awd humming

[erdman50265]

when all wheel drive is engaged theres a loud humming from the passenger side rear wheel. had wheel bearing replaced 10k miles ago and does not sound loke it did when the bearing was bad. sound fine when in front wheel only. Just recieved 7 inches of snow i can floor it and i no the fronts are spinning but back seems like its tugging not constant power is that usual?

[far2grumpy]

There was a service bulletin regarding AWD noise when vehicle was turning. Does yours make noise going straight ahead ... during turns ... or both. I've attached the bulletin.

Have you changed fluid in the rear drive module (RDM)? I first changed mine at 36,000 miles and it was filthy. Others have cured RDM noise by changing fluid.

Regarding AWD, you probably know the rear wheels are driven only when fronts have lost traction. It would be good if you could test the vehicle while someone was outside monitoring wheel spin. You could determine for sure the rears were receiving power when the fronts lost traction.

I live over in Cedar Rapids and posted a short video on You Tube tube for my 05 Vue. You can see there is no discernible delay between onset of spin between the front tires and rears. My AWD operates perfectly and without noise.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hk0HvJbl7wo

[erdman50265]

i can hear it turning and going straight only coming from passenger rear and only with the awd engaged... the noise it makes coincides with the tugging i feel from the rear passenger.. tugging prolly isnt the best way to explain it but it does not feel like its at a constant revolution , i hear a somewhat loud vvrr vvrr vvrr maybe every half second , and every half second while its making the noise it feels like its pushing me forward but the drivers side looks just like in your video a constant revulution with equal power ( i gased it with the drivers door open and looking back at the rear drivers side wheel).. your right though i need to have someone get on it and let me look at the passenger side... im roughly at 95K and have not changed the rdm fluid..

[Ritz]

Change the fluid first. I changed mine at just over 30k miles and it was filthy and had gold/brass sparklies suspended in it. Versatrak fluid is expensive as hell, but a couple of people have used Royal Purple Synchromax as a replacement without any (as far as we know) ill effects. It is about 1/6 of the price of Versatrak fluid. I picked up a few quarts at the local Napa store, but I haven't tried it yet. I'm planning to change the fluid again after this winter season just for grins and use the RP stuff. See my write up in the tech forums from about 2-3 months ago showing how to dump and refill the fluid.

Best,

[erdman50265]

i read through your post regaurding changing the rdm fluid, everyone who was hearing the wah wah wah sound was that only turning the vehicle, and was it specifically coming from a certain side?? Was it with the awd engaged or not with it engaged?? or both?? Mine only makes the Wah wah wah or in my case the vvrr vvrr vvrr lol when awd is engaged and in perfect raod condition running fwd i can turn as sharp as i want and DO Not hear it.....Where is the RDM located at??? if its near the passenger side then thats my issue..... Im going to change the rdm fluid this weekend and see if theres any improvment.

all i need now is to replace the hood and the stering wheel and id have replaced every part on this thing... (seems like it anyway)

[far2grumpy]

The RDM is centered on rear axles ... please keep in mind if the front wheels are not spinning the AWD is not engaged. If you hear the sounds you describe and the front tires are not spinning its most likely not from RDM.

[erdman50265]

i only hear it with awd engaged..and just from one side. I no it has to be somthin with the awd what sould cause the sound to come from just one side though?

[Ritz]

i only hear it with awd engaged..and just from one side. I no it has to be somthin with the awd what sould cause the sound to come from just one side though?

Change the RDM fluid and get back to us. I suspect that's going to solve your problem (at least in the short/medium-term).

Cheers,

[newbievueowner]

Change the fluid first. I changed mine at just over 30k miles and it was filthy and had gold/brass sparklies suspended in it. Versatrak fluid is expensive as hell, but a couple of people have used Royal Purple Synchromax as a replacement without any (as far as we know) ill effects. It is about 1/6 of the price of Versatrak fluid. I picked up a few quarts at the local Napa store, but I haven't tried it yet. I'm planning to change the fluid again after this winter season just for grins and use the RP stuff. See my write up in the tech forums from about 2-3 months ago showing how to dump and refill the fluid.

Best,

I'm still using the Royal Purple. 7000 kms (~4300 miles). No noises and the same crappy AWD performance from the 'versatrak lite' in the Vue.

I think there is something wrong with mine as it has made a moaning/groaning noise from day 1 when the AWD kicks in. Well a few weeks ago I ran into an old buddy and I got a chance to drive his 05 Vue AWD in an icy parking lot. His doesn't make anywhere near the noise mine does and seems to work much better. This is why I now think there is something wrong with my AWD unit.

To me it sounds like the poster either has a CV problem or wheel bearing problem and likely not an RDM problem, but I could be wrong as it is very difficult to diagnose over the internet (and sometimes isn't explained 100% correctly in the first place).