I know that this problem is starting to get common... i took my car to my mechanic today to have him check it out... he says theres nothing major wrong with the trans, i dont need to get it fixed, what will happen if i dont get the diff bearing fixed?( i'm still not sure that that is the problem, the whining i get is when i am at a stop, and it doesnt happen constantly) also is 1st gear whine while accelerating normal or not???? no one seems to have a definitive answer on this... i have searched so please dont tell me to search, thanks in advance

 

I am not a transmission expert, but have gone through 4 transmission total so I have quite a bit of experience. I had my transmission rebuilt because of gear whine. If you are sure it's coming from the transmission, it is not normal and means the bearings are getting worn out. I suggest replacing all of them. I have all of the bearings you need with only 10,000 miles on them and in perfect condition. They seriously look brand new. I will sell them to you for $100 if you are interested. I posted them a while back in the for sale forum, but never got a response. Pm me.

 

i'll let u know soon, anyone else with experience, thanx maxinxs!

 

It wouldnt surprise me when the bearings go bad. Its a very expensive repair. Given the depreciation of the car and the cost of the repair, you might as well just get rid of the car. This is not a flame but how I sincerely feel.

 

yeah i heare u, but i just bought the freakin car a month ago.... arghhhh

 

Every maxima's first gear wines if you are driving slow and at higher rpm's in first, i think its normal unless the 10 maxima's i drove were all broken.

 

ive got a whine in 1st gear at slow speeds (manual tranny) and my car "runs like a top" =) it's normal as far as im concerned.

 

Of the four transmissions I have gone through, the only time I ever heard gear whine was when my bearings went bad. Just my experience.

 

Mine wines too in first and hella bad in reverse when you go fast in reverse. Its normal.

 

Moderate whine in first and especially reverse is normal. When other gears start whining then you know you've got trouble.

 

 

A first gear whine is not enough evidence to think your bearings are bad.

 

Blah!

If the tranny is truely bad, just get a junkyard one and install it. Selling a $7000-8000 car because it's tranny is going bad is entirely a stupid thing to do. An entire tranny rebuild only cost $1100-1500. A junkyard tranny with install shouldn't run more than $800.''

As for the 1st gear whine, my 96 has done it since I bought the car back in Feb of 1999 with 30K miles.

If you're hearing a "whirring" sound while the car is in neutral, I believe that you throw out bearing could be bad. It happens.


Dave

 

remember though, that when in neutral, all the gears are still spinning. it could be the to bearing, but also any number of other bearings. bearings it could not be are the differential carrier bearings, since no gear is selected, and the car is not in motion, they are not moving.

 

higly agree with him. Get a tranny from a junkyard and get it fixed.

 

Lets keep in mind that even if you replace that tranny the second one may also have the problem. 4th gen manual trannys are pretty rare it seems as well. So even if you got a new/used tranny you might have to rebuild that one as well.

Lets see, $1000 repair on a car that KBB's for $5000-8000, to me thats ground to loose the car. I tried to hang out to the max as long as I could (wait a min, I still have it, its parked outside havent been touched in over 2 months) but after 3 transmissions and getting screwed I said screw it.

For the second part it wouldnt be your throw out bearing seeing as the TO bearing should only contact the spinning pressure plate when the clutch is depressed. A little bit of noise while idling in neutral with clutch out is normal- the clutch, pressure plate, input shaft are still spinning.

 

nismo - are you confident you know the source of the whine at idle? transmission/clutch, more engine perhaps...

I'd worry if I started getting noticable whining in 2nd gear, and found slightly too much play in the axle as noted in checking in other posts...plus if I had a sweat by where it's documented to check for a tranny oil leak according to this issue.

I'm curious, to those who've experienced...when 2nd gear and others start to whine from the diff bearings issue, can you feel anything in the shifter accordingly, like where if you'd neutral drop it would go away?

 

If the Whining is when you are stopped it is NOT the diff bearings. The diff only spins when the wheels spin. If it whines in Neutral it could be the input shaft bearings or the throw out bearing. I would not expect anything catastrophic to happen until the whining gets very loud.

By the way I replaced all the bearings in an '87 maxima. The diff bearings were VERY bad. It made a grind grind noise as the car would roll. The bearing replacement is not as hard as you might think 40,000 miles later when I sold it the trans was still quiet.

I have also replaced all the bearings in an '86 rx-7 but doubt that is of much interest on this forum.

 

thanx for all ur replys, my car is currently at the aamco transmission center and is having an external diagnostic done and i will find out whats wrong, i have not had any second gear whine at all... so i dont know if it is the diff bearings, but it may be somethign else, and while i still have this extended warranty i want to make sure i get the trans fixed asap.... thanx again for all ur replies

 

Well, I don't know many people that can afford to dump a $5000-10000 car because they might need to make a $800-1200 repair. Most people have loans for their cars and can't afford to get rid of their car because a repair might take 10-20% of the car's value. Being totally blunt, when you get older and move out of your parent's house with your 98 Corvette, 97 Maxima, and motorcycle and start paying for rent/house payments/grocerys/etc/set up a saving plan for retirement (401K, IRA, money market), you'll quickly realize money doesn't grow on trees. By your rational, I'd expect you to get rid of your Corvette since it has significant damage (~$4000-5000 on a $24K car) after you wrecked it.

Your car was a rare case and given your past driving record, many of your problems could be related to the way you drove it, your ACT clutch, and possibly the way you repaired it. You're neither a certified Nissan tech nor a certified ASE tech. It does take schooling and experience to fix and set up bearings.


Dave

 

i have the problem now.as we speak my cars in the shop getting the tranny rebuilt.my car would whine in 1st gear and reverse,but only for a second or two.it was like a whining/grinding noise.it'll get worse over time and eventually your tranny will begin to leak,guaranteed.

 

yup looks like my tranny is going under the knife once the warranty co gives the okay kinda sux to know i'll be without my car for 1-2 weeks but i am happy that it'll be driving better and no whinin!

 

I understand your point. However, it does not required anything special other then good sense and quality measuring tools. I rebuilt my '87 trans on a long holday weekend. It was my first trans rebuild but not my last. It doesn't take all that long and parts weren't too much ($200 maybe). I ran the car for another 5 years so I think that the repair was good. There is nothing mysterious about the transaxle. If you are good at following directions (to the letter) and working with had tools you could rebuild a trans.

I expect to rebuild the trans on my '96 when I take it out to put in a clutch. Maybe I'll put in a limited slip diff this time =)