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[Seth]

Just a thought, but what about getting a tow? Disconnect the drive shaft and see if the noise is still present?

Been following this saga:
This is a sound idea Nige, and I'm with young Tunnie on this!

(Borne out of bitter experience some years back whilst 'on the buses' - a mis-diagnosis had previously involved a diff-change which eventually revealed the fluid flywheel loose at the crankshaft!)
No tinker listened to this scribe's theory - the result was an immobilised bus/passengers with gallons of transmission fluid spewed over a busy road junction, plus a grid-locked town centre in the evening rush hour.
Thank the Lord that I was on an early shift that day!

If ya need a high-speed tow, send me a PM; as I'm off work next weekend, with nowt really planned (yet!).

[Kevin Wood]

What's the input taper bearing into the diff like? (it's the bearing you need to take note of the pre-load if you change the diff input oil seal) 

I've no idea what it is like .. but 2Woody changed the diff input seal for me last year ....... do you think this could be related

..and I remember when we took the old seal out, that the pinion nut had worked loose. Maybe the bearing's fate had been sealed then?

Failing that, driveshaft or prop centre bearing perhaps?

[lee4206]

Could you not run the wheels unloaded? Ie rear end on axle stands  put it in drive and have a listen under the car. Doing this you may be able to locate the noise.  If you also pull the hand brake cable on each side in turn you may be able to work out what side the noise is coming from, if you still get it when each side is locked then it narrows it down to diff or gearbox. 
Lee

[dad1uk]

What's the input taper bearing into the diff like? (it's the bearing you need to take note of the pre-load if you change the diff input oil seal) 

I've no idea what it is like .. but 2Woody changed the diff input seal for me last year ....... do you think this could be related

..and I remember when we took the old seal out, that the pinion nut had worked loose. Maybe the bearing's fate had been sealed then?

Failing that, driveshaft or prop centre bearing perhaps?

I had the same thought about the centre bearing, had one go on a Ford and it took ages to find the problem!

[Kevin Wood]

Could you not run the wheels unloaded? Ie rear end on axle stands  put it in drive and have a listen under the car. Doing this you may be able to locate the noise.  If you also pull the hand brake cable on each side in turn you may be able to work out what side the noise is coming from, if you still get it when each side is locked then it narrows it down to diff or gearbox. 
Lee

Yep, good point. A little braking on one side will stop that side and transfer the torque to the other side. If it's a noisy lobro joint it'll help diagnose it.

.. and that might tie up with the reduced noise with the burger-van on the back, as the angle of the joints will change with loading.

[Entwood]

Thanks for all the ideas ... keep 'em coming !!!! 

Mr S checked the diff oil level and played with the prop shaft, he couldn't feel any slack/play ... but that doesn't mean the input bearing is good I suppose...   

Due to other commitments I'll not be able to do anything until a week Thursday, which will actually support Mr S's idea of driving it until it gets worse and REALLY tells me where the problem is !!

On that Thursday I plan to do the following..... until I find some answers ..hopefully

Swap tyres front to rear - Mr S's idea
Jack the back end up on axle stands and run with both wheels off the ground - Lee's idea
Use handbrake cable to stop each wheel in turn - Lee's idea
Use the trolley jack on each suspension point to raise/lower the wheel whilst it is turning - Kevin's idea (ish)

If all that achieves nowt I'm thinking of removing the drive shafts and then running it again to try and check out the diff alone ??

Trouble with all the above is that it will all be done under "no load" conditions so may prove nothing.....   

In the mean time I'm tempted to ask Rob to remove the diff and drive shafts from the 3.0 and sell them to me. I then have them if needed, if it turns out to be something else I just keep them as spares.

Puzzled of Wiltshire ... 

[Marks DTM Calib]

Have you ruled out tyres, any different with a load in the rear?

[robson]

Is it ok to run the back wheels with the back jacked up I have heard that damage can be done to the  drive shaft or diff bearings

[Entwood]

Have you ruled out tyres, any different with a load in the rear?

Mr S has suggested swapping the wheels around to see if the noise moves, I plan to do that and to try the spare on each side to see if it makes any difference.

With the tin-tent on the back the noise is reduced but does not stop

[Entwood]

Is it ok to run the back wheels with the back jacked up I have heard that damage can be done to the  drive shaft or diff bearings

mmmm not heard of that before ....... 

[kcl]

Is it ok to run the back wheels with the back jacked up I have heard that damage can be done to the  drive shaft or diff bearings

mmmm not heard of that before ....... 

I've heard the same, someone here said a few years back that it should not be done as the drive shaft joints come to a very "uncomfortable" position as they "hang".

[henryd]

Is it ok to run the back wheels with the back jacked up I have heard that damage can be done to the  drive shaft or diff bearings

mmmm not heard of that before ....... 

I've heard the same, someone here said a few years back that it should not be done as the drive shaft joints come to a very "uncomfortable" position as they "hang".

If the car is jacked at the rear of the trailing arms it should keep the angles close to what they are on the ground but If jacked and allowed to hang I agree that drive joint chatter could be present.

[RobG]

Any resolution yet Nige

[Entwood]

Any resolution yet Nige

Nah .. weather has been too bad to get anywhere near it .....  There is now an exceedingly marked difference between solo and towing.

My plan, if the weather allows tomorrow is to jack the back end up and place on axle stands, then to use bottle jacks under the rear shock absorber lower mounts to raise the wheels until they are as near normal as possible, then run the car in gear and try and identify the source of the 'orrible noises.

Once that's done I expect I'll be contacting you for the diff and drive shafts as I'm slowly getting convinced thats the only way to fix the problem...... 

Just hope for some decent weather tomorrow !!!

[Shackeng]

Nige, I'm about this weekend if you want to try Tunnie's tow idea.