The past few days I noticed at a certain point in acceleration i heard a thud, thud thud noise coming from the rear. I thought it may be my tires but they seem fine. I don't hear it when if i am coasting in neutral, just during certain points of acceleration. Just changed the diff fluid a couple weeks ago with Redline 75 90 so i know its clean and full. Any thoughts?

 

what did the fluid look like when you drained it? Was it black and did you see a lot of shavings on the drain bolt? Im not a very good mechanic BUT i know i just did my fluid and it was black. I just got the car so the previous owner must have never done it.

 

Yep, it was black and the drain bolt was dirty but i'm pretty sure that is typical of dirty fluid. Does anyone have any insight to my noise problem?

 

I would suspect something like a wheel bearing before the diff, especially for a thud type noise.

 

I was gonna say thuds arent usueally diff problems. arent those more of whines or constant noise? Id say bearing +1

 

thuds are diff problems when theres too much clearance between the pinion and ring gear. but normally that manifests itself WITH a whine and a thud when shifting.

 

How safe is it to continue to commute the rest of the week with this issue?

 

If you're hearing thuds and it IS the diff, it's probably gone. However, if it's the wheel bearing then not that much to worry about, although I would advise against driving fast in case it locks up.

 

I have a Similar issue. mine thuds too and when i whent under the car to inspect I noticed i have 2 to 3mm of play were the axle meets the diff. No vibration and no leaks and the thud is only piriodicle but i can move wiggle the drive axle a small amount. If the diff isnt shot could it be a diff bearing?

 

I took my car to Garage Five today and they spent over an hour test driving and inspecting while car was on the hoist. They couldn't pin point it because: tranny was vibrating more than usual, there is play in BOTH half shafts, and play in the driveshaft. So it could be one of those. He said it was unlikely it was the differential and did not mention wheel bearings. In the end, the tech suggested I do the cheapest solution first. So I will change out tranny fluid first. If i need to change the axles, he suggested to use driveshaft spacers since my car is lowered. He said go easy on the throttle until i can find the cause. In the end he only charged me half an hour for diagnostics. <plug>I will continue to go back to Garage Five for their service and parts. </plug>

I'll post again after I put in some fresh Honda MTF.