Gearbox Whine

[VladD]

Last week the gearbox on my 1998 Impreza type-R developed a whine. It happened when I took it up to high speed and then persisted for the rest of my journey, even at lower speeds. The following day I did a short trip in it, and the whine was no longer there.

I did a longer journey yesterday, and kept my speed at a resonable pace, but as the jouney went on, the whine started to reappear.

My guess is that the gearbox is low on oil and that the whine is occuring as the gearbox gets hot, so my plan is to get the oil level checked and topped up if necessary.

I'm just after opinions as to whether my guess is likely to be correct, or is there something else that could be causing it that I'm not thinking of?

[ScoobieWRX]

Is there not a gearbox dipstick under the TMIC. Newage have one, not sure about classics though. If when it whines you gets a whine regardless of what gear you're in it could be either the front or center diff.

If you think it might be a gearbox issue run it to get the oil nice and hot then empty and refil the gearbox with Redline Heavy Shockproof oil. You can use the same oil in the front diff so long as it's not an LSD. If you have the five speed box it will take 3 quarts. The diffs take a quart i think.

[FlatPack]

There'll be a dipstick for the gearbox tucked away just to the OS of the intercooler somewhere, you have to fill it through the dipstick hole, but Scooby drivetrains just seem to be made of chocolate I'm afraid

My Legacy GTB whines like crazy on overrun once it's got warm, it's quiet when cold too. Whining noise seems related to engine speed rather than road speed and goes away when I press the clutch so I don't think it's a diff (this time, already replaced a centre diff this year and barely used it since).

[VladD]

I took the car to a local garage. We found the dipstick after much searching (as my alarm had hidden it), and checked the oil level which was fine. Sounds like it's something more serious. I believe the Type-R has a group N gearbox, so it should be fairly tough. I'll take it to a local gearbox specialist and see what they've got to say. Thanks for the replies.

[ScoobieWRX]

FlatPack said:

Scooby drivetrains just seem to be made of chocolate I'm afraid

No they're not.

Newage Impreza 6spd STi boxes will take 600ft/lb Torque and a damn good seeing to all day long. The diffs are pretty damn strong too. When you hammer the car you will get a strong whine come through like on the WRC cars but that's just another part of the appeal of the car ad they all do it.

Newage WRX boxes seem to have an issue with 3rd gear but it's a WRX's best gear and it gets used the most, certainly in my car, therefore more likely to fail, however, the diffs are as tough as the STi's and will take some serious abuse. I've got nearly 370ft/lb of torque going through a 5spd WRX box and it's still going strong when the limit is suppose to be 330ft/lb and this box has done nearly 94K miles.

I can't speak for Classic boxes but i would have said that equally the diffs and box on a Type RA would be pretty tough and take a fair bit of abuse.

The noise the OP is experiencing might be something and nothing. Just be careful what the gearbox specialist says as work is thin on the ground and they will want your hard earned make no mistake. I would be inclined to go to a reputable and well known scooby specialist and ask their opinion as well as they will know the mechanicals of your car inside out and will more than likely tell you fairly quickly if it's something you need to worry about.

[VladD]

ScoobieWRX said:

Just be careful what the gearbox specialist says as work is thin on the ground and they will want your hard earned make no mistake. I would be inclined to go to a reputable and well known scooby specialist and ask their opinion as well as they will know the mechanicals of your car inside out and will more than likely tell you fairly quickly if it's something you need to worry about.

The gearbox specialst local to me has a very good reputation, so I'll give them a visit and see what they say. They apparently sort out the gearbox issues for the local Scooby dealer, so they should have plenty of experience. Failing that I'll take it to Plymouth and visit Alan Jeffrey.