I think my rover is starting to get angry that my commute went from 32mi to 56mi a day.

Yesterday in traffic, I heard a "scratching" type noise at slow speeds (5-10mph) - and as I tried to replicate it, noticed it tends to get louder when slowing down again. It had an element of "chatter" do it like a u-joint would, that was speed-dependent. Sounded like front left area (driver).

Does this sound like an outer CV? I've got almost 118k miles and have never done any driveline components, including the hubs.

I may just have to do the hubs anyways, since the other side appears to have some play in it, and does make a tire-tread-like groaning noise when I make sharp left turns at slow speeds.

 

So I broke down and put a couple chassis ears sensors on my LR3 after work for the drive home.

Unfortunately only one worked.. (wtf?!)

It was the driver bearing though, and boy was it loud!!!!

The strange thing was that it actually "woke up" and got incredibly loud when turning left (ie. unloading the bearing slightly) - but this does actually mirror what I've seen and heard in other vehicles. I think it's sometimes a common misconception that "pushing" on the wheel bearings makes them louder - as it can also close some of the "play" in the bearings and make them more quiet.

There was still a background "squeak" during load shifts (slight turning of the steering wheel, slight shift in forward momentum, etc) that seems to be unrelated.

The unfortunate thing is that I may have run out of time on my front differential. In the parking lot, the slow-speed rotational "clicking" noise was NOT heard from the driver hub sensor. When I went down there to attach the sensors, I was a little shocked to see that BOTH sides where the CVs / half shafts enter the diff were leaking. I did a measured fill myself and know that it was recently okay. I've also done the breather TSB with the new LR4 unit (like two years ago).

It's never done the typical LR3 / RRS diff failure "groaning" noise, which I witnessed first-hand on both my RRS diffs, BUT when I did the fluid change, the stuff that came out of the front was BLACK.

Either way - the front hubs need to be replaced. I'm going to order them and try to fix my chassis ears and get sensors hooked up to the passenger side hub and the differential case tomorrow. Once those are fixed and quiet, I'll figure out what to do with the differential.

Apparently "rebuild kits" are now available readily - I don't mind ordering the bearings and seals, but there hasn't been a good and reliable list of those part numbers yet. The hardest part is getting the thing out apparently - once it's out I might as well rebuild it myself.