Once my car gets up to speed it makes this howling/droning noise. It seems to be completely dependent on speed. Gearing and RPM don't seem to matter as it does it in Neutral. The faster the car moves the louder it becomes.

I am thinking wheel bearing but the wheel doesn't have play in it. On previous vehicles when bearing went bad it would make a humming noise.....this is alot louder then a hum. How would I know if i have a bad bearing in the Transfer case, Transmission and/or Rear Diff? Would it just rattle or would it make a noise while in rotation? It sounds like it is coming from the front passenger side of the car but I don't want to assume anything.

I was told by a friend that he doesn't believe it to be the "Death Whine" as he had it on his previous Evo. I rather only take apart whats necessary to fix this and i don't want to just start replacing parts.

Thanks.

 

Make sure 1st, you don't have any feathering on the tire tread. Also a bad wheel bearing doesn't necessarily mean that its going to have movement in it. It can still be bad. If the tires are ok, take the car for a drive and weave left and right, if you take the load off the wheel bearing the noise should get better or go away. If you are hearing it distinctly from one corner, it is very possible it is a wheel bearing.

 

It seems the person i brought the car from had the coil-overs installed incorrectly. The pillow mounts were completely misaligned. The the ride height in the front was different on each side as well. Tires actually look bad but never thought they would cause this noise.

I will try a different set of wheels I have that I know do not make any noise.

 

That's a good idea as well. You would be surprised how much of a noise chopped up tires cause. I worked in tire retail industry for a good while and man a nice set of tires sure make a difference.

 

Do you have any poly bushings in the rear end? After I installed mine it will kind of so it on the hwy howl and such.

 

I am gonna try and make a video......see what happens.

No poly bushings.

 

a bad wheel bearing will change noise when you turn left or right. if it is the rear diff, the howl will start around 45mph, and may get quieter at around 70-80mph.
I would drain the rear diff fluid, and take post a picture of the fluid color and magnetic drain plug.

 

You can hear the noise in the videos.

I actually drained the fluid this weekend and didn't see any flakes or anything in it. It was dark in color and did not look like Diaqueen was used to fill it. I don't have pics of it or the plug.

 

Man, that sure sounds like something from a transfer case. Usually a wheel bearing will be more of a howling noise, but its really hard to make a call without being there in person.

 

Would a bad bearing makes that noise if it is not the "death" whine? In person it sounds like the front of the car.

 

This is exactly how my death whine sounded on my RS..

 

Have a skim through my thread (video included): https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/ev...rivetrain.html

Note: I haven't found the solution yet but I have changed out both rear wheel bearings and got no change. I currently have the diff out of the car ready to send to be inspected.

Was it just me or did the noise go away when you let off the throttle in that video?

My bet is either the rear pinion bearing or shim. Search for a video of an evo with a bad pinion bearing to compare to your sound.

 

So if I leave it in gear and let off the noise gets quieter which is what you heard in the video. If I put the car in neutral and then let off the sound is unchanged. Not sure if that means anything.

 

Definitely sounds like drivetrain noise.

 

That would be the transfer case, mine sounded exactly like yours.I had to drive with that noise for a 2 months and it drove me absolutely nuts. Looks like its time to give shep a call! I just had my transfer case rebuilt, cost me 1200 without labor. I hope you have a 2nd vehicle as well because it took him 2 months to rebuild mine, I guess its that busy time of the year.

I also changed my TC fluid before sending it to the shop and the fluid was clean. Your best bet is to take it to your local shop and have them use a stethoscope to find out where it coming from, but I have a feeling its time for you to get it rebuilt.