Thread: Tranny whine after diff and diff case replace...

... title says it all!

It whines in park, neutral, and the gears. Most noticable when Im not moving (only because there is no other noises) but it does make a noise for sure.

Also, my transmission seems to be heating up a little bit (although I did do some WOT runs after driving around for 15-20 minutes and checking fluid level). My engine temp was at 185 and my tranny temp was 199-200ish. I could just be paranoid about the temp.

I changed the fluid to Dexron VI. The whine appears to be coming from the RIGHT side of the transmission (when standing in front of the car and opening the throttle blade).

I do have a TAD too much fluid in there I think... but Im not 100% positive. Im going to drive it around tomorrow after the fluid settles. Could a bit too much fluid cause extra heat and a whine?

Also, Ive had this issue but it might be related to my stall:
When I am driving in second/third... if I let off of the gas and coast, and then hit the gas again... I can feel the gear "grab" after a split second of reving. I would probably think its my 2500 stall since it grabs right below 2500 rpm. Thoughts? *shrug*

Did it whine like this at all before you swapped the diff? The diff end of the trans does not spin while sitting still so your noise is either further into the center of the trans or even a pulley on the engine which I have heard many that sound like trans noise but isnt. You can buy a cheap stethoscope from most auto parts stores so it may not be a bad idea to pick up one and have the car running while jacked up and lay under it and listen across the length of the trans to pinpoint where it is coming from. MAKE SURE THE CAR IS SECURE ON STANDS OR RAMPS!!!!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by Toasty

if you dont have a stethoscope handy, a piece of rubber hose/fuel line will work if needed...

Just remove the fuel first.

The noise seems to most certainly be coming from the tranny IMO. It is not a pulley or anything... it is coming from the side of the motor the throttle body is on.

I may need refreshed on everything with you car, but did the noise happen after the diff was swapped, and I mean like you drove it a short time and then the noise came on? I would check for codes and see if you have one for incorrect ratio or max adapt shift. There are a handful of causes for noise on the converter side of the trans and they are mainly bearing noises, but since you mention the noise didnt occur until AFTER the diff work then it could be the pcm commanding max line pressure which will cause the pump to whine.

It did not whine before the diff was swapped.

I ended up swapping the diff and putting on the diff case slight ajar or some **** (dont know what happened) and it cracked and started dripping. I took it off and put it back on in such a way so that it wouldnt drip until I got a new diff case.

Put new diff case on a week later. At this point, my tranny is maybe 2 quarts to 3 quarts low. I put in a quart and start the car. I hear the whining. I put in another quart... it seems to quiet down a little. I check fluid and its still low... so I put in another quart. Its right up to the max point.

Im not throwing any codes and my car seems to be shifting fine through all gears.

I noticed today I also get this weird mechanical whirring noise when Im decelerating... although this could totally be my imagination since Im paranoid about it whining. Its not whining at a very audible level anymore, but I can still hear it when I couldnt before.

Did you check the bearing that goes behind the park gear to make sure it is seated properly before you tightened down the housing? If you damaged anything in that area you may have created a new problem. The trans shouldnt whine from being a few quarts low. It may but it really shouldnt, especially after you topped it off.

Park gear was fine, I pushed it back after I checked the bearing the first time and it never moved after I put it back. Regardless, I had one side covered in vasaline to make sure it sticks there...

I was under the impression the bearing wouldve kept everything from coming together if it fell?

Also, something I just thought of, my fluid was pretty damn dirty for a tranny with 10k on it. Maybe all of the material in my fluid was keeping something from whining while the cleaner fluid isnt? I have no idea, so Im totally geussing...

May sound stupid, but I had a similar issue and it was my AC compressor clutch going bad. Sound varied with engine speed, and it happened in all gears. Try turning the AC on and seeing if it goes away.

Maybe some good info here maybe not. I just had a oldmobile silohette show up in to my shop. It may have been a 60 and not a 65 e, but that doesn't matter in this situation. Anyway they just had their trans "serviced" by a pep boys and ever since then they noticed a noise and it was at low speeds like in a parking lot that they heard it. I told them it was most likely unrelated, but decided I should further investigate. Turns out they didn't service it they just did a flush or maybe did a flush I don't know basically the pan wasn't off. Checked the fluid level... barely touched the stick and it was warm. I told them it was low but not enough to be of concearn... boy was I wrong. We agreed to fill it till it got to proper level and document it for whatever reason we need it for. Three qts!!!! It took 3 qts and it registered on the stick before I put the 3 qts in. Also the noise went away, and i had the customer drive it to verify it. It sounded as if the chain was rubbing when I heard the noise initially... almost like a can of marbles rolling around.

Can too much fluid cause an issue? How much is too much? Over the max line? Mine might be a tad over full. Ill check the fluid level in the morning when I get to work after its had time to warm up.

I could see too much causing a noise, Like the hard parts whipping it up, but that would be way overfull I would think... Hopefully someone who knows more will chime in

Alright, new update. My tranny is slowly sucking down fluid. I just added a quart and it topped it off... and the noise Ive been hearind went away. I checked the dipstick when I got to work and it was a quart or so low.

Is that normal for the tranny to appear full and then it "seeps" into all of the nooks and cranies over a day or so? The whine went away, but there is stll this other unknown whine I cant even explain =p.

hah...

From the first post...

Originally Posted by Tengis

It whines in park, neutral, and the gears. Most noticable when Im not moving (only because there is no other noises) but it does make a noise for sure.

Just as Vermsta said you should check it multiple times as the fluid level will drop after things are apart and definately check it again after a road test to verify it is full. If it is low again then I would suspect it leaking somewhere OR check your coolant overflow tank. This sounds odd but a customer of mine ran into this last year. His radiator was bad and trans fluid pumped into the radiator to the point where it was blowing out the top of the coolant over tank and leaking over the passanger side axle! Just keep an eye on the fluid level, not sure what to say about the other noise you hear. Does it make the noise at all sitting still in P, N or D? or just driving down the road and coasting?