Identified a noise as coming from my transmission. It's a mild but noticable whine when in gear. Not loud at all. I'm thinking torque converter.

How long do you think It has left? It's got 200K+ miles on it. It shifts fine and is not misbehaving at all.


I know I had another thread on ID'ing this noise last week that didn't go anywhere so I started a new one on this specific subject now that I know more about what's going on hoping to get some info. Hope that's ok.

 

it could be something simple, take it to a transmission place. a year ago one place said my tranny was bad but i couldnt feel anything, took it to Aamco and the owner drove it and said its fine and will last a long time yet. he charged me nothing for looking at it

i cant remember if it was you or someone else that i asked but hows your tranny fluid?

 

Fluid looks good on the dip stick. real clean. It was either flushed or drained and filled recently but I'm not sure which as it was before I got the car. Think I'll go ahead and flush it and have a look at the drain plug magnet.

It also has a second transmission cooler on it that I can only assume is in good shape. It was put on along with a front tow bar and it was towed behind an RV a bit.

 

swap to Royal Purple tranny fluid, its good stuff

does the noise get louder as you accelerate?

 

No, not that I can tell. Changes pitch though. Then gets obscured by wind noise or dissipates as you go faster and you can't really hear it.

 

throwing it out there, maybe it needs to be grounded more?

 

just in case ,since its summertime ,are you sure its not the a\c compresser?

 

I'm gonna check the ground straps just in case. I'm sure it's not the AC since it's on the wrong side, does it when the AC is on or off and only when in gear.

 

I checked the ground straps and they look good. I haven't tried bigger grounding cables but I suspect it wouldn't help.

The car has an aftermarket trans fluid pump on it and tow bar for pulling the car behind an RV. It went cross around the country about one and a half times towed. No doubt this has contributed to the situation.

I flushed it and the fluid was dark red but not black and didn't look bad. The flush has quieted it down a bit but I can still hear it in the cab a little and with the windows down when I drive past something that the engine noise can echo off like concrete barriers or something.

It shifts just fine and smooth at 203k miles.

Should I worry?

 

best thing is just let a tranny specialist hear it, or post a Craigslist ad and see if you can find a tranny expert there and for a case of beer or whatever get them to look

if you cant find a pro to take a look at it, maybe just see if it gets worse or not

 

without hearing it or being able to feel it drive, etc. it's a very difficult thing to determine, but have you drained the fluid yet and checked the magnet to see if there are any metal shavings? Could be a balance shaft too, so without someone looking at it you will be tossing money at the problem guessing until it's fixed. It the rest of the car worth putting some serious money into if needed? I just posted an auto trans in the for sale section if it comes to it, but I'd start by getting it diagnosed by someone who can feel things you may not, and hear it first hand, an hours labor from a reputable trans shop would be worth it's weight in gold in this case.

 

I think i have got a similar but not exact issue.
Since couple of weeks i started hearing a whining noise while driving..
it only happens once i recach 50-60 mph..below this speed its not audible.probably it still there in all the speed range but becomes audible in that speed zone. its not loud ...seems like coming from the driver side engine bay or tire side ( tire,brake/rotor).
i have 2004 maxima SE. I am little low on tranny fluid, not very. last time my nissan dealer flushed tranny with BG products..i have good amount of mobil 5w-30 left..tires are 3 months old..
also i have 150 wat JL amp..the noise happens no matter i turn on my stereo or not. It also does not depend on AC on-off. When i am parked and revving the engine- i do not hear anything.

not sure what it cud be..grounding ? or low tranny fluid..
looking for some advise beofre i go to dealership.