My 1988 240 has recently begun howling (kind of like a wind noise howling) when driving, especially at take off. It doesn't do it all the time, and generally seems to do it either accelerating or decelerating. It's cold here in Ontario and a couple of months ago I bought some new Michelin Arctic Alpen snows, and they certainly make a howling noise when on wet pavement, but this new noise comes on dry pavement and seems even louder. Could it be related to the snows, or is it something else entirely? Any thoughts? Thanks, Fred

I silenced my center support bearing recently by putting a needle on my grease gun and shooting some grease in there around the bearing, then shot some wd40 around to follow it up. I have the parts now, just waiting to find the time for a permanent fix.
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CCGJ, '89 245, '98 S70

Yup, agree with Rob...center driveshaft support bearing. I replaced mine last winter as the car would "howl" for about 15-20 min accelerating or decelerating and then would go away once the car warmed up from the cold. Once replaced...noise was gone.
-Adam
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'92 244GL silver-metallic, 146k, Bilstein HDs, IPD sways, upper+lower chassis braces, Cherry-Turbo strut brace, 240 OEM rear wing, 15" Draco Rims, Full E-code lighting w/side repeaters, Magnaflow 2.5" mandrel SS exhaust w/Unitek header (Jethot coated)

It's your center driveshaft bearing. Try soaking it with a good spray lubricant and see if it shuts up.
Plan on replacing it once it gets warmer. The driveshaft has to be removed, then the bearing is pressed off the shaft. Not a terribly hard or expensive job but one for the shop to do- at least the pressing part.
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Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: '87 244DL/M47- 225K, 88 744GLE- 209K, 91 244 183K. Also responsible for the care and feeding of: 88 745GLE, 229K, 88 244GL, 146K, 87 244DL, 235K, 88 245DL, 236K

then it is the tailshaft bushing, like mine is. It's not something that needs immediate attention, but then agian it's not something that will get better over time. Not that hard to do (for someone who can replace t-belt), but a very messy job, from what I hear.

Cheers,
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90 BMW 325is, 98 BMW 528i, 90 Volvo 240DL

Not a terrible job IF you use the bushing puller tool.
It's been discussed on here quite a lot though not recently.
Don't need to remove the transmission from the car or the tailshaft housing from the trans to use the tool.
Replace both the seal and the bushing at the same time, and inspect the outside of the yoke or drive plate on the tailshaft for wear on the OD.
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Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: '87 244DL/M47- 225K, 88 744GLE- 209K, 91 244 183K. Also responsible for the care and feeding of: 88 745GLE, 229K, 88 244GL, 146K, 87 244DL, 235K, 88 245DL, 236K

You guys are great! Centre Driveshaft Bearing - I know so little about cars, but I'm learning quickly. Can I drive my car for a while with this condition; at least till the spring? Or am I causing some damage to it - is something wearing out in the meantime? What exactly is it that's broken? The car only has 77,000 miles on it. Thanks again everybody! Fred

Sure you can. I drove mine for almost 1.5yrs before I replaced my center support bearing. Mind you, even though my tailshaft bushing's making noise, the center bearing was shot also. Replacing bearing was really not that difficult.

Cheers,
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90 BMW 325is, 98 BMW 528i, 90 Volvo 240DL

Rust hole in a rocker?