rear diff noise

Help please from all you techy folks ( which isn`t me!!! )
Whine from car over about 25mph , think prob rear diff , jacked up back end and if you spin either back wheel by hand , you can hear a clicking noise as wheel goes round , sounds like coming from wheel but it`s both sides whichever way you rotate wheel , start it up and engage 1st , can`t really hear anything , get up to 3rd / 4th , 30mph upwards and a noise starts which is louder when you decelerate , prob rear diff or could it be noisy transfer box , any simple ways to diagnose ?? car drives fine in 2wd , 4wd and low , just whines at 25mph + , any help appreciated PS. 53 plate jimny 95k on it

few months , changed diff oil in may / june , getting louder i think

clicking noise will be abs tick tick tick gets faster the more you spin a wheel

Thanks , don`t remember hearing it before but prob more tuned into noises now i think rear diff is noisy , thanks again

Did you change the diff oil originally because of the noise or has the noise appeared since the oil change?
Just try to establish the time line.
Sorry to ask this but you did use the correct oil grade?

Just covering everything.

Mike

I thought I had diff issues, actually turned out to be the rear bearings.

changed oil in diff as i thought it sounded noisy , since then , appears to be getting louder but still wonder it is rear wheel bearings !!

don`t want to chuck a diff in it and find noise is still there , likewise as rear bearings ( with abs ring ) is £70+ a side , don`t want to just to change them either , bloody cars !!!

how did you discover it was bearings not diff ???

If the wheel bearings are not showing any signs of problems, eg movement or rough feeling when rotated then the only option is to go old school.
You need one of these and have a listen to each side as you turn the wheels.

Mechanics stethoscope.
Very effective at locating the source of those strange noises. If your bearings are ok I would expect both sides to sound much the same, one side louder than the other it's likely the loud one is on the way out. If you hear a rumble on both sides have a listen to the diff area to see if it's the source. Not much money, about £6.50 on Amazon, a worthy item in the tool box even if it's no help this time.