Annoying noise....stumped!!!

In 2wd, nothing goes round inside there, so don't worry about it now.
Don't use 4wd on tarmac, or the CV joints that live inside there will break.

Do the hubs work?

Wind window down, engine ticking over, engage 4wd you should hear "click-click" disengage "clack-clack" it should happen as fast as you can say it. "click 2,3 click" indicates a leak.

If the hubs are running locked, the front axle rotates and things inside the spheres are whizzing round.

As to the leakage, budget for new kingpin bearings, axle oil seals, big dust seals and a pot of grease from the store.
Also get a flapwheel for the drill, and a pot of paint that sets rock hard, then clean up those spheres and paint them. (Summer project, the paint takes days to dry hard)

I painted mine - they were as rusty as old iron, worse than yours. Left them a week to dry in the Summer mind...

Sounds like a wheel bearing ?

Thanks for the info facade,

UKDAN, that's what I'm thinking... It might be the bearing running dry or starting to go.... I did hear a small similar noise when I had the wheel off and spun the hub/disc.

Better budget for the full whack!!

i have very similar noise it may be the vac hubs pulling halfway and grinding on the edge

try pulling the vac pipe off from the valve that works the hubs in the engine bay and go for a run if noise is away thats your problem tried this with mine and noise went away

worth a quick try


hope this helps

have you got to the bottom of this yet? i have a similar problem in that it happens with or without 4WD, car out of gear and free wheeling, straight line or cornering and even with engine off, coasting and with foot on clutch and numerous combinations. it is a rhythmic grinding\drumming noise and seems to be coming from rear but could equally be front.

dealers cant work it out and suggest changing everything.....at cost!

car jacked up and rear wheels ran...no noise. front off ground and car ran no noise. Both times up to 40 MPH indicated, as noise happens from about 10 mph onward.


appart from other things that need doing as also mentioned in this thread, I am assuming rear bearings as seems to happen only when weight on car and if diffs I would expect it to go quiet when freewheeling. However, i cant find any play when anything free suspended so again weight induced.

ANYONE ANY IDEAS!!!!

Jimnyadmirer, one thing Facade forgot to mention was that the big (recirculating) balls at the front, which are rusty on yours are supposed to be dry. Hence how you can paint them.