Sorry for the length of this post.

So I pulled the trigger on having 4.56 gears installed. Had outer axle bearings making noise anyway, so I just had the whole axle rebuilt including changing gear ratio.

Problem:
From the day I picked it up, there has been a slight whine between 40 and 50 mph when coasting but barely on-accelerator. Maybe this isn't such a big deal to those running Mud Terrain tires that cover this moaning, but in the backseat of the sound-boxes we drive it can make you ill to your stomach after awhile.

I called the owner of the shop that did the work the next morning and told him about it. I got the standard answer... "those are hardened gears for thrashing offroad and for heavy towing, plus the teeth are cut different, they are gonna have more noise than the OEM's that came out of it. There isn't anything we can do".

Now, I went to this shop because besides 4X4 fabrication and building monster trucks... setting up gears and axles is ALL they do all day long. The guy who set up my Ex has no less than 1000 axles under his belt by now after doing it for 20 years. Who would think for a minute that I would get gears that whine? I know I didn't....

So basically, I've spent money that we had to SAVE UP to get this done... it is a lot to our family. This was a one-time-shot for the most part. I'm dealing with people who really believe that a small amount of whine is acceptable in their worlds. But it is something my family can't sit and endure for long periods of time. My Ex is useless to my family now to use for its intended purpose... long hauls with all the kids and towing our travel trailer.

What I need to know from those who have fought this battle before:
1. Is a "little whine" from performance gear sets normal and that is just life?
2. Will the whine ever get quieter as the gears knock the rough places off each other?
3. What setting in the bearings or shims causes a low whine only on-throttle?
4. What would be your next step if it were you?
5. Is there anyone here from North-Central Florida or South Georgia that actually KNOWS a shop or person who really does care about setting gears up perfectly? I can drive a few hours and sit all day if I have to.

Thank you to all who have actually read this whole post.
I'll take any help I can get at this point.

James

 

I don't think a new gear set if done correctly should have any noise, but maybe someone with a little more experience will chime in..

 

Thank you... I'm hoping.

James

 

I used to specialize in rear ends and transmissions........so here goes;

1. No whine is acceptable from any new gearset.

2. The gear noise will never change as they are extremely hard and run in heavy oil.

3. The ring and pinion only contact the "driving faces" when on the gas and they contact the backside of the gears when you let off. You can't just say a certain setting causes a certain noise due to the number of setting combinations and the fact that the gearset could be defective to start with.

4. Refuse to take that B.S. for an answer and threaten to go to court (bring a mechanic if you can).

5. There aren't a lot of people that can set up a rear end correctly and nobody can correct one that already howls unless it was set up wrong and hasn't worn due to the incorrect setting yet. An incorrectly set gearset will wear faster due to the extra stress of not having a full contact and they will howl forever and never break in. If they weren't made right in the first place you can never make them quiet.

It's usually noisy because they aren't set up right and not because they weren't made right. An aggressive off-road tire will wear faster and howl more also when driven on the freeway due to the high points contacting which is what it is doing and if allowed to run like that it will ruin itself for good eventually.

 

How loud is it. If its as loud as you say and the shop has a good reputation they will want to go for a ride in it and listen to it. If it really is doing what you claim they should be more than willing to take care of that for you at no additional charge. To give the shop the benefit of the doubt and assume they set it up correctly there could be a defect in the mfg of the component. Either way if the noise is that obnoxious I'm sure the shop will want to take care of that for you. If they refuse give them another shot to reconsider before throwing legal threats out there at them. That is just ridiculous at this point in the game...

good luck

 

Here is what they already said;
"those are hardened gears for thrashing offroad and for heavy towing, plus the teeth are cut different, they are gonna have more noise than the OEM's that came out of it. There isn't anything we can do".

I see court coming up unless they eat their words. Nothing in that statement is true.

 

Gears should not make noise.

Are they Motive brand? Those gears are known to be substandard. A lot of Mustang guys have nothing but issues when they run them.

but yeah, I'd pack that crap up the shops rear end. Noise is not acceptable. Make them fix it. If you wait too long, the gears could be potentially damaged. Then you're stuck

 

Notice I sad second chance. And give the garage a third chance to reconsider. Running off to court is not going to be a low pain way for the OP to get this remedied. Something will have to be proven...neglect...defect...inept labor and anything there of. Don't blink twice and now the OP has a ton of time invested...possibly money....and still has gear noise that really just wants to go away. OP needs to ask them to ride with him and see what they do. The OP needs to get in touch with the mfg of said ring and pinion. discuss concerns with them...then take that info into shop and discuss more. Just heading to court right now...is silly.

P.s. did you get a warranty of any sort from the shop and or mfg should this have been installed wrong or be defective...it may not last.

Call the mfg of ring and pinion and work backwards.

 

I disagree (we always seem to). He needs to act fast and get this into court, I've been through this and it's the only thing they listen to. Did you think the lying shop guy was going to change his mind because he is a nice guy?..........it ain't going to happen, just watch.

 

Court at this point is silly. Start on the phone with the mfg explaining what is happening and work from there.
Hypothetically...if the OP takes a court case on this...and lets say the mfg represents the whole case here...and they can prove in some way some how their gear is a tad noisier than some other brand...and they prove there will be no breakage...no defective issues lie in their product, moreover the company is willing to provide a warranty ...sprinkle in a reputable garage who according to the OP is known for differential work...and the vehicle is driving..safely...and with a potential warranty?

Which way do you think the judge is going to rule.

Save your time and money and call the gear mfg and start there.

Good luck

 

I would not accept the noise either. It was quiet before so that's your benchmark; and it doesn't matter if someone else feels it's acceptable. Be different if you had a shop install headers then said "but they are loud", gears should not make any noise and I would stand firm on your definition of an acceptable level and no one elses.

I drove mine back from a trip as a rear wheel bearing started to howl, and I was ready to shoot myself by the time I got out of that truck. I get that

 

Thank you all for the replies so far.

I forgot to mention the gear brand. They are G2 Performance gears. They are made by Genuine Gear. They have a 10 year warranty. The shop is the kind of shop you find down here in the sticks of the deep south (not Miami or big cities). No written anything.. just word of mouth saying "if you have any problems, just bring it back and we'll take a look". (my first mistake by the way)

I'm not big on the whole "court thing" if I can avoid that. And as far as threatening this guy... that will get you no where fast with him. He is probably a lot like most of us that, when threatened or harassed about something, we immediately take the defensive posture and not much is accomplished from that point on.

He has not ridden with me yet to hear it. It is only present between 40 and 50 mph and then only when coasting and barely on-throttle. I will take him for a ride and see what he says he can do for me. IF he decides to swap this set out with a new set, that will mean being down another day... I don't mind it so much, but letting a shop that truly believes a little noise is okay have another try at it "seems' like a waste of my time.

That is why I was also asking if anyone knew of any place that was more concerned with customer satisfaction down here.

ExV10: I completely believe you know what you are talking about. I kinda already knew what you would say about gears. Why do guys like you who KNOW what they are doing always seem to live a country away from me?

I will continue to try to resolve this and let you all know.

James

 

Did you pay with a credit card? I hope so. Stop payments work great to get people's attention. You can try the same thing with your bank if you wrote a check or used a debit card. The BBB is a good angle too, along with threatening negative press (local news, etc.)

But in my opinion, once you threaten court, you'll shut him down completely. If he had an attorney, they would tell him to stop talking to you and to wait for court. So court would be my last resort.

I always start these kinds of things in a firm manner, with facts not emotion, with respect and a "lets work this out" attitude. Start to escalate from there if you don't get anywhere.

Sorry about this situation. I remember reading your other post and you were already frustrated and now this.

I do agree with everyone that no noise is acceptable in a differential. I will say that there are certain hard core gear sets for manual transmissions that make more noise, different cut gears and what not, but a differential is different. Good luck!

 

I don't automatically threaten court either but it's always in my bag of tools and small claims is not going to shut him down plus it's a winnable case, just bring some whining witnesses with you (witnesses to the whining). That guy uses intimidation to get rid of people and I doubt if he will even go for a ride but if he does you will hear more lies while driving.
If you don't use the court card you will lose your hard earned money and that is going to be the end of it. Keep us posted.
Did I mention I hate shops?

 

Honestly, I don't think the howling you are hearing is the rear end. These motors have a howl in the exhaust, under load, at a given rpm. There is also a whine that can come from the transmission.

Before I took anyone to court, I would make damn sure its for something they did wrong.