Rear Differential Problem!!!

[king2218]

I recently just bought a 2003 325i about a month ago from a private seller with about 52,000 miles on it...About two weeks back, I started to hear some whining noise when I was accerelating...I took it to tuffy auto center to get it checked today and they said "My left carrier bearing & pinion bearing in differential assembly are the source and that my differential needs to be rebuilt or replaced." They said they wouldn't be able to do this and that I have to take it to a dealer...Has anybody ever had this problem before??? And would I HAVE to replace the differential or should I be good with just replacing the left carrier bearing & pinion bearing??

[AlpineSixAndSeven]

Was this car ever in an accedent? that is definatly weird....

[darkhorse737]

drain oil first and inspect for bits of metal in the oil... if yes, then u have diff problems. If no abnormal chunks of metal in the oil... maybe replace with fresh oil and look elsewhere

depending on where you are and the kind of access you have to parts(i.e. used diffs) replacing the whole diff might be a better idea than to take down & rebuild it.

[king2218]

But whats that whining noise that it makes?