Hi Guys,

i have a few noises which may or may not be related, before we start the rear diff was replaced a year ago, service and full inspection carried out around 3 weeks ago including a full maintenance check of all drive trains, software updates, engine fault codes and everything was OK

I have noticed a few noise over the past week or so, which i will list below,

1) Placing the car in drive or reverse from neutral or park and there is a slight clunk coming from the back, i can replicate this all the time, its louder when its cold and less when the car is warm.
2) When feathering the accelerator i.e. when stuck in slow moving stop start traffic or when slowing down quickly then accelerating hard, like coming up to a roundabout i get a slight hesitation and then a clunk like the gear is dropping down or engaging, similar to the above.
3) Now and again from the rear i get a noise when accelerating from standstill like a rumbling like going over ripples on the road (like you would get coming up to a pelican crossing, where the tarmac has ripples placed in it, it will happen for a few seconds and go away)

I am hesitant to say its the diff as it was replaced a year ago, however when i was checking if my car was a HST or not i selected a setting that put the diff into lock and it was quiet un-nerving as there was a loud clunk when i engaged it and then disengaged it, i have never diff locked my car before wasn't sure if this is what is normal, it certainly didn't sound normal. Again i am not sure doing this test was what started the first symptom i described above.(i.e. clunk going into drive or reverse)

I have also read that it could be the prop shaft doughnut ware or centre bearing, but at the moment there in no whining and the car does drive like a dream otherwise.

Most of the time the gears change smoothly when driving and breaking and setting off and is a pleasure to drive, but i am not sure if these noises are warnings.

The ARB's seem to need replacing front and back as there is a lot of creeking noises and slight knocking when going over uneven road surfaces,you can feel loose and knocks through the steering wheel, is this normal for ARB failure? i am not sure if the ARB's are contributing to the above noises or not.

I know there is alot of info but wanted to give a whole picture

If you could give me your thoughts what other checks i should do it start to narrow down what it could be or if you have had symptoms like mine and what they turned out to be and how it was fixed.

thanks

Last edited by nah33m on Fri Jun 09 2017 7:45pm. Edited 1 time in total

ARB bushes do need replacing at regular intervals, sadly, as they do seem to wear quickly. The actual bar would only need to be replaced if it's leaking oil from the ram.

What mileage does your RRS have on it? Maybe a gearbox flush is in order? 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

Its 103k, i was thinking that... and also doing it myself if i can find a how to guide ..i don't like going to the dealer/indy on jobs which i can potentally do myself

Also not sure if the diffs could do with a flush? again not sure how easy it is on these cars