Gearbox problem .....?

[oldcodger]

Hi,

Seem to have developed a gearbox whine over the last week or two, seems most obvious when travelling at around 40 -50 mph at a steady quiet pace or overrun, though expect its there at other speeds but probably the general noise is drowning it out.

When the whine is obvious, putting it in neutral and letting the revs drop does not change the sound, nor does pressing  and holding the clutch down.

Have checked the driveshafts  and wheels for obstructions or play but nothing obvious, though have seen some folk suggest the wheel bearings  can whine ?  though in all my years of motoring never had a wheel bearing fail , so no idea how they actaully sound, thought it was more a rumble.

The car , 2006 1.6 , has done 120k miles and had a new clutch at 85 k miles, been given proper gearbox oil changes at 40k /4 years and the gearchange is fine and smooth and not noticed any noise from the clutch release bearing ,

The real concern is if its a problem  we can live with, or its likely to get worse and fail sooner ?

Assume gearbox addatives like this are not really recommended or likely to improve things ?  eg snake oil or could make things worse ?

https://xado.co.uk/revitalizants/ex120/revitalizant-ex120-manual-gear-box

Wonder if its a repairable job , by a gearbox repair specialist , or a referbished exchange gearbox that I could fit in  ? getting one from a scrap dealer seems more like a game of roulette !

Any thoughts  ....

[dave/celica/avensis]

could be a wheel bearing but like yourself i have never had this with a toyota, i have experienced it with other makes but there has been no tell tail play when i checked the wheels for movement, probably best to take a trusted mechanic for a ride so he can have a listen,at 113k my celica wines a little bit on over run,its an old car thats probably been driven hard in previous ownership, there is nothing actually wrong with it, the gearbox is old, so it makes a little noise. the symptoms you describe suggest to me a wheel bearing, if you have looked after the gearbox then dont worry about it, PS, if its any help the wheel bearing noise i have experienced has been a low hum rather than a wine, hope you get it sorted, 

Edited January 13, 2020 by dave/celica/avensis
added information

[furtula]

I'm guessing 5th gear? Did you try replicating the same rpm in 4th gear, and checking is there is any whine ? They should be on same bearings.

Did you try jacking up the car, rolling the wheel, moving it up down/left right to check for any play?

I'm guessing the sound comes from the gearbox side, so i would start with that wheel.

 

[Gerg]

I don't think the Corolla can be prone to this as it has a dead beam rear axle, is it possible you have tyre tread sawtoothing?  Easy and quick to check, so even if unlikely it might be worth ruling it out.  Or have you got a tyre of Chinese origin on the car somewhere?

On the one (or two?) wheel bearing problems I have ever had, it made a big difference to the sound of the problem bearing if the wheel was turning a corner or not, the loaded wheel obviously made more noise.

[oldcodger]

Hi all and thanks for the replies.

Must confess it does sound as if its coming from the gearbox as had read that the very  early Corollas gearboxes could be prone to failure.

Do get the same sound be it in 4th or 5 th gear, will have to try and drive steadily in 3rd etc and see if I can hear it in the lower gears.

As for wheel bearings, seems thats going to be a difficult one to identify.   The tyres are all good, Michellin Energys with even tread wear,  and when it went in for the airbag recall  a few months ago , surprisingly their checklist included a wheel alignent report, so know thats all ok as was the MOT  etc.

Did ckeck of wheel bearing play etc all seemed ok and nothing obvious when the wheel revolved, though will do the test again as that was done cold, seem the sound is not obvious until its got really warmed up, say 10 miles or so, checking it straight after a  long run might  show things up more ..?

When the sound is noticeable am  generally driving on a straightish road  but will try the point of loading the wheels up more by finding some tighter bends and see if that increased or changes the sound.

[Notoyboy]

Hi Oldcodger,

Sorry I can't offer any good advice re the whine.  I'd do what you're doing, in flagging up the issue now, and weighing up what to investigate, whilst continuing to use the car and see how things develop.

With the 120k mileage, and regular oil changes @ 40k, is it about to have another oil change, or just had it?  Any reason the gearbox oil level not what it should be (thinking to the fact that it might have needed refilling when clutch done).

When you say the very early Corolla gearboxes could be prone to failure, would this be the previous model to yours?

[oldcodger]

Hi,

Yes, need to do some more road and garage tests to see if I can find the problem, might be not as problematic as first thought, but as you know once you here such noises you kind of latch on to them, though better safe than sorry.

Changed the gearbox oil last August, no leaks or low level etc. Always used Comma oils.

The other day, took a sample of oil from the gearbox drain plug in case there was signs of any metal fragments etc but all clean.

The new clutch was some 3-4 years ago and its feels fine and no noise from the release bearing at tickover, when pressed down or released.

 

[flash22]

As above if its at a set speed its more than likely a wheel bearing starting to go - as its a hum or whine its rotational

rear bearings usually start as a grumble - like road noise but louder it may be the case as at certain speed its hitting a harmonic resonance

Rear disc ? Inspect and clean the handbrake shoes/drum if they are original it may be time for new ones