Shudder from Rear Differential
 

Once in a while I get some popping noise and shudder I believe is coming from the rear differential. It seems to happen only after I have been driving at highway speeds for a while, it is much more common with weight in the back of the car, and happens when turning up hill from a stop under acceleration. It feels like the limited slip rear diff is binding or chattering. It only does it under a specific set of conditions, but when it happens, it certainly is not normal.



I searched and did not find anything relevant.

I took it to the dealer, who of course, said everything is normal. Are there any known problems I can point the dealer at?

I had this same exact thing happening. Took to dealer, who said they couldn't reproduce the problem.
I swapped the diff fluid with royal purple maxgear, and the problem hasn't occurred since.

Please give us some more info on your car. Year, miles, model, did you buy new....anything you can give to help us help you.

This sounds the problem I have right now and I really started to notice during and after my long road trip. It chatters when I start from a dead stop and is happening more often and I def heard it when I turned left into my driveway. At first I thought it might be the clutch for some reason but it's not slipping or anything. But now I'm starting to think it's the diff cause when I completely turned off traction control (held button for 3+ sec.) it was less noticable. I get my fluids changed in a few days to Redline so I will be able to see then if that helps.

2006 MT 7800 miles Grand touring bought new

Did the dealer check the diff fluid? The drain plug is magnetic and when my diff went if was so covered in metal half of it flopped out after he took the plug out.
My diff had a the same characteristics as your seems to have. Shuddering and, well it only popped once.
Try this for the dealer. Take the tech for a test drive. Come to a stop and turn the steering wheel all the way to the left. Then pull forward in the turn slowly. That should make it shudder real nice for him. Try it to the right then and see if it's any different. Mine would only do it to the left. Then tell him to drain the diff fluid into a CLEAN drain pan. See what he get's.

Good luck. Oh and how many miles do you have on the car?

Im gettin the same thing. Only wen I start movin. Mostly wen turning. Could it just need an oil change? (Diff) and another thing. Whenever I drive over a small sharp bump I hear something on the left side of my 8 that makes a metal clank sound. Not the interior but sounds like its comin from under the car. Any ideas?

Sounds like the Posi unit; change the differential fluid and see if the shudder and popping go away. If not, it's back to the dealer for some work.

Thanks for all of the responses.

Sorry about the late reply. I have been traveling a lot lately...

The car is a 2005 Manual with limited slip rear diff. I bought it used with 2,500 miles on it. I bought it from an older man who definately did not abuse it. It was essentially new when I bought it. It now has 20,000 miles on it. I think it has had the problem since I have owned it, but it only happens on a very certain combination as mentioned above. I will put some weight in the trunk, drive it to heat up the fluid, and have a mechanic ride with me.

I will report back what I find out.

I have had this problem for the past 4 mo's. I asked my dealer to have a look. They stated that they could not reproduce the problem. I asked them to document my concerns on the bill. I have since had the traction control light and the engine light come on at the same time. Both lights came on while I was driving the car. The car was warm, as I had been driving for about 2 hours on dry pavement. I pulled over and shut off the engine. I waited for a minute and started it. This time only the engine light came back on , and stayed on. I will again have the dealer look at it. Will advise if they find the problem.
2007 RX8 GT (Mazda speed) MT, 30000 km.

Noisey Differential
 

I have had the same problem for a number of months now . 2006 manual , owned from new ,only 10k miles . Second Service in June , garage couldn't replicate the problem . They checked oils and all were clean . I have just returned from a week's holidays which involved two long drives ,in testing conditions . The problem is really prevalent after warmed up . It is worrying me now and I am off to the dealer . I will keep you informed of solution . Please let me know how you get /got on .Hope its just changing to better grade diff oil !

I had a similar problem as you not too long ago. I would hear the clunk/groan noise when backing up, and it happened after everything was nice and hot. I really thought it was my diff, and even had the dealer take a look, but they found nothing...well it turns out I just needed a rear brake job. Once I got that taken care of the noise was gone. Just some food for thought...

Shudder from rear Differential
 

Rang the garage this morning . They are not even going to try change the dif oil , they are going to change out the differential with a new one . They dont know if there is one in stock or will have to wait . I am expecting a wait of a couple of weeks . They say no danger to drive car while I wait for new diff.