whistling sound from R. differential

my 01' only has 26000 miles on it one the warrenty just endend this summer. there has been this pretty loud whistle that has been comming from my rear axle when ever the car is moving. its not there when the car is stopped. the dealer opened the differential and said there was a lot of metal shaving in the fluid, which was full. they wanted 2000$ to see what was up. i was wondering what the extent of the damage can be and what i should do. has any one had luck trying to claim a warrenty after it has tech expired, but it is still under 30,000 miles(org warrt) thanks

If you brought the noise up before the warrenty ended, and got it put on paper it shouldn't be too hard, just contact GM head office, and let them know that you'll take it to court if you have too.

If not go see someone else for the work, $2000.00 for just a inspection is insane. For that much you should be able to get yours re-built... with a posi

2,000 for an estimate. tell them 2 FU*K themselves. wow have you tried changing the fluid yet? upgrading to a synthetic rear diff fluid. it might be worth your while. otherwise if there gonna charge you that much buy a new rear end on ebay and have a mechanic put it on.

Since there was a lot of metal shaving in the fluid, as he said, I don't think changing to any other fluid will put metal back where it is missing.

If the mechanic pulled the cover and inspected, which I assume by your statement that he opened it, he should have been able to see the problem. Sounds like the pinion and ring are worn.

Swapping out the gear set and new bearings shouldn't be over a grand at a reputable shop. Did one two weeks ago in a 2500HD and the bill wasn't over a grand.

one other thing to do besides what Mikado14 said is make sure that the axle housing doesn't have a bend to it, this can be done with a metal rod bent on one end to a 90 degree and clamped to the axle a each end then run a string for one rod to the other at the same distance from the housing and to clear the ring / pinion , making sure the string is tight, then measure the distance from the string to the housing ever inch, this will allow you tell if it is bent, check across the back of the axle and the bottom. if it is bent and you don't beat on the truck when driving the you can go after GM to get a new axle. hope this helps you some.

Possible bearing failure?

Is there a bearing right beside the rear bell housing on either side for the axles?

Yes, they are the inner carrier bearings one on either side of the differential.

Yes, they are the inner carrier bearings one on either side of the differential.

You think this could be the cause of the whining and the debris?

get a ring, pinion, spider gears, bearings, shims and most inportantly, get a manual. for a 2000.00 quote, i would do it myself.

2000 is a ripoff and they are scamming you.

You think this could be the cause of the whining and the debris?

LT, to be quite frank, I don't know. Would have to see it. However, if there is metal in the oil as he says, and I am thinking here that it looks like metallic paint, that metal came from somewhere. What I have seen in Chevy's is a propensity for ring and pinion wear. A bad carrier bearing, from my experience, always seems to sound like a continuous whine that varies with speed. Either way, to change the carrier bearing, the differential needs to be removed. Might as well check the lash on the pinion and ring prior to removal. Another thing would be to check the outer wheel bearings. They can telescope the noise into the differential and that would be my first check.

got a good point there.

both need to be checked thoroughly.

I have seen the same savings come off the hardened outer casing of the bearing spheres.

got a good point there.

both need to be checked thoroughly.

I have seen the same savings come off the hardened outer casing of the bearing spheres.

You know there is one more thing to mention and that would be the pinion bearings. However, when they develop play, the seal usually will leak and the poster didn't mention any leaks so I didn't mention it.

yes, there was no leak.. thanks guys