1991 Rodeo Sounds Like A Spaceship In Mid Flight

hey everyone!!

i have a 1991 rodeo, v6 3.1L 4WD A/T. up until recently, no major problems with it. but, the past week or so i have noticed a grinding from the rear. we opened up the case...all the gears look fine. greased it up real good. took it to cottman to have the tranny checked. they said everything is okay with the tranny. the grinding is the sound of death, to me and it gets progressivley worse as the car runs longer.

ALSO....it sounds like a spaceship in midflight. no exaggeration whatsoever. once i get over about 30, it starts making a really loud humming sound (sounds kinda like the jetson's car...) and then once i get over about 50, it is a really really L O U D huuuuummmm....like a spaceship. honestly, i am terrified to drive it right now. doesn't shake or shimmy or anything like that. i'm at a loss.

had an oil change done last week...checked the transmission fluid, it's full. everything seems to look okay. does anyone have any ideas, at all? no matter how off the wall? im at my wits end..


thanks mucho!!!

erin:banghead:

Is it humming or grinding?

it does both . . . the grinding when I hit or let go of the accelerator and the humming gets louder and louder the faster I go

Sounds like a bad wheel bearing to me. That's what they do. Make loud buzzing and humming noises, that generally increase with speed.

hmmm...interesting thought...but would that stop when i take my foot off of the accellerator?

hmmm...interesting thought...but would that stop when i take my foot off of the accellerator?

If the car humms at 50, if the wheel bearing is bad it will *always* humm at 50. Gas or no gas, bad wheel bearings make noise while rolling.

yea, thats what i thought...but just thought i'd double check ... :licka: this whole thing makes no sense to me...argh, i hate cars...

okay, this is an off the wall question, but i really dont know much about cars...just tryin to get goin in the general direction i need to be goin so i can have someone else fix it for me...lol... (and i do apologize for askin so many questions...) but if there is a rear differential, is there one in the front, too? something that maybe needs lubed that would cause the grinding?

gonna just kick my car...its a pos...lol...only thing is, once it's fixed, it always runs perfect for a few years...

thanks, everyone..

there is a differential in the front if it is 4wd.


I'd say get under the Rodeo and look for any abnormalities. Start touching and shaking thinks.

Check all the fluids. Check the diffs.

Do you have any idea where the sound is comming from?

marc

marc,

awesome. i think that may have answered my problem. i hope. it sounds like grinding gears. feels like its comin from under my feet when i drive. everyone i asked said the rear differential and that i just felt the vibrations. so, ya, you pretty must just confirmed that im not nuts ;) so...yea, the grinding is definately coming from the front of the car somewhere...

as for the humming thing, it's really hard to determine where it's coming from. sometimes, it sounds like it's coming from the front to middle of the car and sometimes it sounds like it's behind me. ((i know, that was absolutely no help, whatsoever...sorry..)) you think it's possible that it's one and the same? will try getting the front oiled/greased tomorrow and see if that helps...thanks..

:banghead:

I hear ya, it is difficult to tell where noises are comming from at times. Definately check the fluid level. Check the transfer case as well.

marc

okay, oiled/greased everything. checked all fluids. all the fluids (transmission, oil, power steering, etc..) are fine. my fiancee changed the oil in the front and rear. that took care of the grinding problem, so it would seem.

but, the other sound is still there. but, without the grinding, it's a lil easier to determine where it's coming from. it's definately coming from the front of the car. does not happen when the car is in park and we go through the gears (this is the spaceship, humming noise i was talkin about...) hes gonna check the wheel bearings, locking hubs, etc....thats all that he can think of...but that doesn't neccesarially make sense to me...coz like i said before, it doesn't really happen when my foot comes off the gas. however, i noticed (now that the grinding is gone..) that when i take my foot off the gas, i get a metallic ""rubbing"" sound...

most baffled...if you guys have any other ideas, it would be greatly appreciated.


thanks for all your help already....really.


~erin~

Hop on the freeway, drive up to 70 mph or so and put the car in neutral. If it's still humming, got 95 out of 100 bucks says either a wheel bearing needs to be repacked or replaced.

The humming could be U-Joints. Just thought I'd throw another idea into the mix.

My friends 240sx Nissan had a wierd humming noise and vibrations at certain RPMs. I don't know how I guessed that it was the clutch fan, but it was.... Changed the fan, noise stopped.

If you go down the road and put it in neutral and idle the engine down does the noise stop? If so, it is something on your engine. Perhaps the fan, or alternator bearings....