Diff Whine?

[ninja365]

Hi All,

I have started to notice a high pitch whine coming from the back of my T180 which gets louder as the speed increases, the car went into my local indie for its service and i asked them to have a look. They checked the fluid and said it looked fine (car has done 82k and is 8 years old) but then started to talk about inner bearings and outer bearings and ultimately a recon rear diff. Althoug hthe diff oil is clear, should it be changed or am i looking at a potentially very large bill to get the whine sorted?.

The wife's answer was to turn the radio up!!! :lol2:

I've searched through the forums but couldn't see any other posts about whiney diffs.

Any advice gratefully accepted.

[crofter]

Hi Joe, is the whine affected by being on overrun as well, as worn diff bearings can often be detected this way ?

[ninja365]

Hi Derek,

Can explain overrun please, I have tried switching to 4 wheel drive and it still whines. IT still whines with clutch pressed in.

TY

Joe.

[crofter]

Hi Joe to me overrun is when the car is moving along the road without the throttle being pressed, the other state is when the engine is propelling and not acting as a brake i.e in drive mode.

If the noise is there all the time it may be another bearing in the drive line

HTH

Del

[ninja365]

Hi Del,

The whine is still there whether the vehicle is in gear and under power or in neutral coasting on a closed throttle. I did have a look in the service book about rear diff oil and it only lists the front diff oil as a service item. Might suggest to the garage that they change it as a matter of course on the next service.

[cityp00l]

Not sure this is an answer, more a contribution, but my rav, 2006, whines at about 45/60 under throttle, but stops when coasting, It really is a nuisance on long steady runs

[the fox]

I suspect the oil as never been replaced when being serviced it only holds about 400ml why they don;t change is beyond me stick some new oil in and see what happens, or source a second hand one from a breakers the diif is a very easy change a few spanners etc.

[TomdeGuerre]

If the RAV4's prone to whining diffs wouldn't one from a breakers yard be liable to be just as whiney? Had that before myself with other cars. Also, as a DIY job, what's involved in removing the half shafts? Wouldn't you need an impact puller? Not everybody has one (although I do)

[the fox]

I did not know Rav4's had another problem "whining diffs" If they do it's because the oil is not being replaced by the dealers at the correct intervals, half shafts, drives shafts....I don't use a puller on the rear of a Rav4. I used to service seven Rav4's all after the warranty period had run out, not one had the diff oil replaced by the dealers, and I believe they used four different dealers between them, same goes for the EGR valve, if Toyota dealers had cleaned them while doing the service Toyota would not have needed to spend tons of cash fitting replacements, again my opinion....

[NORTHERN_LAD]

My Rav had a slight whine and I changed all the transmission fluids at about 65k miles. Gear change is smoother and whine stopped immediately.

I got the fluids from toyota who recommended using 80w gl5 for for both front and rear diffs even though there is a sticker on the front diff stating 85-90w gl5.

That was 5k since without any problems.

Keith

[ninja365]

UPDATE.

Had the car serviced at the local T dealer and got them to change the all the hydraulic fluids. Diff whine now unfortunately worse since they changed the fluids and gets progressively louder as speed increases. I want to get rid of the car because of all the problems I've had and its becoming a money pit but as soon as any garage takes it for a test drive they are going to hear the whine and either offer peanuts or not want to take it in, so i feel stuck in a corner.

The dealer is now talking about replacing the rear diff and has indicated at cost of circa £2,500!!!!! but is going away to get a firm price. I have looked around for the cost of the diff and found part no: 41110-52010 for €1250 from Toyota Europe. Can't find a recon unit in the UK after having rung a dozen firms that specialize in refurb parts.

Anyone have any experience of the time needed to change this???.

[TomdeGuerre]

Don't know what the man hours would be for changing the diff unit, anything from a couple of hours upwards, depends on whether they have to dismantle the rear subframe. Parts King or Devon Aygo would know.

Pity you can't get any recon units - or can't you find any independent who would overhaul your diff? I'd steer clear of getting s 2nd hand unit, been there done that many a time and unless you actually get to drive the donor vehicle and verify the diff's OK it can be a massive waste of time.

Not that it applies to yours but i see in the US they had service bulletins covering 2006-2012 RAV4s dealing with a whining noise corrected by replacing the engine insulators/mounts and a bulletin suggesting a "growl" sound caused by contamination of the front bearing in the rear differential coupler. (tried to upload Toyota TSB about this but file was too big).

[ninja365]

Hi Tom,

I also saw the post on the US RAV4 Forum regarding the service bulletin and read various posts about it. They all ended up having the diff replaced.

Totally agree with you on s/h units, you just don't know if your buying someone else's problem. All the indie's i spoke to don't deal with Toyota units, and the problem is I need the car for my job so cant leave it somewhere for them to use it as a guinea pig.

Just waiting for the phone call from Toyoya to let me know how much, once i know the parts cost then i am planning to see if a local garage could do the work.

[ninja365]

Hi all,

Diff whine seems to have got a lot worse recently so had the local T garage look at it They made noises about a new diff and a possible bill of £2400....... A friend has a unit which has a ramp and we dropped 200ml of diff oil out and replaced with 200ml of Lucas heavy oil (a lot like treacle). No difference.

Been back to the dealer again and after talking through the problem with both the workshop manager and the service manager, they got the mechanic out who diagnosed the car and they are pretty sure the problem is with the rear diff coupling unit which is an electronic price and costs £800 + VAT....... During the conversation, a Toyota service bulletin appeared which made reference to failing coupling units and would have been covered for 5 years / 60,000 miles with the warranty. Unfortunately my car is 8 years and 94,000 miles old.

For those interested the part no is: 41303-42021. i have made an enquiry through jp-carparts.com to see what a part shipped from Japan direct costs. The part on the site is JPY 78,624 = £431 but that will be plus shipping & custom duties. Even so, this is a huge difference and plan to challenge the local dealers prices to see what more can be shaved off.

After all is said and done, i have to say that the service from the local T garage (Dingles) is excellent, they always quote me parts with an automatic 10% discount and i do find them very knowledgeable and always willing help. So, whilst unhappy with a clear Friday afternoon car, the T service is first class. Never had service as good when dealing with the BMW dealership.

Will keep you posted as to progress.

[ninja365]

Hi All,

Problem now been resolved and car running nice and quiet again after replacing the diff coupling.

I bought the part from the Japanese website, had it shipped via DHL and it was here in 3 days. Total cost including Import Duty & VAT was £600.00 Dealer fitted it and charged me 2 hours labour even though it was a bit longer due to some stubborn studs. I saved about £300 over buying the part in the UK.

Thorough recommend the parts supplier www.jp-carparts.com as service was excellent and parts were proper Toyota items. Always check the exchange rates to see if its better to pay in USD or JPY, in my case JPY was better.

Hope this helps others.

[TomdeGuerre]

Good news Joe, glad that you got it all sorted out and a lot cheaper than the £2,400 - odd that was originally being bandied about.

What oil did you fill it with, just the 85-90w gl5 or anything special?.

[ninja365]

Hi Tom,

I think the £2400 included changing the diff unit as well. As far I know it was the standard recommended oil that was used to refill.

Joe.