I'm also thinking tyres but to me the noise is central in the rear area.