M6 is Whining

[Mirroredshades]

My trans has started whining. It whines at the rate of the trans regardless of whether or not the clutch is engaged. It only does it when the shifter is in a gear. The fluid is not low and is not burnt. What do you guys think? A bad valve? I haven't noticed any drivability issues. Has 53K.

The noise is transmitting up through the shifter.

[tabahr]

I don't think there are valves in a manual transmission.

Try changing the fluid to a synthetic.

Is the performance still ok? Is it popping out of gear, are there ant other indications of problems other than the noise?

[N20LT4Bird]

No "valves" in a manual..... in an auto, yes. The whining could be the front bearing in the trans; thats typicaly more of a rattling sound and it should go away if you put your foot on the clutch. The input shaft does not turn when your foot is on the clutch, so you may think about looking elsewhere if it makes the noise with and without your foot on the clutch.

Maybe the differential.... you may have a bad bearing there or a backlash issue.

[wolfdogs]

Originally posted by N20LT4Bird
No "valves" in a manual..... in an auto, yes. The whining could be the front bearing in the trans; thats typicaly more of a rattling sound and it should go away if you put your foot on the clutch. The input shaft does not turn when your foot is on the clutch, so you may think about looking elsewhere if it makes the noise with and without your foot on the clutch.

Maybe the differential.... you may have a bad bearing there or a backlash issue.

what he said.

[tabahr]

Originally posted by N20LT4Bird
The input shaft does not turn when your foot is on the clutch, so you may think about looking elsewhere if it makes the noise with and without your foot on the clutch.

Not true if the car is moving and in gear. If the transmission is in gear and the car is moving the input shaft will be spinning regardless of the position of the clutch. If the output shaft is spinning with the driveshaft and the trans is in gear then the input shaft will spin also. No way around that.

If you're stopped, with the clutch in, there is no movement anywhere in the transmission. All that would be spinning would be the engine.

If you pop it in nuetral while driving and put in the clutch, then the input shaft will stop rotating. I think this is most likely what you were trying to get at.

[N20LT4Bird]

Yes, your right about the tranny while moving in gear. The output shaft will spin the input shaft. MY point is that if he has the same noise regardless of clutch position, its probably not in the tranny. If it were the trans, the noise should at least change if not go away with different clutch positions.

[Mirroredshades]

Yeah, I'm beginning to think it's not the trans itself. I think the dif may be the culprit. I'll take a look at the input shaft but I haven't noticed any "play" or clunking while driving. It kinda sounds like a u-joint right before it snaps. Sort of a spooling sound.