whining when accelerating. + Wheel hop
 

hey all,

first of all, i recently installed the SPL solid subframe bushings into my s13. Now, i hear a whining every time i accelerate the car (cruising). Could this be my welded diff, or the tranny?

i would hate it if it is the tranny, since i recently replaced it.

i am hearing really loud clunks, i know my welded diff makes loud clunks but i don't know if the clunks are from my diff.

Also, i am having lots of wheel hop when launching/burnout, even after installing the solid subframe bushings.

well, here is a video to see if you guys can identify the whining sound i am experiencing. The accelerate at an intermittent pace, and sound appears at the same time i accelerate. 0:19

YouTube - ‪VID 20110628 00001‬‏

Its the diff. Probably the bearings. You should be fine for awhile lol i drove around in mine for 6 months like that untill it got loud enough that it got annoying. And also the sound will be quieter with interior in :P

thats completely normal. youre going to hear stuff like that when you switch to solid bushings.

hey thanks for the reply. u mean its the diff, or the wheel bearings?

if its the diff, how can i quiet it down?

i know i have a bad wheel bearing but it rumbles, not whines.

subframe connectors.

you cant quiet the diff down. you pretty much guaranteed that by putting the solid bushings in. diff mounts directly to the subframe in s13's and by converting to solid bushings you just removed anything to absorb the vibrations the diff makes from normal use.

so basically it is normal for the diff to whine like that?

could it be low diff fluid? or something?

yes as i said in the first post its completely normal. mine is the same way. as for the "wheel hop" it could be the stiffness of the rear coils, some bushings in the back. maybe an eccentric bolt came loose and is allowing the arm to move freely? could also be your carrier bearing or transmission mount.

Thanks. I already played with the stiffness settings of the coils, on the softest setting, then on the hardest setting, and nothing. I will check bushings, but I have adjustable arms and bushings seem ok.

On another note, I will use this same thread to adress another problem I am having to see if you guys can help me. When I am cruising and I turn the wheel quickly I feel the cars responds better when jerking the wheel to the left than to the right. Could this be alignment? By the way, I changed my steering rack bushings about 6 months ago, could they get loose?

more damping might help with wheel hop.

I wouldn't worry too much about the whining, i would check for excessive heat around the diff though, if the whining is something serious that will cause a failure you will probably have some noticeable heat after a drive.

Thanks for the reply. After further research I've learned it is normal.

I'm am now more worried about the wheel hop, which I am going to look into the dampening settings of the coils, by the way, how do you set dampening? I've got tein HA coils.

Also, as I stated above, I'm having steering response problems. I'm guessing it could be aligment. Any help will truly be aprecciated

Thanks

The adjustable KYBs my buddy used had an adjustment point right on top of the damper, the little bit of the shock that you can see at the top of the strut tower inside the engine bay, there will be an allen head or torx bit that you can turn to adjust the damping. not all shocks are adjustable for damping though.. mine arent :(

well heres and update. i went to tackle the wheel hop issue. i discover i have a little play in one rear wheel bearing. Also, discovered that rear axle nut was not as tight as it should be.

when looking at the car, i realized that one side sat higher than the other one, so we tried to fix it a bit. after that, i played around with suspension and went for a ride. to my surprise, the wheel hop got better. There is still wheel hop on launches but definitively got better.

Could an alignment be the solution? could the play in the rear bearing be the problem?

Another update. tightened axle nuts, leveled the car a bit more. found out i have a one piece drive shaft. and had an alignment. there is still a lot a wheel hop on hard launches. sometimes when initiating a donut, i get so much hop that i have to let go. other times i can launch or do donuts and i get little to none wheel hop.

could a non solid tranny mount be the issue? or non solid motor mounts?

please heelpp :bash::bash:

Double check all the suspension links and bushings? How is the condition of the rear lower ball joints? Are your rear wheel bearings in good working order? Do they spin freely with ease? Can you pull on them and they move?

suspension links and bushings all alright. everything is tight. ill double check rear lower ball joints. rear passenger side bearing makes a humming sound on the freeway, but other than that no play.

If the bearing is making a humming sound then its on its way out the door, time to buy new ones. I had to do it recently for my front bearings... Makes a huge difference.

yeah i know, waiting for the new ones to arrive. i really dont know what else to check. Don't know if i need to buy a solid tranny mount, or a new suspension set, or a new diff (mine's welded). i really dont know what else to do or check. :confused::naw:

Ditch the welded, get a VLSD or s15 HLSD. Install the new bearings, then go from there.

yeah. also my driveshaft is making loud clunks when i release the clutch, when i shift from 1st to 2nd it also makes a big clunk. ill try to make a video

could the wheel hop be caused by too big tires??? i have 245's on the back

so i checked my welded diff today, and because of that it seems the whole drivshaft plus the diff have play. they have about half a turn in play, i will try to get a new diff and try it out. i hope this is culprit of my wheel hop