I purchased a Honda CRV 2002 five years ago in Adelaide and it ran smoothly throughout the years.

Recently, I could hear a rattling noise when I accelerates and a clicking noise when I turn the steering wheel.

I went to three different mechanics before the last one diagnosed that my car has bad front and rear differentials (and they are leaking) and it is not worth fixing it. I asked another mechanic and he told me that the differential is a very complicated element and so it has to be replaced but not repaired. I called the Honda dealer in my town at last and he told me that it could cost up to $5000 AUD just to replace my rear differential.

Can anyone tell me that if this problem is really that complex and not worth fixing at all? I searched for rebuild kits online but it seems that none of them are for Australian models. Nevertheless, given that there are rebuild kits for sale, may I ask if this could possibly be a DIY job?

 

Front diff is inside the transmission. They don't typically go bad.

Rear differential is not all the expensive to buy used from a salvage yard. Swapping it can be done in a driveway.

Some more diagnostics are probably required before pulling the trigger on repair.

 

Thanks a lot for the advice. I will replace the rear differential fluid to see how things goes.

I am also going to replace the front cv axles as I suspect that they could be the reason my car cracks when turning the steering wheel.

Given that I need to remove the wheels and it is a relatively big job, is there some other maintenance that I can do together to save my effort and time? I only know that I could possibly also change the brake plates.