Rear end noise

[stockhatch]

I recently installed gears in my Capri, and I did notice that the carrier bearings were pretty worn. I could see some pitting and nicks in the races, and knew they would need to be replaced, but the shop I was using needed to be vacated, so I went ahead and put it all together anyways. I plan on replacing them next weekend, but Im wondering if the noise I am hearing sounds like the bearings. Its not a really high pitched noise like the gear whine I have heard in transmissions etc. Its also not quite the wheel bearing roar I am used to either. Its kinda more high pitched than a wheel bearing, but close. The noise is constant, regardless of accel, engine brake decel, and coast decel. The noise does go away around left hand turns and left hand sweepers. Does it sound like gear noise, or bearing noise...? Yeah, I know, noises over the Interweb always sound different depending on the reader... FWIW, this is my second gear install, and the first one I did was dead silent. This time, I had to work alot harder to get a good pattern, but I feel like I finally did get a good pattern. Backlash was around .011", and pinion preload on a new bearing was around 20 in-lbs. I have put around 80 miles on the car with this noise, so hopefully it is bearings and not gear mesh, or I may have a hosed set of gears.

TIA for any suggestions, though reassuring ones are preferred

 

[stockhatch]

TTT. Im still wondering...anyone heard of gear noise that goes away around left turns?

 

[stockhatch]

Heres a small book just to update this thread... If you hear a noise that goes away around curves, stick with your instinct, it is probably a wheel bearing. I replaced the carrier bearings and the axle bearings and the noise was unchanged.

I was so sure it was not a gear issue that I pulled the drivers front wheel on a whim. Everything looked ok with the exception of the seal, but I repacked the bearings anyways. I took the car up the road again and viola! Noise gone! I'll tell ya, the acoustics of these cars make it REALLY tough to chase down some noises. I could have sworn it was coming from the back of the car. My buddy rode with me and thought the same.

Anyways, the good news is that my gear install is silent, and now I have new bearings throughout the rear, as I should have done the first time around... I will likely go ahead and do new bearings and seals on both fronts, because the drivers side seal is hosed anyways. Overall, though, I'm a happy camper! Nothing better than chasing down a stubborn problem and beating it into submission.