Gearbox whines when cold

[kangaroo 0]

I've got quite a noisy whine from my gearbox for the first 5 minutes of driving. Sounds really lame when I pull away first thing in the morning. Could it just be the cold weather??... Does anyone else have this, or shouldn't I worry?

 

Cheers for any replies.

 

oh, p.s. I replaced the gearbox oil with MT90 about four months ago.

[Jim 2]

Whiny noises usually indicate synchro wear.. how many miles on your Rado mate?

[kangaroo 0]

Its done 73k. The gearbox isn't great, I must admit. Gear changes are crunchy and unpleasant.. but i kinda got used to it over the months I've owned it.. The whining noise goes away when its warmed up, but the gear changes still feel bad. :(

[dr_mat 0]

Get the oil changed! That's pretty low miles for it to be going iffy. It's also possible (but again, unusual) for it to be a clutch or gear change cable problem. Get the cable adjustment checked.

[Henny 0]

have you checked the level since you changed it? It's possible the gearbox drive flange seals have gone and it's leaked a load of oil into you inner CV gators... It's worth checking as if this has happened and the gator splits, you loose ALL of the oil in your gearbox which is NOT good... :|

[kangaroo 0]

Thanks for your replies guys.

Henny, I checked the oil level last weekend, and it was ok. A similar thought ran through my mind at first..

 

dr_mat, yeah, I think the gear-change cables and mechanism thing are probably a bit off.. I tried adjusting it myself a while ago.. it was pretty difficult and didn't make much a difference, though my attempts were quite lame. I can see how this could be the cause of the crunching, but it wouldn't cause the whining, would it?

 

The clutch isn't brilliant either, the biting-point feels like it changes position all the time and the car judders occasionally when pulling away, but I've got that one down on the cards to be looked at. It's the whining noise that concerns me...

[Supercharged 2]

The clutch isn't brilliant either, the biting-point feels like it changes position all the time

 

:roll:

 

Is it more of a bearing whine?? - Maybe the release bearing is worn and running off centre??

[kangaroo 0]

Is it more of a bearing whine?? - Maybe the release bearing is worn and running off centre??

 

Hmm.. Yes, it could be.. I thought a worn release bearing only made a sound when you depressed the clutch pedal tho? The whining I get only seems to occur when I'm travelling along, and goes away when I press the clutch in.

 

Ah, but then saying that it does occasionally make this loud groaning sound when pulling away under load, like a steep hill, could this be related??

[Supercharged 2]

The whining I get only seems to occur when I'm travelling along, and goes away when I press the clutch in.

 

Yep, that was the problem with mine when I got it, as soon a I pushed the clutch down a few mm then it went away - the previous owner had had the clutch changed by Mr Clutch, the tossers had not changed the release bearing even tho it comes in a kit :mad:

[kangaroo 0]

Well, driving it again this morning didn't clarify the situation much, i'm still unsure whether its the gearbox or clutch making the noise. It all but dissappears after about 5 minutes of driving, save perhaps the tiniest of whines around 1-2k rpm when decelrating, but its hardly noticable...

 

Assuming something is wrong with either the release bearing and/or synchos, how long can I get away with ignoring it before something needs to be done? I guess neither will be cheap, so I'd like to leave it till next year if poss!