What I thought was a front end problem with my 2001 Tracker turned out to be, after attaching microphones to undercarriage, a problem with the rear differential, left rear axle and left wheel bearing.
This noise started at about 40,000 miles and continued to get louder. First diagnosis by my independent mechanic was the transfer case. Second diagnosis by a transmission repair shop was perhaps a front wheel bearing - wait and it should get a lot louder. 15,000 miles later it had not gotten any louder, but I was concerned that if a wheel bearing was involved, a wheel could come off and a serious accident ensue.
Finally, I took the Tracker (really a Suzuki Vitara) into the local Suzuki dealer, as I had no confidence (due to past history) with the local Chev dealer. The Suzuki dealership located the problem, took apart the rear differential and saw that all the gears were somewhat chewed up, but not broken. The left rear axle shaft also had a bad wheel bearing as well as another bearing on the shaft that was chewed up. However, no appreciable debris was recovered from the differential housing.
I'm glad it's over, with compliments to 417 Suzuki here in Ottawa (Canada) on solid troubleshooting and repair.
What I thought was a front end problem with my 2001 Tracker turned out to be, after attaching microphones to undercarriage, a problem with the rear differential, left rear axle and left wheel bearing.
This noise started at about 40,000 miles and continued to get louder. First diagnosis by my independent mechanic was the transfer case. Second diagnosis by a transmission repair shop was perhaps a front wheel bearing - wait and it should get a lot louder. 15,000 miles later it had not gotten any louder, but I was concerned that if a wheel bearing was involved, a wheel could come off and a serious accident ensue.
Finally, I took the Tracker (really a Suzuki Vitara) into the local Suzuki dealer, as I had no confidence (due to past history) with the local Chev dealer. The Suzuki dealership located the problem, took apart the rear differential and saw that all the gears were somewhat chewed up, but not broken. The left rear axle shaft also had a bad wheel bearing as well as another bearing on the shaft that was chewed up. However, no appreciable debris was recovered from the differential housing.
I'm glad it's over, with compliments to 417 Suzuki here in Ottawa (Canada) on solid troubleshooting and repair.
- reedphi, Ottawa, ON, Canada