Hi all,

I am in the UK and bought an 07 Diesel (2.0) Elegance Outlander last week (Manual 6 speed).

I have two issues which may or may not be connected and was wondering if anyone could offer some advice please?

1. When in 2WD mode sometimes when I brake there is a grinding sound, sometimes there is a sound that sounds just like plastic or rubber "binding" and sometimes there is no noise at all.

2. The above seems to dissapear when I switch to 4WD(auto) mode. HOWEVER, in 4WD I get the following peculiar occurence : In second gear (doesn't happen in any other gear) as the rec counter passes around 1500 rpm there is a brief series of loud chatters from the engine area - almost sounds like a timing chain - it lasts for mere seconds. Any ideas please ? This doesn't seem to happen in 2WD mode, only 4WD.

Any help is much appreciated

 

transfer case and front wheel hubs

 

Hi Akzle,

Thanks very much for the reply. Could you please elaborate a little if poss ?

As far as I understand, am I correct in thinking that you mean :

1. The front wheel hubs could be responsible for the binding/grinding noise in 2WD

and

2. The 4WD chatter at 1500rpm in 2nd are caused by the transfer case ?

Could these two problems be related ?

What would be the solutions - Is this likely to be very expensive? Could it be that the oil needs changing in the transfer case ?

Any futher help would be much appreciated

 

if a hub was failing, it would not be only specific to braking. it would get quieter/louder by turning...applying more pressure to two different surfaces grinding on each other. I don't see how applying brakes would make a bad hub make a noise.

As far as the noise...it could be transmission chatter. My Ford Ranger would do that if I was accelerating and took the rpms down too low...bogging down the engine. I can't say it is or is not that, but if it is, nothing to worry about.

 

That's kinda what I thought re the hubs (although my knowledge is limited).

Regarding the possible transmission chatter, it only seems to do it in 4WD (not 2WD) - any ideas on that please ?

 

1)hubs/case not completely engaging/ disengaging. Providing partial drive/chatter to the front.

2)probably a harmonic in the driveline.

 

and yes, would not be only under braking.

 

Thank for the further replies. So, please bear with me - I am a coder and know absolutely nothing about vehicle engineering. Software engineering yup but actual metal, gears etc... nada

This only does this in 4wd (which I am assuming is the default mode I should be driving in, day to day) and then only in second at that specific rev range so I see where you are coming from when you say it could be a harmonic in the driveline.

My next question would be : Is this something I should be worried about or should I just wait and see what happens?

Thing is, I LOVE this vehicle. It ticks every single box I had in my budget. I have 2 children and another on the way and we needed an occasional 7-seater (sometimes have kids friends in car). My wife wanted something with a higher driving position than our previous Mondeo diesel. I wanted gadgets and decent audio (and the MMCS and Fostgate Rockford system does that).

I don't want to get rid of it - It's the perfect vehicle for us - but I don't want to be facing thousands of pounds in mechanic bills shortly. BUT... it's a superb vehicle and even with 125k it pulls like a train with no smoke at all (although I have bills with the vehicle for a new turbo last year - also water-pump and cambelt done as well).

 

I'm having the same exact issue with the noise you described. We have an 07 Outie with awd and the noise happens only in one of the two awd modes, auto or lock. The noise has never happened in 2wd/fwd.

We had this issue for quite some time and although it doesn't seem to be a real big issue, we're taking it back to the dealer before our 10yr/100,000 mile drivetrain warranty expires. We currently have 86k miles on our 07.

We live in a remote area in the United States Southwest and it's difficult to schedule the car for any dealer work, but this could end up being big bucks if it's on of the transfer's front or rear electronic coupling. I can't imagine how expensive that would be?

I'll report back by next month what the dealer found. We are also experiencing the pass. front wheel bearing noise, speed sensitive, starts making a whirling noise above exactly 25mph and up, and then ceases completely upon passing through 25mph while decelerating. I might replace the wheel bearing myself as I don't want to wait for it to seize up and possibly destroy the hub.

 

Thanks for the reply. I would be REALLY REALLY interested to hear what the dealer says please - I have noticed now that mine does do it in other gears, just at slightly different revs. For now I will just drive it in 2WD but a report back when you have been to the dealer would be MUCH appreciated