# Transmision Noise (not good)



## DUNCAN GT-R (Nov 6, 2004)

Can anyone here try to identify a noise i'm getting from the gearbox/transfer box area.
I can only describe it as a "whining" coming from the gearbox.
When i depress the clutch pedal the niose goes away, when i release the pedal, it's whining again.
I can hear the whining when i'm driving, but it stops when i back off the throttle (ie over-run).
One mechanic told me it was the clutch release bearing, but i think it sounds more like a gearbox bearing.
Any help would be appreciated...
Thanks.
Duncan.


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## DanLeMan (Sep 4, 2006)

DUNCAN GT-R said:


> Can anyone here try to identify a noise i'm getting from the gearbox/transfer box area.
> I can only describe it as a "whining" coming from the gearbox.
> When i depress the clutch pedal the niose goes away, when i release the pedal, it's whining again.
> I can hear the whining when i'm driving, but it stops when i back off the throttle (ie over-run).
> ...


sounds to me like a gearbox bearing bud.

the thrust bearing normally more of a rattle and can normally only be heard when stationary.


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## tarmac terror (Jul 16, 2003)

Sounds like release bearing to me.

Unless of course its a sraight cut box   

TT


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## pupsi (Aug 29, 2006)

Release bearing.


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## mava_rules (Feb 22, 2006)

bearing inside box, not the thrust bearing as thats not engaged unless the clutch is pressed.
release bearing only makes noise when clutch is pressed, not other way round.


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## paul cawson (Jul 3, 2003)

As above ,does it make the noise when the car is not moving if so the 1st motion shaft bearing in the gearbox.


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## DUNCAN GT-R (Nov 6, 2004)

paul cawson said:


> As above ,does it make the noise when the car is not moving if so the 1st motion shaft bearing in the gearbox.


Yeah, it makes the noise even when not moving.
When i push down the clutch pedal the noise goes away. But i can also hear it when i'm driving, except on over-run, when the noise dissapears.
Can anyone CONFIRM if its the release bearing or the first motion shaft bearing.
There's a huge price difference.....


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## DUNCAN GT-R (Nov 6, 2004)

release bearing only makes noise when clutch is pressed, not other way round.[/QUOTE]

Thats how i understood it, but on the 33gtr, the clutch is a "pull" type. Does that make any difference to the senario ?


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## glenn gtr (Mar 1, 2007)

its the release bearing common fault but nothing to worry about,push clutch down no noise,release clutch noise,it drove me mad so had in garage finally good mechanic got under bonnet he said yep release bearing ,could try replaceing but he said its nothing to worry about its common wont do any damage so leave it,just fitted new clutch about a month ago and release bearing still same noise so dont worry my opinion.


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## mava_rules (Feb 22, 2006)

the release bearing/thrust bearing is there to push on the pressure plate which in turn releases the grip on the clutch plate. the bearing is not engaged unless its pressing on the pressure plate which it wont be unless the clutch is pressed. dont make a difference wether its push or pull, it still wont engage unless the clutch is pressed.


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## kjansch (May 8, 2005)

DUNCAN GT-R said:


> ...
> I can only describe it as a "whining" coming from the gearbox.
> When i depress the clutch pedal the niose goes away, when i release the pedal, it's whining again.
> I can hear the whining when i'm driving, but it stops when i back off the throttle (ie over-run)...


I've got exactly the same problem: the car's in the garage with it's gearbox out now, so I'll let you know what it was as soon as they've fixed it.


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## tarmac terror (Jul 16, 2003)

mava_rules said:


> release bearing only makes noise when clutch is pressed, not other way round.


Hmm, you sure. Certainly didnt when I used to be a mechanic.
Mind you I mostly worked on French cars so obviously they have a different system    

:chuckle: :chuckle: :chuckle: 

TT


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## SIHethers (Feb 1, 2006)

I have exactly the same issue, even down to it disappearing on closed throttle coastdown. My gearbox has already been rebuilt once, it was the input shaft bearing worn, but the noise came back after a few hundred miles, making me suspicious there is something more fundamentally wrong with the gearbox/shaft alignment/bearing housing?

Living with it at present (VERY annoying), but going to get it looked at again soon by a different garage.

Thought I was the only person with this problem, noone had seemed to have had a similar prob before. Now I don't feel so alone


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## T.F.S. (Feb 5, 2004)

thrust bearing imo


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## mava_rules (Feb 22, 2006)

ok, i may stand corrected, but how does it make a noise when its not against the pressure plate and therefor the bearing would not be turning unless the clutch was pressed to bring it upto pressure plate, yes?


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## David (Apr 25, 2003)

mava_rules said:


> ok, i may stand corrected, but how does it make a noise when its not against the pressure plate and therefor the bearing would not be turning unless the clutch was pressed to bring it upto pressure plate, yes?


If its clutch release bearing it will make a noise when the clutch is released.

The reason is that when the bearing is loaded it doesn't make a noise, but unloaded if its dry or worn it will make a noise.


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## WillRobDon (Jul 29, 2006)

My R32 has the same thing but i just had the clutch release bearing done and a new clutch and it still makes the noise. The mechanic thought it was the gearbox as it has been rebuilt as there is red sealant all over the case, mine (was!) driving fine with the whine an gear changes were still very positive so if it isn 't peeing you off too much i'd leave it!


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## mava_rules (Feb 22, 2006)

see, this is whats getting me, i thought always the noise was release bearing, but on the cars ive had its still been there after changing clutch and release bearing so i thought may have done wrong etc etc. then i was speaking to owner of very reputable skyline tuning company and he said it is common misconception that it is the release bearing when infact it is bearing within the gearbox. also, when trying to find out problem with gruching gears (being spigot bearing) i had gerbox reconditioned with all new bearings etc and it whinned more than before the recon.
so thats my state of knowledge at present. i am well open to criticism and welcome other opinions.


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## Alexb (Jul 1, 2003)

Is this something that has just started to happen? Or something that's been happening on the car the whole time?

Reason I ask is, my clutch was noisy like you suggested, however mine had a Nismo clutch cover which I was told was noisy like that.


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## DUNCAN GT-R (Nov 6, 2004)

Thanks for all the posts guys.
Now i'm even more confused ........Ahhhhh


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## DUNCAN GT-R (Nov 6, 2004)

Still got the noises...
Some say its the clutch bearing, some say the gearbox......
Are there any skyline mechanics out there that know the answer ?
I hate having anything wrong with my car, so if you can help me out, or know where i can get a reasonably low mileage gearbox from, i would be greatful.
The car now sounds like it's been fitted with a supercharger...... AAHHHHHH.


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## 0piston (Oct 26, 2006)

how easy is this to fix if it was either the release or trust bearing? does the tranny have to be taken out? I've noticed this in one of my cars the other day.


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## David (Apr 25, 2003)

If it makes a noise when the clutch is not pressed and it goes away when pressed then its clutch release bearing.

If it makes a noise when clutch is pressed or all the time its a bearing in the gearbox.

Simple as that, its not skyline specific any car will behave the same


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## huskyracer (Jun 23, 2007)

SORRY but how can bearings in the gearbox make a noise when the clutch is depressed? If the clutch works the gearbox will stop going round when you put your foot on the clutch, and no noise can come from a gearbox that isnt doing anything!!!!:runaway:


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## David (Apr 25, 2003)

When in gear and the car is moving they will be rotated by wheels connecting them via the driveshaft and prop !:sadwavey:


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## huskyracer (Jun 23, 2007)

Duncan gt-r states about 6 posts down that the car still makes the noise stationary, so the gearbox is not being driven :thumbsup:


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## David (Apr 25, 2003)

huskyracer said:


> Duncan gt-r states about 6 posts down that the car still makes the noise stationary, so the gearbox is not being driven :thumbsup:


So it must me clutch release bearing then.

From the above posts I dont think he does state that it only makes the noise in neutral


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## [email protected] (May 19, 2006)

huskyracer said:


> Duncan gt-r states about 6 posts down that the car still makes the noise stationary, so the gearbox is not being driven :thumbsup:


But the gearbox input shaft is still being driven, just not the other gears so
sounds to me like the input shaft bearing.

It will make a noise in neutral/stationary because there is no load on it so it 'rattles' for want of a better word. When you press the clutch you stop the input shaft from turning so the noise goes away.

This is what my gearbox does although it is not very loud & cannot be heard when driving i.e loaded, I would assume as the bearing nears the end of its life it would start to make a whining noise that could be heard all the time when driving (as in Duncan's case).

My first thought in my own car was thrust bearing, as that is exactly what it sounds like but I know it definitely is not; I put a brand new thrust bearing in when I did the clutch & the noise did not go away.

I believe this is common with the 5 speed box & not something to worry about unless you start hearing the noise all the time, im sure I remember Tyndago mention something along those lines.

In any case both bearings can be changed easily but the box needs to come off either way! If I were you I would replace both as they are not expensive & cross my fingers its not something internal in the box itself 

Steve


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## DUNCAN GT-R (Nov 6, 2004)

Right, here goes.....

Engine running = noise
Engine running with clutch pedal depressed = no noise
Engine running and driving = noise except in 4th gear. (also not noticeable in any gear on over-run)

Ive done some research on this on the Australian Skyline websites, where there have been quite a few cases of the same thing.
In those cases the clutch release bearing was changed, but the noise was still there.
Another guy over there said that if it wasn't making the noise in 4th, then it had to be the lay shaft bearing or bearings, as 4th gear isnt on the same shaft as the other gears.

Can anyone shed any light on this ?


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## blue34 (Jul 28, 2005)

Fookin ell - check the gearbox oil then forget it till it breaks - as whichever it is the gearbox will have to come out to fix it, or if your that bothered take it apart and find out!

I just had a new thrust bearing fitted as it failed at the Silverstone track day - and that didn't make any noise before it fell apart..... (HKS triple plate pull type - by the way)


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## DUNCAN GT-R (Nov 6, 2004)

blue34 said:


> Fookin ell - check the gearbox oil then forget it till it breaks - as whichever it is the gearbox will have to come out to fix it, or if your that bothered take it apart and find out!
> 
> I just had a new thrust bearing fitted as it failed at the Silverstone track day - and that didn't make any noise before it fell apart..... (HKS triple plate pull type - by the way)


I have just changed the oil, and it made no difference to the noise.
You right about the box having to come out anyway, but i didnt want to have the expence of buying another box, just to find it was a fifty quid release bearing that was the problem afterall.
I thought the whole point of this forum was to have helpful, handy advice, for Skyline related problems, not someone posting "forget it till it breaks".
That may be the way you treat your car, but not the way i treat mine.


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## blue34 (Jul 28, 2005)

Don't misunderstand, it's just there is only so much you'll gain from conjecture. It's easy to get obsessed by noises and spend hours trying to get answers on forums. What your really worried about is how much is it going to cost to fix it... is it going to let me down, and when is it going to need doing - no one can tell you that for sure.

So you either decide to diagnose it properly now or live with it till it gets worse and it ends up diagnosing itself. If it's clutch thrust race it'll get noisier and more obvious, allright it might eventually sieze or fall apart. If it does that you might as well change the whole clutch while it's out so no worries about ruining anything else there. - If you want to you could jack it up and chock it very safely, pull the gaitor back on the clutch release arm and shine a torch in to have a look and a listen to the thrust race bearing with the engine running and someone on the clutch pedal.

I wasn't going to get itnto this but from what you've said it's a gearbox bearing - the reason it's quieter in 4th is because 4th gear is a 1 to 1 ratio ie the drive passes straight through the box without transferring load across the lay shaft through other gears and bearings 

The reason I said check the oil is in case it was low - but if it's got oil it'll probably go on for months without getting worse. 

Obviously If your about to do thousands of miles on a European holiday or something like that then of course it'll need looking at before you go as you couldn't risk it failing. But otherwise just drive it or decide when you want to spend the money to take it apart - or do it yourself....

My car does get looked after by the way...


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## DUNCAN GT-R (Nov 6, 2004)

blue34 said:


> Don't misunderstand, it's just there is only so much you'll gain from conjecture. It's easy to get obsessed by noises and spend hours trying to get answers on forums. What your really worried about is how much is it going to cost to fix it... is it going to let me down, and when is it going to need doing - no one can tell you that for sure.
> 
> So you either decide to diagnose it properly now or live with it till it gets worse and it ends up diagnosing itself. If it's clutch thrust race it'll get noisier and more obvious, allright it might eventually sieze or fall apart. If it does that you might as well change the whole clutch while it's out so no worries about ruining anything else there. - If you want to you could jack it up and chock it very safely, pull the gaitor back on the clutch release arm and shine a torch in to have a look and a listen to the thrust race bearing with the engine running and someone on the clutch pedal.
> 
> ...


I was thinking of selling the car, so thats why i want it putting right, only i dont have a shed load of money to throw at it, like some of you do.
Thanks blue34, for your input.....


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## mava_rules (Feb 22, 2006)

seeing as your up near here, try percy austrin in whitley bay, hes good with gearboxes but does charge alot on rebuilds esp if its something hes unfamiliar with. im sure he'd diagnose the problem though.


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