Hey guys,
How noisy is it underneath your cars while cruising? Mine has seemed a lot louder lately so I've been back and forth to the dealership like crazy the past few weeks.

First they told me it was just a brake plate rubbing. Bent it back and sent me on my way. Noise wasn't gone so I brought it back.
Second they tell me my Transfer Case (which was replaced already about 10k miles ago) is spitting up metal. Still 14 miles left on warranty so I get another one. STILL noisy so I bring it back.
Third, it's a wheel bearing. Front left wheel bearing gets replaced and I just get it back today. Well I only drove about a mile from the dealership back to work, but that was enough to hear that the noise was still there. What. The. Hell.

I'm thinking my next course of action is to bring it to a different mitsu dealership to see if they have anything to say. Otherwise, I just have to except that my car will always sound like the differential gears are going in opposite directions!

The noise is definitely coming from the front (sounds like T-case area), but it's not the signature whine. I know because I've already dealt with that one. This is just some nasty grinding that happens anytime I'm going over ~40 mph with RPMs low enough to actually hear anything. I will try to post a vid, but I'm thinking it might be too faint to pick up with my phone camera.

I hear a lot of "well evos are just noisy, lols" from techs at the dealership and other acquaintances, but I think the noise I'm hearing is just excessive enough to warrant my concerns.

Thanks to all who have any sort of input on this thread.

Edit: added video in post 10
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0glt...ature=youtu.be

 

drain and check your trans fluid for metal. could be the diff pins hitting the case

 

Is this something easy enough to do myself? I have limited knowledge of cars, but I particularly don't like messing around with my own! I also wouldn't know what to replace it with once it were drained, as I've heard so much 'must use / must not use' fluid advice for evos.
I will try this though, and I appreciate your help!

 

lemon law a new car?

 

Its not a new car lol.....I would try a different dealer except that 14 miles wont get you far....

 

I looked in to this, but not enough so to understand how it really works. I'm not sure my car still qualifies (~37k miles on the car, a small accident), but I know if the Xfer case goes again then there's probably something fundamentally wrong with my car.

Haha, those 14 miles are long spent. The dealership covered the bearing under warranty because I brought it in for the noise issue before the 36k. I'm not sure if they'll be honoring that if I try to bring it back again though!

 

Diff pins were my first guess after reading the T-case was replaced. Pray that this isn't true.

 

If this were the case, what would be involved in fixing it? Also, what would typically cause this to happen?
I don't beat on my car very much. It's been broken too many times, so I drive it pretty gingerly. I do skate around in the snow and I definitely don't baby it, but it has 0 launches from rest, and you can probably count the times I've gone WOT on your two hands. The car is basically stock- just an ETS intake on it.

 

The cause is Mitsu incompetence. When have they ever made an AWD drivetrain that didn't have at least one issue (usually more)?

The fix I'm less sure about, by the name "Jack" come up a lot, as does "Shep." tee hee

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0glt...ature=youtu.be

You can start to hear it around the 9-10 second mark and throughout the rest of the video. It's going wubwubwubwub, kinda like skrillex.

The fact that it doesn't change regardless of gear or throttle leads me to believe it's not the transmission, but that's just speculation.

Another edit: the tires are brand new.

Thanks all for the input.

 

I hear it. So you are going 40 ish and can hear it at lower rpms? Ok, so do you hear it I you push in the clutch (gsr?)? I presume you still hear it based on your pots but want to make sure. Is it louder w the windows down?

I presume you've rotated the wheels around, just to confirm it is not a rim. If not, do that too. Does the sound change while turning? Lets start here...

 

When the noise started I could only hear it at 50mph and up, and usually only when veering. This is what led me to believe it was a bearing. As time went on (and the bearing was replaced) I began to hear it at lower speeds. The video is at 60-65, but I can hear it at as low as 35 now. I do still hear it with the clutch pressed, and it does still seem to get a little louder/more noticeable when veering at higher speeds. The wheels are new in November. I replaced the fronts 1 week, then rotated them to the back and and got the next pair the following week, all the while the sound persisted (although it was fainter back then). It sounds very central, or like it moves from side to side which makes it even more confusing for me since the tcase is ruled out.

Thanks for the help guys.

 

Ok, well if it does it with the clutch in and or the trans in neutral I think it's a different bearing than the one you replaced. Were they all checked? Maybe a CV joint? I presume your boots were checked too.

 

When it first started, was it clearly louder when turning one way than the other? If not, I'm sticking with worrying about the diff pins, because the is "active" when you turn either way. If it was louder when turning one direction, then wheel bearing was a good theory, but if they've been replaced....

 

It could also be your rear diff humming. It can resonate all the way up to the front of the drivetrain.