By
wineboyatx, February 18, 2010
We have a Corolla with 171k on it and clutch replacement about 5k ago. In 4th and 5th gears occasionally, but more often now, we hear a fairly pronounced whine. It appears to be more of a gear noise and it only occurs in 4th and 5th gear under acceleration, either light, medium or heavy. If you engage the clutch or disengage the gear, the sound goes away. I am not entirely sure the tranny oil was replaced when the clutch was installed. What do you think?
That would be the first thing I'd take care off - replacing the oil in the transaxle. If the level is too low or the oil has been heavily sheared down (contaminants) - could lead to bigger problems down the road.
we hear a fairly pronounced whine. It appears to be more of a gear noise and it only occurs in 4th and 5th gear under acceleration, either light, medium or heavy. If you engage the clutch or disengage the gear, the sound goes away. I am not entirely sure the tranny oil was replaced when the clutch was installed. What do you think?
When I hear a tranny Whine It usually wants to go to Florida. Take her on a trip and be sure to use synthetic lube on her before u go. P.ssssss. Amsoil gear lube is best .
Okay, it's more of a squeal and it comes from the passenger seat! Ow! I am soooo glad my wife doesn't read this forum!
Thanks for the input. I will search the forums for checking and replacing tranny fluids. I hope that is it!!!
Okay, it's more of a squeal and it comes from the passenger seat! Ow! I am soooo glad my wife doesn't read this forum!
Thanks for the input. I will search the forums for checking and replacing tranny fluids. I hope that is it!!!
Okay, so I replaced the oil in the transaxle with almost 2qts of 75w. Manual said 1.7qt, but I had the car jacked up on the left side so it was at a slight angle. The oil coming out had a minor amount of shiny metallic in it, but nothing I would say alarming after 171k. I can't confirm if it was low on oil. After driving the car, it seemed to be better. If this isn't the problem, what else could it be? Synchros?
Since it is most apparent after up load the gear (gear is already selected) it is possible you are looking at a transaxle bearing issue. Trying different brands of tranaaxle fluid will help, I know when I ran Royal Purple - it tended to make a bit more noise than my brand of choice, Redline. Some have come up with homebrew concoctions and mixtures of different gear oils that seem to really cut down on gear whine. Fine metal particulates in the oil is normal - but frequent drains and refills of the transaxle will help keep those from become a major issue (let the oil's additives do their job). Low oil would make the noise more noticeable - sometimes you have to drive the car a bit after replacing the oil before anything significant happens.
Sometimes the noise is not even related to the transaxle - another common source that causes a gear-like whine under partical load in the higher gears is the belt tensioner. There will be some gear whine, as this is a mechanical coupling - but the oil and transaxle case are designed to help reduce the amount of noise transmitted to the operator. I'd drive it for a couple of weeks or so - do another short drain and refill - and see how the noise level is after the miles start to roll on.
Just for curiosity sake - what else did they do when you had the clutch replaced? Turned down the flywheel? What brand of clutch/pressure plate was used? Did they adjust any linkages? Did they replace the bolts for the pressure plate and flywheel?
Ah, good question!
Well, I was a little staggered at the price of doing a clutch job so we got it done in San Antonio. I live in Austin. The clutch kit, with pressure plate and throw out bearing came from O'Reilly's. They did turn the flywheel, but aside from that, I don't know. I will also say that clutch engagement happens fairly ubruptly at mid pedal. Are you thinking something else?
Just that if the clutch and transaxle were incorrectly installed - especially if the old bolts were reused, instead of replaced - there could be a chance that the input and output shafts (sort of meet in the middle of the transaxle) are not completely in-line. That would cause peculiar clutch takeup behavior and whining noise. If it gets too bad, then you start getting the metal on metal knocking sounds.
Thank you, Chosen One!
A week into it and my wife feels that everything is fine.
The noise has been tremendously reduced she says. What I ended up doing was using a quart of synthetic blend a the rest Royal Purple. So, I have taken your advice telepathically! I will keep the bearing and old bolt possibilities in mind, though. I need to drive the car more often, though. Again, thank you!
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