I have a 97 cargo van 150 v6. It has 105 k runs great, but has had a noticable rear end noise for past 5k, it has a medium whine at 55 or faster. I'm not afraid to drive it, but I'm concerned that I just had to top up the diffential with 1 qt of diff fluid, it didn't quiet it down much. The service guys must have not checked it, no sign of a leak. Whats the worst case, I don't do alot of highway miles but some. Thanks for any help. Joe in N.C.

 

I broke down( haha thats humor) and had my mechnic take the 97 150 cargo van for a test ride today. He said the rear noise was the rear axle bearings, so the work will be done this Fri, and I will post something after that. Yes I could be repeating something that is in the back logs on this forum. But then again some casual dude might be looking currently and say wow thats my problem. So my question to ig and anyone else that would like to make this forum so ridged why not let the threads flow, unlessyou all like it on a truely professional level.

 

i got this same noise ....has been going on for about 10k and now is getting worse....what is the typical repair in this rear end ? carrier bearings ...ring and pinion ??

 

ridged? Im not a ruffle, only ruffles have ridges. seriously, I'm just another user here. I was going to add that a squeeking that sounded so much like dragging brakes turned out to be my rear u-joint was dry and worn. He may want to look there too. Adding to why I thought it was the brakes, was so far Ive replaced almost all of the brake lines, both rear wheel slave cylindars, and both calipers.

 

Mine wasn't the rear bearings, but the front internal bearing in the front rotors. They were totally shot. So, yes, I do believe you would need to pull the rear wheels off and check the rear bearings. While you're at it, repack them with a high temp bearing grease of low friction. My old 1994 Caravan had this issue of back rear bearings. Once replaced and the new ones greased packed in, the noise was totally gone.

IGadget has a good point too about the U-joints. It's not totally hard to determine if it's the U-joints or the rear drum bearings. As the van rolls down the road, if the noise during rotation remains constant without deminishing from gear-to-gear check the rear drum bearings. If it changes some from gear-to-gear check the U-joints. It can't hurt to check both either with higher mileage.

If you're repacking the rear bearings, click back the self adjusters a click or two to reduce drag friction on the drum shoes. Then don't back up too fast and apply the brakes suddenly. This will save fuel too.

 

Just for the sake of a past problem, I too had a vibration at, let's say 45-55+ mph. It was a U-joint (front).
Got it fixed for about $75.00. Couldn't do it myself, so, that includes labor. Oh, if I only had my old garage again....