Hey guys,

Probably an extremely stupid question but I have been trying to track some rear end noise for awhile now. Keep in mind the car was incredibly loud when I got it (have recently purchased a new exhaust to remedy this but have not installed it yet) and because of how loud it is, it has made it more difficult to track the source of the noise.

Anyway, long story short. I believed it to be coming from the center of the car. Thinking it was the u joints I replaced both of those and reinstalled the drive shaft. The problem continued to persist. After doing some research I found a diagnoses of noises on one of the leading rx7 pages (atkins, racing beat, etc.) can't remember which one. After reading this I believed it to be the 3rd member/differential. (Gave me an excuse to swap the drums for a GSL rear end so its all good as far as I'm concerned).

I have since purchased a GSL rear end and will soon be installing. However when removing my wheels I noticed the center caps are fairly loose and rattle quite a bit.....has anyone heard their center caps rattle while driving i.e. there is no way the noise I was hearing could be coming from the center caps......right? The inertia alone would keep them pinned down while traveling....I think

Anyway I was just curious to hear your responses. I still think it was the diff but the amount of rattle in the center caps kinda surprised me too.

 

put tape on the centercaps and see if the noise changes.

 

lol I should have done that before tearing the rear end apart! At least if I hear it again I can test out the theory.

 

Your hold down springs on the center caps are probably not installed right. They have 3 edges
that have to sit in a groove behind the center cap and they have to be turned the right way
so they push against the cap as well. Sometimes it can be a hassle to get them in right. Either
way I doubt they would make enough noise to be noticed.

 

I've experienced some center cap noise at low speed, like a "tink", "tink", tink". If loose, you may need to remove the spring clips and stretch them a little. Or, some silicone may help hold them in place. It wouldn't be enough of a noise to hear it above a loud exhaust however. I think the source of what you are hearing is still elsewhere.

 

Thanks for the input guys! I always start second guessing new discoveries. The spring adjustment/silicone idea is a good one. I may end up doing that once the wheels are reinstalled.