I have a howling that is driving me absolutely bonkers. Can turn into a higher pitch. Starts about 15mph-20mph, then back again at 30mph. Sometimes with a slight whirring, especially when cold

I've put all new tyres on ( Pirelli scorpion Asll season lr ncs), replaced the drop links, 4 wheel alignment etc, and changed the oil in the differentials, which was only done ~7k ago along with the transfer box. Jacked it up, couldn't feel any play in the rear wheel bearings.

It seems to get quieter as the parts warm up, but on a cold morning is persistent at all speeds. It sounds like it is coming from the back, but equally can be heard by leaning forward between the dash and the a pillars.

In changing the oil the rear diff plug was clean, but the front was like this - which to me is far from normal, especially in such a short time ( i smudged off half to show the buildup):

Click image to enlarge

Click image to enlarge

Take it for a hard drive and then feel the diffs to see if one or the other is hotter. Better yet have a mechanic rig up microphones and drive it around - they should be able to at least pinpoint exactly which component is bad.

Seems very strange for the front diff to be taking that much damage, correct me if I'm wrong but the rover is RWD biased right? The front shouldn't be seeing as much load. When I changed the oil in my diffs both front and rear had much more sludge than that, especially the rear, and both seem to be in good shape. That oil doesn't indicate a problem in and of itself I would say. 2006 HSE 4.4 gasser

Thats a good idea. Have asked the local garage if they can hookup the mics, or have some I can borrow. I will take her out for a 30 mile run and back later today too.

I wouldn't normally be bothered by the sludge - but there was none at all in the rear diff so I thought it could be a symptom of bearing breakup? 7k and 9 months just feels quite a short time for that to build, especially vs a clean rear.

Not affected by gearing, tested with the flappy paddles, will have to just wait and see.

Heres a couple of sound recordings for anyone curious, cut from an earlier drive.

this is accelerating to 50mph, noise becomes audible about halfway through when i get to 30.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JyZLZHN1h...share_link

This ones at low speed, 15MPH-20MPH ish.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zrmT4o8vo...share_link -----------------------------------
2011 4.4 TDV8 Vogue

You can hear a definite whine on both recordings.
I take that this was there prior to replacing the Tyres. As I have a similar sound, but that's down to the Pirelli Scorpions that I run.

I was going to say similar... That does sound a lot like tyre whine to me rather than a diff. 2012 (L322) 4.4TDV8 Vogue SE, RSE, Fuji White over Arabica.
Previous V8s: BMW 645Ci, P38 4.6, P38 4.0, Merc CL500
Previous others: Honda x1, Volvo x7, Rover x6, BMW x6, Ford x1, Mercedes x2, Skoda x3, VW x2, Renault x2, Citroen x1, Mazda x3, Nissan x1, Audi x3, Kia x1, Fiat x4, Subaru x3, Austin x2, Triumph x2, Jeep x2, Hyundai x2, Lexus x1, Mitsubishi x1, Saab x2... and some others I've forgotten!

The whine could be from the tyres, though I had pirellis on before and didn't notice it. They were down to 2/3mm so changed them with no affect.

I have always had a little tyre noise, but can hear this now over the engine most of the time, and its nowhere near as quiet as it was when I bought the car, or my friends with the same tyres on.

The low speed howl sounds like a radiator fan coming on and is always there, but the whine does quieten down once the car is hot but has been getting steadily louder since xmas when I did go through some puddles, hence changing the diff oil in case it was contaminated.

At xmas I had a bust drop link on the passenger side, and had some new front discs and pads, rear brake lines, and lanoguarding. with the MOT around the same time the sound started. -----------------------------------
2011 4.4 TDV8 Vogue

Hey all,

It’s solved and my sanity restored.

I went to C & D transmissions in Ivybridge. Turned out to be the centre prop bearing.

They were beyond fantastic, did a test, diagnosed and fixed in a day and at a very reasonable price.

Even dropped me off and picked me up from the train station.


It was joyous driving home. So much so i drove with the radio off just to enjoy the drive  -----------------------------------
2011 4.4 TDV8 Vogue

Glad you got it sorted, its often the simple things after all!

Thanks!! So much relief it wasn’t the diff in the end. And now i dont have to service the diffs again for a few years  -----------------------------------
2011 4.4 TDV8 Vogue

After reading this post, I checked my rear prop, as had same noise… it had slack at each end… I put on a new prop shaft, and it’s completely silent now… thank god I didn’t change the front diff, for nothing!