Rear Tire "Moaning"
 

Ok so I had a thread a while ago about what I thought was my front tires slipping. After a month, I really took the time to try and isolate, and it turns out that the noise is actually coming from the rear of my car, and generally the inside tire on a very slow turn.

I have tried doing some research, and my findings have pointed to this:

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/t717515.html

They talk about the fluid in the diff needs to be changed. The strange thing, is my car only has 2500 miles on it. Could this still be my solution?

I was pulling in today, and had my girlfriend stand outside and try and see if seh could identify the noise. She describes it as a "muffled rubbing", and I describe it as a groaning noise, so hopefully that helps paint the picture.

Brakes? Inspect your rotors make sure they are wearing smooth. They might not even be broken-in.

double check the sways?

It was actually happening even before I put the sways on :(. And I even made sure the wheels were tightened to spec 80ft/lb (i know a tsb says 105 but im scared to go that high haha).

Really? But it happens at like 5mph turn into my driveway, no brakes or anything. I can even reproduce it by sitting at a dead stop, turning my wheel all the way right, and moving up a little bit. I thought it was something with the brakes, but it is only doing it on a turn, not straight ahead

Thanks for the responses guys, keep em comin, its driving me nuts.

So here's an update. Just went out and on the way back, i had to go make a U turn at the end of the culdisack because someone was in my spot in the driveway blocking me from getting in teh garage.

Normally I make a slow right hand turn to get into my garage, but i pulled a full wheel turn U turn left, slowly, to make my U turn, and I didn't get the same noises. I will have to double check to see if I turn full right hand turn if it makes the noise, but it seems like this rumbling noise is only on right hand turns.

As I am typing this I am realizing that maybe its a good idea to go check the air in the tires to make sure everything is up to spec.

Edit: ~34psi all around

sure its not just the LSD your hearing?

Could be, but is it normal to really hear it? Never heard that noise before in my older cars, but then again, this car is far different than others. I guess I could just change the fluid for good measure to at least rule that out.

The LSD can fail. I lost one at 3000 miles.
What you need to do is go to a parking lot. Find a nice place you can slowly maneuver the car around in.
Stop and turn the wheel all the way to the left and take off real slow. If you hear a chattering/chugging sound from the left rear tire your diff is bad.
Change the diff. fluid and check the magnetic drain plug for metal particulates.
Mine was so full of metal that clumps came out of the drain hole.

Oh damn! I will go ahead and check this out this weekend. Thanks for the heads up. But pulling into my driveway (right hand turn, not all the way right but pretty tight), rear right wheel makes the chugging sound, as if the rear tire was slipping. I will confirm in an empty parking lot.

Lets say LSD is making noise, should i bother changing fluid, or just get replaced? 100% covered at Mazda? (i only have 2500 miles heh)

Mazda will more than likely just change the fluid to make sure the diff is OK. Let them do it. And if it has metal then you will get a new diff through warranty.

Sounds good, thanks man, will post back results incase others are experiencing same issue.

K, got my appt for 1pm today. It will be my first experience with Mazda service so wish me luck.

About to head to the dealership, but i did find many articles like the following:

http://m3blogs.com/2006/01/29/grindi...ght-turns.aspx

They state that this noise is "normal" and it is really the "break in" period of the clutches ... who knows... i guess i will see what mazda says and take it from there.

Sounds like a brake issue check the rear rotors and pads. The differential will typically make a howling sound when it's on it's way out. I put a new rear axle on my explorer because the rear differential crapped out on me. It had a very distinctive howling sound. It definately wasn't a rubbing sound.