Whining diff or gearbox? Maybe wheel bearing? Video included

C

Chasabi

Member
West Yorkshire
I'm back again with another problem with my beloved Z4. I've contemplated selling her and getting something else but I've decided to have one more crack at getting her right. If this turns out to be something really expensive then I'm going to have to move her on to someone else :(

So in the video below you can hear a whining in the background. I couldn't hear it when I played the video on my phone but when I played it through my Bluetooth speakers and turned it up, it's noticeable. Around 50 seconds into the video the whining is worst. The video might not do it justice but around the 50 second mark it's loud enough to be audible even with the air con blowing and some background music on.

This whining is noticeable at low speeds but is worse around 25-30mph (which is around the 50 seconds mark) If I go faster than 30 it starts to fade or maybe the engine/road noise masks it.

My observations so far...
  • It does it in gear
  • It does it in neutral
  • It does it when my foot is on the clutch
  • It does it with my foot off the clutch
  • It does not do it when the car is stood still
  • It tends to be worse when the car has warmed up

I would expect a wheel bearing to cause a constant noise that would get louder as I speed up so I'm guessing it's not a faulty wheel bearing. From what I can gather after searching Google, it's probably a gearbox or diff related issue.

There are no other symptoms apart from the whining. The car feels perfectly fine and changes gear fine, accelerates fine, etc.

For your viewing pleasure....
https://youtu.be/1R99fnfRaeU

Has anyone experienced, heard or fixed an issue like this? I want to know what I'm dealing with and if I should expect a large bill :|
 
BTW I can't tell which part of the car the noise is coming from. I'm deaf in my left ear which throws my sound direction off. Everything sounds like it's come from my right hand side! :lol:
 
I'd be surprised if it is tyre noise. It wasn't doing it 3 weeks ago. All 4 of my tyres were replaced around 2 months ago.
 
When I first bought my 2 litre Zed I had the same concerns and was very worried. I heard a whine which I thought could be the diff. Turned out it was a wheel bearing. The sound was like no other wheel bearing I'd ever heard and sounded much more like a toothed drive :? . It really concerned me but was a relatively straight forward fix (done under warranty so I don't know the cost). Initially the Zed went into their mechanic for 4 days on two separate occasions and they stripped down the rear left and right sides to get to the bottom of the issue and they couldn't find anything wrong. Eventually the Zed was taken to an Independent Specialist who very quickly diagnosed the wheel bearing which until it was fixed I found it hard to believe :o but he was spot on and I've used him ever since. :thumbsup:

I can't really hear the noise that well on your video clip but I found one of the best ways for me to hear the noise was to travel alongside a high wall and the sound reflected back at me and made it obvious which side and wheel was at fault.

I hope your problem is a relatively straight forward fix as mine was - take it to an independent who knows his Zeds and hopefully it wont be that expensive - good luck.

Just a thought . . . there is an engine noise which is quite obvious on the 3.0si (even noisier on the M) which is a whine at the low left of the engine bay (as you stand at the front looking at it) when the engine is running. It's normal and they all have it - it couldn't be that could it? (It's another noise that initially freaked me out).
 
Wheel bearing noise can be confirmed on an empty road by zigzagging!Not in an aggressive F1 tyre heating style,but enough to say 1/2 change lanes each way.As you do this,the cars weight is transferred onto and off the worn bearing and will result in the sound increasing or decreasing to tell you which one is duff.Although not 100% guaranteed,this method usually exposes the offending bearing.You should of course be checking all corners by feel and a listen when the car is jacked up. :)
 
Chasabi said:
My observations so far...
  • It does it in gear
  • It does it in neutral
  • It does it when my foot is on the clutch
  • It does it with my foot off the clutch
  • It does not do it when the car is stood still
  • It tends to be worse when the car has warmed up
:|
Click to expand...

When you say that it doesn't make the noise when the car is stood still, I'm presuming that you are parked up, with the car in neutral and the engine running?

If so, the only difference to 'it does it in neutral' is that the car is rolling? By my logic that rules out the gearbox, and makes it more likely to be a wheel bearing or some other component that will move when the car is in motion? Does the noise change when turning? My experience is that failing wheel bearings tend to get louder as you turn. What about the propshaft bearings?
 
z4pilot said:
When you say that it doesn't make the noise when the car is stood still, I'm presuming that you are parked up, with the car in neutral and the engine running?

If so, the only difference to 'it does it in neutral' is that the car is rolling? By my logic that rules out the gearbox, and makes it more likely to be a wheel bearing or some other component that will move when the car is in motion? Does the noise change when turning? My experience is that failing wheel bearings tend to get louder as you turn. What about the propshaft bearings?
Click to expand...

Sorry, should've been more specific. If I'm driving along and I hear the whining noise (somewhere between 25-30mph) I'll drop the car into neutral and take my foot off of the clutch, basically just rolling with the engine running, the whining is still present until the car starts slowing down. It's barely noticeable below 20mph.

If I'm stood still with the engine running, at some traffic lights or something, I cannot hear any whining (from the car anyway!).... just the usual clutch chatter :lol:

I don't know if it changes when steering, I've not explicitly tested that so I'll find a quiet road tonight where I can get to 25mph and steer left and right to see if the noise worsens. Thanks for the suggestion.

I've not thought about the propshaft bearing. Wouldn't this whine constantly though?
 
jack07 said:
Wheel bearing noise can be confirmed on an empty road by zigzagging!Not in an aggressive F1 tyre heating style,but enough to say 1/2 change lanes each way.As you do this,the cars weight is transferred onto and off the worn bearing and will result in the sound increasing or decreasing to tell you which one is duff.Although not 100% guaranteed,this method usually exposes the offending bearing.You should of course be checking all corners by feel and a listen when the car is jacked up. :)
Click to expand...

I'll give it a go tonight :thumbsup: Maybe (hopefully) it is just a wheel bearing! I'd be one happy Zed owner if I only have to replace a wheel bearing :D
 
paulgs1000 said:
When I first bought my 2 litre Zed I had the same concerns and was very worried. I heard a whine which I thought could be the diff. Turned out it was a wheel bearing. The sound was like no other wheel bearing I'd ever heard and sounded much more like a toothed drive :? . It really concerned me but was a relatively straight forward fix (done under warranty so I don't know the cost). Initially the Zed went into their mechanic for 4 days on two separate occasions and they stripped down the rear left and right sides to get to the bottom of the issue and they couldn't find anything wrong. Eventually the Zed was taken to an Independent Specialist who very quickly diagnosed the wheel bearing which until it was fixed I found it hard to believe :o but he was spot on and I've used him ever since. :thumbsup:

I can't really hear the noise that well on your video clip but I found one of the best ways for me to hear the noise was to travel alongside a high wall and the sound reflected back at me and made it obvious which side and wheel was at fault.

I hope your problem is a relatively straight forward fix as mine was - take it to an independent who knows his Zeds and hopefully it wont be that expensive - good luck.

Just a thought . . . there is an engine noise which is quite obvious on the 3.0si (even noisier on the M) which is a whine at the low left of the engine bay (as you stand at the front looking at it) when the engine is running. It's normal and they all have it - it couldn't be that could it? (It's another noise that initially freaked me out).
Click to expand...

That does put me at ease slightly. I hope it is that simple. I can't afford another £500 repair bill, I've just forked that out for the bloody water pump that I had changed recently :|

In 2 years of ownership I've not heard a whine like this, not even from the engine bay. I can be paranoid about every little noise until I find out what it is :lol:
 
Hopefully its just a wheel bearing and your recent run of bad car luck is over. Glad you decided to keep it in the end, I honestly think you would have really regretted selling for the reasons you had. Just out of interest what sort of mileage are you on? Does anyone know if wheel bearings are common on E85/6?
 
MACK said:
Hopefully its just a wheel bearing and your recent run of bad car luck is over. Glad you decided to keep it in the end, I honestly think you would have really regretted selling for the reasons you had. Just out of interest what sort of mileage are you on? Does anyone know if wheel bearings are common on E85/6?
Click to expand...

You know what did it.... I took the car to The Car People and was looking to part ex it for something else. The chap that was valuing my Zed wanted to drive it around the car park and I'm not sure he knew what a Z4C looked like. He saw it and his first impression was "Wow, that looks well" then when he drove it around the car park I saw it in a whole new light. Obviously I've never seen my own car in motion and as he rolled around the car park I fell in love with it all over again! :rofl: That made me change my mind!

I'm on 90,700 miles. Are these engines and transmissions good for over 100k miles?
 
Chasabi said:
MACK said:
Hopefully its just a wheel bearing and your recent run of bad car luck is over. Glad you decided to keep it in the end, I honestly think you would have really regretted selling for the reasons you had. Just out of interest what sort of mileage are you on? Does anyone know if wheel bearings are common on E85/6?
Click to expand...

You know what did it.... I took the car to The Car People and was looking to part ex it for something else. The chap that was valuing my Zed wanted to drive it around the car park and I'm not sure he knew what a Z4C looked like. He saw it and his first impression was "Wow, that looks well" then when he drove it around the car park I saw it in a whole new light. Obviously I've never seen my own car in motion and as he rolled around the car park I fell in love with it all over again! :rofl: That made me change my mind!

I'm on 90,700 miles. Are these engines and transmissions good for over 100k miles?
Click to expand...

Well I'm glad you decided to stay, nothing worse than selling a car and then living to regret it. Been there done that its not good at all!
Judging by reports from american owners with N52 engines on various forums the engines themselves are pretty decent and last well, with some cars over there having done in excess of 200K. (there not as mileage obsessed/paranoid as we Brits!) The only real issues I,ve seen have been the water pump (they all seem to go, but you just done that!) and the tapping on start up that afflicts some cars which is more of annoyance than an issue. Gearboxes I'm not so sure as most of cars out there are auto and I'm assuming yours is a manual. Hopefully someone will be along who is a bit more clued up on these engine/boxes to give a better opinion.
 
Chasabi said:
I've not thought about the propshaft bearing. Wouldn't this whine constantly though?
Click to expand...

Quick search in the forum for 'propshaft bearing' shows quite a few entries for issues with the propshaft and associated bits and pieces. May well be something worth looking into as a possible solution?

Better mechanical minds than mine might provide an answer as to whether it would whine continuously, but I wouldn't expect it to whine if the car is stationary - the clutch is in and therefore drive is not engaged to the propshaft, but think it may well be turning (and therefore potentially whining) as long as your rear wheels are in motion, irrespective of whether the clutch is in or out, because it's attached to the diff?
 
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