noisy rear diff, recommendations

Hi all, just picked up a 95 Talon TSi. It was a 1 owner non-modded car, but I don't know how great the maintenance was either. The faster you go the LOUDER the rear gets.

What do I need to service or replace? TIA!!

check the fluid level first. if its full try pulling the cover cleaning it out and changing the fluid

Thanks for the quick reply. I'm not too far from you (Chambersburg PA area) I'll check that out. The car seems pretty solid other than the driveline noise.

ITs very very rare for rear ends to fail. I have only heard of one, on a low 11 second car. More likely are rear wheel bearings or axles/CV joints, etc.

Put the car on the lift today, gear oil level was fine. Had mechanic friend look over it quickly and he couldn't determine the source of the sound. The rear wheels spin freely and quietly.

The sound gets louder the faster you go and seems to come from the rear center of the car. Anymore ideas?

Its hard to tell when modern wheelbearings are bad. They develope very little play, and can seem fine when turning by hand. A far cry from the older wheel bearings ;) If it was my car I would start there, but this is something that is very hard to diagnose over the internet.

Thanks. I agree, it's tough to diagnose without seeing it. I'll start there. Wheel bearings cheap for 2g's?

The fronts were 90 a piece from the dealer, I think I had a discount through my brother there at the time as well. Not sure about rears. IF they are bad though, they have to be replaced for safety reasons. Not quite cheap enough though to try out just to see if that fixes it I guess :)