Hi, I recently purchased a 2002 WRX. Ok, I am hearing some kind of grinding noise when I am in gear. The noise gets louder in 5th gear. It's sounds like spinning metal grinding each other. I can't really point out where the noise is coming from, but its sounds like its somewhere under the hood. Really hoping its not the trans. I have a ripped cv boot, not sure if that would be a problem. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance for your help.

WHOKIDD_HAWAII

 

Def not a cv boot problem. Mine was ripped and I only noticed when she was on a lift.

 

Retract that last one. Srry on cell so I can't edit. I would put er on a lift and have a listen

 

Any suggestions on what the problem could be?

 

if you hear it when you push in the clutch and are rolling then it's probably not the trans and might be something like a wheel bearing. if it only happens when you're in gear and driving but when you push in the clutch it goes away, possibly trans. might also wanna check the diffs for fluid and change that cv boot.

 

Yes, it only happens while I'm in gear. You can hear it while gassing it, it's really obvious in 4th and 5th

 

well if you've never been in a subaru before they do have pretty whiny transmissions. could be you just have a really loud diff. change trans and diff fluids but other than that i'd have to hear it to know. maybe you should come out to a meet and see if anyone can take a listen

 

^^^ also when you change the fluid make sure there are no metal chuncks in the fluid or on the magnet.

 

Thanks for the great advice. Ok it only has the grinding sound everyone time I gas it, not while engine breaking. And yes, I had a bugeye before, it didn't make this sound.

 

Had the same issue your were going through bout a month ago. Tried to find the issue and had no luck. Couple miles later I noticed I had just hit 60,000 miles and decided to service my vehicle. Did the prescribed 60,000 mile service in my owners manual and after that, noise seemed to have gone away. Hopefully it aint nothing serious on your end. GL!

 

I would check the fluids immediately before driving it again.

Definitely change the Tranny and rear diff fluids since that is easy and you don't know if the prior owner did it at the right interval.

Which reminds me that I have about 6K until I need to replace mine.

 

what do you mean by gasing it? wide open throttle? check to see if there are any aftermarket parts on the engine that maybe touching the body... for example, this aftermarket header comes very close to touching the body.. http://efilogics.com/tmp/header.JPG check your engine and transmission mounts... engine braking and heavy acceleration will twist and shift the engine more than smooth linear normal driving.. an "obvious" transmission or differential issue normally would be heard all the time. Because you say you don't always hear it, its possible its something else, so cross your fingers.... Try to rule out the easy things before first. Trying to diagnose issues over the internet can be a waste of time and confusing because description of symptoms can often be too vague.. go to the meet and have someone listen to it...

 

It always has the grinding noise during acceleration, all the time. No matter the rpm. As soon as I let off the gas it stops, once I gas it, it's there again.

I'm going to change the rear diff and tranny fluid sometime this week.

So when and where are the meets?

 

I would start with checking drivetrain fluids, suspension, wheel bearing & axles... go from there...

 

Just changed axle that had the ripped cv boot.

Clutch makes a whining noise only when grabbing. Just wanted to add that in.