Hi all, I have recently purchased a 97 falcon futura el. The car had this groaning noise when I purchased it but not knowing alot about cars I thought it was just the bearings. The noise is hard to tell where exactly it is coming from but eliminated a few things. Firstly the noise continues while I am driving and when I put the transmission in neutral while moving so I assume it is not the transmission? Also I have repacked and inspected the front bearings, replaced pads and rotors with no change. The rear pads, rotors and bearings also appear fine on initial inspection. I have removed the plug from the diff and inspected the oil. A slight drip of oil came out of the top plug and was dark honey coloured, I think it could be better but does not look bad enough to be the problem.

My next thing I think it might be is something to do with the drive shaft but I just dont know... It seems to be worse at low speeds but this maybe just because the road noise is less??

Any ideas anyone?

Cheers

Check tyre pressures....then while driving at 60 kmh, apply the brakes firmly ( without making the ABS come into play ), and listen to see if the noise gets louder......if so, then it is the tyres making the noise.

Last edited by cjh on Sat Oct 15, 2011 6:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.

does it change pitch or frequency when you speed up or slow down? is it coming through the stereo? ie needs a filter on the stereo? sound daft but I've seen it happen before. is it audible outside the car while stationary? can you walk atound the car and diagnose perhaps where is is coming from? could it be a rear wheel bearing?

Hey thanks for the reply. No it's def not the sterio as I rarely have it on and it sounds like its coming from the under caridge. Its not the motor as when stationary it sound smooth. It is some type of motion issue. The rear bearings seems fine. When rotating the rear wheel when jacked off the ground there seems to be some course sound coming from the prop shaft where it enters the diff. Im not 100% on this though as its hard to turn the wheel quickly or enough to identify the sound.

Cheers

I would suggest its the pinion bearing then that is on its way out. change your diff fluid, see if that helps shut it up.

How much work is involved in replacing the pinion bearing? is it something i am better of taking to a mechanic? any ideas on cost if so?

Cheers

groaning noise only when driving huh?
kick the missus outta the passenger seat and it will stop immediatly

No you got that mistaken for a whining noise. Groaning is your sick mate in the back intermitantly vomiting on your seats, floors, dorrs trims and windows that he thought were down.

Seriouosly though, its a diff place to diagnose and replace. could also be an axle bearing, but until you get em to look..