I've checked around online given all of the searches available and I wanted to pick the great minds here.

Here's the background:

07 LR3 SE with 130k
New BFGs with less than 1k miles

A few things leading up to the noise:
So on this past Saturday I gave it good washing. Nothing crazy. No power wash. No washing the engine. I simply washed the truck, dried, vac'd, and cleaned the windows. Again, to be clear, no crazy weird water spraying on one part for an hour.

I then removed the Uhaul aftermarket hitch that the PO had previously installed (which is for sale in Atlanta for local pick up). I made sure all good to go underneath and I was done. Again, nothing weird here like I didn't remove the diff by accident and put it back in wrong. I simply removed a trailer hitch. 4 bolts. Gone.

I work from home and left my house today for the first time since Sunday (no noise on Sunday but can't remember what speed I hit on a local trip). I pull out of the neighborhood and begin accelerating up the main road. I was flipping channels on the radio and suddenly heard this odd noise. It was the type of noise that makes you immediately look for a place to pull over. The noise sounded like a wind/roar noise and appeared to be coming from the rear passenger door. It was like the door was open or the window was cracked. I get out and looked under the truck expecting to find something odd and nothing. Not a thing.

I pull back out and start down the road and again it starts. I noted the speed of exactly 40mph. I slowed for a light and it "ghosts" out around 35-32. By ghosting I mean that it doesn't really get quieter as much as it goes away. Its like an odd fade. I hit another stop light. No rough idle. Nothing odd. I accelerate like normal and boom 40mph and its there. 50mph same volume, same tone, same everything.

It's not a tire rub. Other than slowing down, speed does not affect the tone or volume. If it was a rub, my opinion is that the noise should sound deeper at lower speeds and higher the faster I go. Not with this. At 40mph, boom its there. Slow down 35-32 it's gone.

Having owned a diesel Defender, 2 D1s, and 2D2s, my crazy mind wants me to think that LR knows and had a bolt or something dumb that cancels that noise. Maybe the missing bolts/holes are taking wind like when you blow over the top of a bottle. There is no spare tire as it is too large by a hair for the spot. If there were factory mud flaps those are gone.

I don't know. It feels wind related and not mechanical. Of course as I write it's really too late and too cold to be messing about for the evening. I'll experiment with covering the frame holes. I've worked around a lot of contractors that cover the holes on their ladders because of the wind whistle while on the racks.

Just checking to see if there's a eureka moment where someone will say its the 2nd rear frame hole that need a cover.

Thanks all.

 

My first thought would be the electric clutch on the fan, but that doesn't seem likely.

Centering bearing on the rear driveshaft would be near the back row area. Welcome by the way from Augusta

 

Thanks. Just odd to have it happen after removing the hitch. Could be something catastrophic and it being a LR it chose to wait until I made a change or cleaned it for it to make itself known.

 

You didn't happen to clean the truck on a Tuesday night? They don't like being washed on Tuesday night.... unless the humidity is below 50% and the prevailing winds are from the north.

Sounds like typical Rover stuff....lol

 

I would check all the trim pieces to make sure they are on tight; especially the A-Pillar trim.

 

Yeah that a pillar can make a heck of a racket