AYC gasping noise

Today i took the legnum out for a drive through the hills on the SA meet. I dd notice it wasnt handling too well, but its only my second drive through the hills so I put it down to me not knowing the car well enough.

Anyways, when I got back to the city out of the gorge, I pulled into a shopping centre. At lower speed (under 40km/h) I noticed a gasping type noise coming from the AYC pump or reservoir in the boot.

It would last for about 10 seconds then go away. Then when i drove again, I could hear it a little bit on my home.

It kinda sounded like the pump was trying to pump fluid but nothing was there, and making a "gasping for air" type noise. It was an extremely hot day today (40 degrees) if that makes any difference.

I was planning on taking it for a drive tomorrow to Mallala (about an hour away) - should i can this trip, or is it probably nothing too much to worry about? Ill take it for a short drive tonight to see if the noise is still there.

I havent had the fluids replaced since receiving the car about 4 months ago (but have only done about 3000kms). I will be doing this asap, just wondering if its safe to drive it and whether driving it will do any damage.

And yes ive checked the "normal noise for AYC" thread, but thought this noise deserved its own topic.

Cheers guys

have you checked the AYC fluid reservoir?

Like you said, change the fluid asap. I would go for a short drive in the morning & see if the noise is still there when it is still cold. Check the level first tho! Then make a decision weather to go or not depending on how it is acting.

As that other thread says - "the only good noise is no noise"

Get it checked out ASAP!

We can't have the storm trooper breaking down!

I just checked it then. It is low, but Im not sure how dangeriously low it is. It had about 1cm of oil on the dipstick which was just above MIN.

So my question is, how dangerously low is this:

a) dont even drive it. Go get some fluid in another car, bring it home, and top it up
b) drive straight to a workshop to have topped up or flushed
c) its not that bad, just get it done within the next tank of fuel and dont flog it too much around corners
d) yes its fine for a nice straight drive out to mallala tomorrow, but just get it topped up soon and monitor the level

Im sure this has been covered before, but can AYC fluid be topped up or must it be flushed and bled? (having trouble finding someone in SA who can do this).

i'd say, C. then B.

do you always flog it around corners?

I'd say C as well.You can remove the AYC fuse from the engine bay and just drive the car perfectly normally, it will in effect be an open diff at the back.

thanks guys. I drove it around the block while it was cold and it was still making the noise, so I took it straight home and took the Alto to Mallala instead (not a whole lot of fun!).

Pity I didnt see Brads post beforehand! Its good to know I can still drive the car without the AYC connected.

that'll teach you for waking up early!

bradc said:

that'll teach you for waking up early!

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I didnt actually, got up at 10am. I went to my girlfriends place last night which is 30 minutes in the opposite direction to mallala from my house, so the decision had to be made last night when I left.

Now to try and find someone that can flush and replaced my fluid.

just to drag this one up again...

i had my ayc fluid flushed last week. The gasping noise has gone, but now we have a new noise. It sounds like a sqwark, or maybe even a single duck quack. It happens every 22 seconds or so while in motion.

Looks like ill need to do some more research into this.

Simon if you can record that sound and send it to me I might be able to help you, as might Brad, Carsten or one of the CVR4 crew.

I really hope you haven't been driving it around for four months with your diff like this...

Or jack the car up so all wheels are off the ground and it is nice and level, put it into 1st and let it run. That will get the ayc running at 1 or 2 bars because it confuses it slightly (well slightly is an understatement) Then you'll be able to listen around for the noise and find out where it is coming from.

The only thing I can think of immediately is that they haven't filled it up to the right levels?

Thats the noise that started my AYC issues.... Its the AYC pressure switch playing silly buggars with the AYC pump.... The noise is the pump kicking over when it doesn't need to

Brad or Carsten may be able to tell you exactly what this is called :redface:

good luck with finding the issue.... I need to give mine a service in the next 2 months... went up did a hill climb with some guys the other night it was whining a bit but it was almost on 3 bars the whole way up... it was high speed corners, hairpins over crests and sloped roads... felt sorry for my diff... but damn they make a huge difference compared to other cars I have driven in similar conditions you can add at least 30km/h to cornering speeds sometimes more.

SiliconAngel said:

Simon if you can record that sound and send it to me I might be able to help you, as might Brad, Carsten or one of the CVR4 crew.

I really hope you haven't been driving it around for four months with your diff like this...

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the sound is actually more like the noise of a gate swinging, but shorter - or a little beep. Hard to describe, so recording of it would be best - but not overly easy!

And nah, havent been driving it like this for 4 months - the fuse has been removed so AYC was disengaged. The car probably only went through 2 tanks in those 4 months

bradc said:

Or jack the car up so all wheels are off the ground and it is nice and level, put it into 1st and let it run.

The only thing I can think of immediately is that they haven't filled it up to the right levels?

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Not too keen on running it on jacks - I'd prefer to take it to a mechanic with a hoist...weve all seen ferris bueller!

I checked the levels, and the fluid is definately brand new, and at the right level.

pu-11-me said:

Thats the noise that started my AYC issues.... Its the AYC pressure switch playing silly buggars with the AYC pump.... The noise is the pump kicking over when it doesn't need to

Brad or Carsten may be able to tell you exactly what this is called

Click to expand...

Hmmm interesting. Did you solve your problems? Do I just need to change the AYC pressure switch or is it a lot more involved then that?

gilly said:

Hmmm interesting. Did you solve your problems? Do I just need to change the AYC pressure switch or is it a lot more involved then that?

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I had a lot more problems than that but this part causes that noise....

A way to prove it is to turn your lights on at night and they will dim when it makes the noise, as it sucks a lot of power when this happens.

Replacing this SHOULD fix the issue

Let us know how you go!

actually i think i did notice the lights dim slightly when I heard the noise, but this was while I was driving - I didnt think anything of it at the time, thought I was imagining it.

gilly said:

actually i think i did notice the lights dim slightly when I heard the noise, but this was while I was driving - I didnt think anything of it at the time, thought I was imagining it.

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Hahaha..... You will notice now that i have brought it to your attention

gilly said:

I checked the levels, and the fluid is definately brand new, and at the right level.

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Simon did you check ALL THREE levels, or just the AYC Hydraulic Reservoir? You'll need to get under the car and take out the filler plugs to check the other two chambers, see my AYC servicing guide for more info.

Sounds like Dawso's on the right track with the pressure switch though